Oakland Park Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Most real estate fights in Oakland Park are not about a stranger’s dispute with a stranger. They are about co-owners, former business partners, relatives who inherited a house, buyers and sellers who signed a contract and then stopped performing. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners and investors in Oakland Park and throughout Broward County and Palm Beach County, and a good Oakland Park real estate litigation attorney has to know that these cases are won or lost on deadlines, deeds, and the exact wording of a contract.

Oakland Park sits in the middle of Broward County’s commercial and residential corridor, with older single-family blocks, multifamily buildings, small commercial properties, and investment parcels that have changed hands many times. That history creates the disputes that end up in court: competing claims of ownership, failed closings, co-owners who cannot agree to sell, and tenants or landlords who stop following the lease.

Some of these problems cannot wait for a slow case calendar. When a property is about to be transferred, encumbered, or lost, early court intervention can matter more than the final judgment. The sections below explain which disputes arise most often, which deadlines apply, and how Broward County courts handle them.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Oakland Park Property Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in South Florida’s difficult business and real estate disputes, serving Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties. The firm also represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property or business interests here, and it handles the local court appearances so those clients do not have to travel for every hearing. Many matters come to the firm as referrals from other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes.

Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. His work has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is exactly the background real estate cases often require, because so many property fights are really partnership fights over land.

Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a file knows it, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court.

Recent results show the kind of case the firm tries. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. The attorneys are also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Real Estate Disputes We Litigate for Oakland Park Owners

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer who will not close, a seller who walks away for a better offer, or a financing or inspection dispute can all lead to claims for breach, return of deposit, or specific performance, which asks the court to order the sale to go forward.
• Partition Actions: When co-owners cannot agree on a property, a court can divide it or order it sold and split the proceeds. These cases arise among former business partners, siblings who inherited a home, unmarried couples, and investors who want out.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: Competing deeds, a cloud on title, a questionable conveyance, or a claim by someone who says they own the property all call for a court to determine who holds title and clear the record.
• Adverse Possession and Boundary Claims: A person using land for years without paperwork may assert ownership, and an owner may need to defend against that claim or pursue it.
• Commercial Lease Disputes: Defaults, unpaid rent, improper termination, and disputes over build-out or common area charges are common in commercial buildings and small retail properties.
• Landlord and Tenant Matters: Nonpayment, lease violations, and holdover tenants follow strict statutory notice rules, and mistakes in the notice can sink an otherwise valid case.
• Co-Owner and Partnership Property Disputes: When an LLC, partnership, or family entity owns the real estate, the dispute over the property is often also a dispute over management, money, and fiduciary duty.
• Emergency Injunctive Relief: When a property is about to be sold, encumbered, or damaged, the firm seeks temporary or permanent injunctions to hold things in place while the case proceeds.

What to Do Right Now When a Property Dispute Reaches Oakland Park Courts

Start by gathering paper. The deed, the purchase contract, the closing statement, the lease, the operating agreement if an entity owns the property, and every email or text about the dispute all matter. Real estate cases turn on the wording of documents and the history of dealings between the parties, so what you have in hand shapes what is possible.

Do not sign anything new, and do not record or transfer anything, until a lawyer has read the file. Side agreements and quitclaim deeds signed under pressure are a frequent source of later litigation. If someone is moving money or threatening to sell or borrow against the property, say so early, because an emergency injunction request depends on showing that harm is coming before a final judgment can stop it.

Deadlines are the next priority. A claim founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied contract has four years. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. A suit seeking specific performance of a contract has only one year, which catches many buyers and sellers off guard. Claims for negligence now carry a two-year period for causes of action arising after the March 2023 amendments. Waiting to see whether the other side comes around can quietly use up the time.

For landlord and tenant disputes, the notice itself is the case. A residential landlord seeking possession for unpaid rent must deliver written demand and wait three days, not counting weekends and court-observed holidays. For other violations that can be cured, the tenant gets seven days to fix the problem, and for violations that cannot be cured a seven-day termination notice applies. Accepting partial rent after posting notice does not by itself waive the right to proceed, but the landlord must handle the payment correctly or risk a defective case.

Oakland Park is in Broward County, so these cases are heard by the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County. Claims above the county court limit belong in circuit court, and the Seventeenth Circuit operates complex business divisions for larger commercial disputes, including certain entity dissolution and large business and construction litigation. A case can be filed directly into those divisions only by following the circuit’s administrative order and completing the required form at filing. Matters with federal jurisdiction go to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Clients with Palm Beach County property deal instead with the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.

Partition, Quiet Title, and Adverse Possession Under Florida Law

Partition actions are filed in chancery under Chapter 64 of the Florida Statutes. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state what share each holds. After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three commissioners to decide whether the property can be divided fairly. If it cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order a public sale to the highest bidder and divide the proceeds by ownership interest. A court can allow a sale on credit for good cause, but at least one-third of the price must be paid at the outset unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020. Property qualifies as heirs property when it is held by cotenants without a binding agreement on partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and another listed condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. If the court finds the property is heirs property, it must follow the Act’s procedures unless all cotenants agree otherwise, and a partition in kind cannot be entered unless the court is satisfied that commissioners considered the statutory factors and found that dividing the property would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

Quiet title cases rest on Chapter 65. A person claiming legal or equitable title may ask the court to determine ownership and enter judgment quieting title, and a complaint may seek cancellation of a conveyance or other evidence of title that clouds the owner’s rights. The plaintiff must generally trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise. A quiet title action may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and one based on an alleged fraudulent attempted conveyance can proceed with summary procedure and priority on the court’s calendar.

