North Palm Beach Contract Litigation Attorney

A signed agreement is only as good as the willingness of the other side to honor it, and in North Palm Beach, where marine businesses, medical practices, family-held companies, and investment property owners all run on contracts, that willingness sometimes disappears. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for clients in North Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, and Broward County, and a North Palm Beach contract litigation attorney from our firm can step in when a counterparty stops performing, refuses to pay, or reads the agreement in a way that guts your deal.

Contract cases rise or fall on details. The exact wording of a purchase agreement, the sequence of emails that followed it, whether a notice was sent the way the contract required, whether the other side’s breach was material: these are the facts that decide outcomes. Before anything is filed, the first job is figuring out what the document says, what the parties actually did, and what remedy is realistic.

The clock matters just as much. A suit on a written contract in Florida generally must be filed within five years, while claims on oral or implied agreements get four. Some remedies run on much shorter timelines, so the earlier the agreement is reviewed, the more options stay open.

What Our Contract Litigation Work Looks Like Day to Day

Clients tend to picture a courtroom. The reality starts earlier and is more granular. We read the full contract and every amendment, side letter, and exhibit. We build a timeline from emails, invoices, bank records, and text messages. We identify which party breached first, because that sometimes changes who is entitled to enforce what. We look at the dispute-resolution clause, the governing-law provision, the notice and cure requirements, and any fee-shifting language, since each one shapes strategy and cost.

From there, the path forks. Some disputes are resolved by a firm demand letter that lays out the breach and the exposure. Others go to mediation or arbitration, which our attorneys have handled alongside courtroom litigation. And some need a lawsuit, sometimes with a request for emergency relief when assets or property are at risk while the case is pending.

We also push back on the other side’s narrative. A defendant who claims the contract was modified verbally, that performance was excused, or that the deal was never final will be tested against the documents. Cases often turn on that comparison between what someone now says happened and what the paper trail shows.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Contract Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s most difficult business and real estate disputes, serving clients in North Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and has built his career around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts between partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in state and federal courts. That matters for contract work, because some disputes belong in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in Palm Beach County, others in Broward’s Seventeenth Circuit, and some in federal court.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your file knows it and can answer when you call. We keep a strict 24 hour return call policy when we are in court. Clients often arrive expecting a hyper-aggressive posture; what most actually want is a lawyer who acts as the situation requires and keeps fees proportionate to what is at stake.

Results back that up. In a recent matter, after a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Obtaining an order that forces the other side to actually close the deal is a demanding remedy, and it reflects the kind of detailed preparation we bring to contract cases.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings on commercial or residential property, buyers who walk away, sellers who accept a better offer, and disputes over deposits, financing contingencies, and inspection rights. When a buyer or seller refuses to perform, specific performance may be on the table.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Buyout formulas, transfer restrictions, management rights, and deadlock provisions in LLCs and corporations. These agreements often decide how a business divorce plays out.
• Commercial Leases: Rent and common-area charge disputes, personal guaranties, default and termination provisions, and landlord and tenant disagreements involving retail, office, and marina-adjacent space.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Disputes over default, acceleration, collateral, and whether a guarantor is personally liable. These cases hinge on precise contract language.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes between owners, contractors, and subcontractors, change orders, delay claims, and defective-work allegations on projects across Palm Beach County.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Funds: Partners or managers who withhold profit shares, divert company money, or cannot account for it, including claims for an accounting and breach of fiduciary duty.
• Business Sale Agreements: Earn-out disputes, misrepresentations about financials, and breached non-compete or transition obligations after a company changes hands.
• Family and Closely Held Business Agreements: Contract disputes among siblings, spouses, in-laws, or longtime friends who own a company together, where discretion matters as much as the claim.

What to Do When a Contract Is Breached

Start by stopping the informal back-and-forth. Angry texts and loosely worded emails can later be quoted back at you, sometimes as an admission or as evidence of a modification you never intended. Keep communications short, factual, and in writing.

Gather the full document set: the signed agreement, every amendment, correspondence, invoices, payment records, and anything showing what you did to perform. Preserve electronic records and do not delete anything, even if it looks unhelpful. Then read the contract for notice and cure provisions. Many agreements require written notice of default and a set period to fix the problem before a party can sue or terminate. Skipping that step can hurt your claim.

Pay attention to deadlines. A suit founded on a written instrument generally has a five-year window, an oral or implied contract claim has four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery with an outer cap of twelve. A specific performance action has a one-year period. Because different claims in the same dispute can carry different deadlines, do not assume the longest one governs everything.

Next, consider where the case would be heard. Disputes above the county court limit are filed in circuit court; for North Palm Beach clients that is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, sitting in and for Palm Beach County, with civil matters heard at the main courthouse in West Palm Beach and a north county courthouse in Palm Beach Gardens serving the area. Larger business disputes tied to Broward County go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which has a complex business division for large commercial cases. Federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale among other cities, is an option when federal jurisdiction exists.

If money, property, or business assets are at risk of being moved or spent, say so early. Courts can grant temporary injunctive relief in urgent situations, but only if the request is supported with evidence and brought promptly.

Remedies Available in a Florida Contract Case

Money damages are the usual remedy: the amount needed to put you where you would have been had the contract been performed. Depending on the facts, that can include lost profits, unpaid sums, and consequential losses the contract does not exclude. Contracts often contain attorney’s fee provisions, limitation-of-liability clauses, or liquidated damages terms, and each one can reshape the value of a claim.

When money will not fix the problem, equitable remedies come into play. Specific performance orders a party to carry out the contract, which is common in real estate because each parcel is considered unique. Rescission cancels the agreement and restores the parties to their prior positions, and it carries a four-year period. Injunctions can stop a party from violating restrictive covenants or dissipating assets while the case proceeds.

Contract claims also overlap with other theories. A partner who diverts funds may face contract, fiduciary duty, and fraud claims at once. A seller who misstated a business’s finances may be liable in contract and in fraud. Pleading the right combination of claims, each timed within its own deadline, is a real part of the work.

Frequently Asked Questions About Contract Litigation in North Palm Beach

How long do I have to sue for breach of a written contract in Florida?

Generally five years for a claim founded on a written instrument. Oral and implied contract claims have a four-year period. Related claims such as fraud or rescission have their own timelines, so the right deadline depends on how the claims are framed.

Does an oral agreement count as a contract?

It can, but proving the terms is harder, and certain agreements must be in writing to be enforced. The limitations period for an oral contract claim is four years. If you rely on a handshake deal, preserve every email, text, and payment record that reflects its terms.

What is specific performance, and when is it available?

It is a court order requiring a party to do what the contract promised, most often completing a real estate sale. It is an equitable remedy, requires a clear contract and a plaintiff who was ready to perform, and must be brought within one year. Our firm recently obtained a final judgment granting it after a bench trial.

Should I send a demand letter before filing suit?

Often yes, and many contracts require written notice of default first. A well-drafted letter documents the breach, sets a deadline, and sometimes resolves the matter without litigation. Whether it helps depends on the contract and on whether delay would let the other side hide or spend assets.

Can I recover my attorney’s fees if I win?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for it. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fee clause, which cuts both ways, so it should be weighed before you file or defend a case.

Is a dispute resolution clause enforceable?

Mediation and arbitration clauses are commonly enforced, and they can determine whether your case is heard in court at all. Reviewing that language is one of the first steps in any contract dispute.

My business partner breached our operating agreement. Is that a contract case?

Often it is, and it can also involve fiduciary duty claims or a request for judicial dissolution. Florida allows a court to dissolve an LLC on grounds such as deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriation of assets, or when carrying on the business under the operating agreement is not reasonably practicable. Some operating agreements contain buyout or deadlock sale provisions that can control the outcome.

The other party is in another state. Can I still sue in Florida?

Often, depending on the contract’s forum clause and the other party’s contacts with Florida. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida business or property interests, and we handle the local court appearances so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

How long does a contract case take in Palm Beach County?

It varies with complexity. Palm Beach’s circuit court assigns civil cases to differentiated case management tracks, so a straightforward collection dispute moves faster than a multi-party business case with extensive discovery. Many cases resolve in mediation before trial.

Is a smaller contract dispute worth taking to a lawyer?

Sometimes a short review and a demand letter are enough. Claims within the county court limit are heard in county civil court, and amounts up to the small claims ceiling follow a simpler process. We look for the resolution that fits your goals and budget rather than drawing out a case for its own sake.

What if the other side says we changed the contract verbally?

Many written agreements require modifications to be in writing, and courts examine the document’s own terms and the parties’ actual conduct. That claim is tested against the paper trail, which is why preserving communications matters so much.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across North Palm Beach and South Florida

We represent clients in North Palm Beach and the neighboring communities along the northern end of Palm Beach County, including Juno Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Park, Riviera Beach, and Jupiter. Our work extends to West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, Lantana, Lake Worth Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton.

We also serve business owners and investors in Broward County, from Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach through Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, and Hollywood. Many clients live elsewhere, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, but hold a business interest or real estate in South Florida, and we handle the local proceedings on their behalf.

Speak With a North Palm Beach Contract Litigation Lawyer

If someone has broken a deal, withheld money you are owed, or is demanding performance you believe the contract does not require, a conversation with a North Palm Beach contract litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify where you stand and which deadlines apply. We will review the agreement, tell you candidly what your options are, and recommend the path that makes sense for the dollars at stake. Call to schedule a consultation.