Adverse possession requires patience and paperwork. Without color of title, a claimant must show actual, continued possession for seven years under a claim of title exclusive of any other right, and must file a return with the property appraiser that includes a full legal description. Possession under color of title also requires seven years, and for claims commencing after 1945 the instrument must be recorded in the county where the property sits. Florida also bars suits to recover real property unless the plaintiff or a predecessor was in possession within seven years before filing.

When Business Owners Fight Over Real Estate

A large share of real estate litigation in Broward County is really business divorce. Two partners buy a building through an LLC, the relationship sours, and the property becomes the battleground. Florida’s LLC statute allows a court to dissolve a company at the request of a manager or member on several grounds, including deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, and conduct by controlling members that is illegal or fraudulent. In those cases the court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest.

Operating agreements matter here. A deadlock sale provision that is initiated before the court finds grounds for dissolution can take the place of a judicial dissolution order. For corporations, a shareholder may seek dissolution on specified grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase, and an election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it. Courts in these proceedings can issue injunctions and preserve assets while the case is pending.

Because the firm handles business divorce, contract litigation, and real estate disputes together, it can see when a property case is really an ownership case and plan the whole dispute rather than one count of it.

Oakland Park Real Estate Litigation Questions Answered

What is real estate litigation?

It is a lawsuit over property rights or property contracts. Common examples include failed closings, partition, title disputes, commercial lease defaults, and claims between co-owners.

How long do I have to sue over a breach of a real estate contract?

A claim founded on a written contract generally has a five-year period, and an oral or implied contract claim has four. Specific performance, which asks the court to compel the sale, has a one-year period, so those claims should be evaluated quickly.

Can a court force the sale of a property I co-own?

Yes. A co-owner can file a partition action. If the property cannot be fairly divided, the court may order it sold at public auction and divide the proceeds according to each owner’s interest.

What is specific performance?

It is a court order requiring a party to complete a contract rather than pay damages. It is often sought in real estate because each property is unique. The firm obtained such a judgment after a bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court.

What does a quiet title action do?

It asks the court to decide who owns a property and to cancel competing claims or instruments that cloud the title. The plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise.

Which court hears my case if the property is in Oakland Park?

Circuit court claims go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County. Smaller claims within the county court’s limit are heard by the county court, and large commercial disputes may qualify for the circuit’s complex business divisions.

Can I stop my partner from selling or borrowing against our property while we fight?

Possibly. A court can issue a temporary injunction to preserve the status quo if you show that harm is likely before the case ends. These requests are time-sensitive and depend on the documents and evidence available.

My business partner and I own a building through an LLC and we are deadlocked. What are my options?

Review the operating agreement first, since it may contain a buyout or deadlock sale procedure. If it does not, Florida law allows a petition for judicial dissolution on grounds including deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, and a court may order a buyout or appoint a receiver or custodian.

Does accepting partial rent waive a landlord’s right to evict?

Not by itself, but the landlord must handle it correctly. Options include giving the tenant a receipt stating the amount and the remaining balance, depositing the partial rent in the court registry when filing, or serving a new three-day notice for the reduced amount.

Can someone claim my property by using it for years?

Adverse possession is possible but demanding. The claimant needs seven years of actual, exclusive possession under a claim of title, plus a properly filed return with a legal description. Owners who notice a trespass or encroachment early are in a much stronger position.

I live out of state. Do I have to come to Florida for hearings?

Generally the firm handles local court appearances for out of state clients and keeps them informed at every stage, so most clients avoid repeated travel.

Is every property dispute headed for trial?

No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The firm pursues the route most likely to meet your goals at a cost that makes sense.

Serving Real Estate Litigation Clients From Oakland Park Across South Florida

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents property owners in Oakland Park and the surrounding Broward County communities, including Fort Lauderdale, Wilton Manors, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill, Tamarac, Plantation, Sunrise, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Davie, and Coconut Creek. The firm’s reach continues north into Palm Beach County, serving owners and investors in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Jupiter.

Many clients hold Oakland Park or other South Florida property while living in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. The firm represents them in Broward and Palm Beach County courts and, where federal jurisdiction applies, in the Southern District of Florida, whether the case involves a partition, a title claim, a contract dispute, or a dispute among co-owners.

Talk to an Oakland Park Real Estate Litigation Lawyer

A property dispute with a short deadline or a pending sale cannot wait. If you need an Oakland Park real estate litigation lawyer, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents, explain the options under Florida law, and tell you what the timeline looks like. Call the firm to schedule a consultation and get a direct answer about where your case stands.