Palm Beach Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Real estate disputes in Palm Beach County are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for the county, and most of the serious ones land in circuit civil court because the amounts at stake run well past the county court ceiling. That is where a failed closing, a fight between co-owners, or a clouded title gets decided. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families across Palm Beach County and Broward County, and works as a Palm Beach real estate litigation attorney for clients whose property or investment is caught in a dispute.

Real estate litigation is not one thing. A buyer who wants to force a seller to close is bringing a very different case from a sibling who inherited a house and wants out, and both differ from an investor trying to clear a competing ownership claim. Each has its own clock, its own remedy, and its own court procedure, and mixing them up can cost a client the claim entirely. Some of those clocks are short enough to lose a case before it starts.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Palm Beach Property Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Palm Beach County, Broward County, and the rest of South Florida, including clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold property or business interests here. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, has spent 37 years in litigation, and earned his degrees from Emory University (1986) and the University of Miami School of Law (1989). His practice has centered on complex contract disputes, partner and member conflicts, and real estate litigation.

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. That matters in a county where the Southern District of Florida holds court in West Palm Beach, because some property disputes carry claims that belong in federal court.

The firm’s most relevant recent result is a direct example. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Winning an order that compels a seller to convey the property, rather than just paying damages, takes careful trial preparation, and the written contract and the history between the parties usually decide it.

The firm practices as a true team, so everyone working on a file knows it and can answer when a client calls. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when an attorney is in court. Out of state clients are kept informed while the firm handles local appearances, and a good part of the practice comes from referrals by other attorneys. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget.

Types of Real Estate Disputes We Litigate

• Purchase and Sale Contract Disputes: Buyers and sellers fight over failed closings, deposits, financing contingencies, and whether a party defaulted. Written contract claims carry a five-year limitations period, but a suit seeking to compel the sale itself has only one year.
• Specific Performance Claims: Real property is treated as unique, so a court can order a seller to close rather than just award money. These cases are decided on the contract language and each side’s conduct before the closing date.
• Partition Actions: One co-owner asks the court to divide the property or sell it and split the proceeds. They arise among former business partners, heirs, unmarried couples, and investors who want out of a shared deal.
• Heirs Property Cases: Family-held land passed down without a clear agreement is governed by a special set of partition rules, and the court must look at whether a sale would harm the cotenants as a group before it divides the land.
• Quiet Title Actions: When someone who is not the rightful owner holds a deed or asserts a claim, a suit can cancel the competing paper and clear the cloud on title.
• Adverse Possession Claims: A person in possession for seven years may claim title, either with or without a recorded instrument, and the rules differ sharply between the two routes.
• Landlord and Tenant Disputes: Commercial and residential lease conflicts, including unpaid rent, lease termination, and possession actions, each driven by notice rules that have to be followed exactly.
• Property Disputes Between Business Owners: Real estate held inside an LLC or corporation often becomes the center of a partner dispute, which can bring in dissolution and fiduciary claims alongside the property claim.

What to Do When a Palm Beach Property Dispute Starts

Begin with the documents. Gather the contract, every amendment, the deed, closing paperwork, the correspondence and texts between the parties, and anything showing money paid or received. In real estate cases the paper usually tells the story, and the sequence of events matters as much as the signatures.

Then identify which clock applies, because they are very different. A claim founded on a written instrument has five years. An oral or implied contract claim has four. A suit to rescind a contract has four. Fraud runs four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. A specific performance action has one year. Anyone who wants the court to force a closing should speak to a lawyer promptly, because waiting even a few months can use up much of that window.

Where the case is filed depends on the property and the amount. County court in Palm Beach County hears claims up to its jurisdictional ceiling, and anything above it goes to circuit civil court at the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. Branch courthouses serve Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach, Delray Beach, and Belle Glade. A quiet title complaint may be filed in any county where any part of the land sits, so a parcel straddling a county line can raise a real venue choice. Property in Broward County is heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which also runs a complex business division for large disputes.

The common mistakes are predictable. Owners stop paying the mortgage or taxes on a shared property and then try to charge the other owner. Landlords accept partial rent without understanding the consequences. Heirs sign deeds or side agreements without checking what they give up. Co-owners change locks or collect rent alone. If money or title is being moved while the dispute is pending, a court can issue emergency injunctive relief, and asking early matters. Call before you sign, record, or refuse anything.

Partition, Title, and Co-Ownership Fights in Florida

Partition is the remedy for owners who cannot agree. All partition actions are heard in equity, and the complaint has to describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state what each one holds. If the court enters a judgment of partition, it appoints three commissioners, who may be chosen by agreement of the parties, to decide whether the land can be divided fairly. When they report that division would prejudice the owners, the court can order a public sale to the highest bidder and split the proceeds in proportion to each interest. Where the court allows credit, at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone agrees otherwise.

Heirs property is the trap many families miss. If the land is held as tenants in common, there is no binding agreement on partition, someone took title from a relative, and at least twenty percent of the interests are held by relatives (or another listed condition applies), the special heirs property rules apply unless every cotenant agrees otherwise. Those rules apply to actions filed on or after July 1, 2020, and they put a partition in kind ahead of a forced sale unless commissioners find it would harm the group. A client who assumes the usual sale route is available may be surprised.

Quiet title cases require the plaintiff to trace title back at least seven years unless the court orders otherwise, and a suit based on a fraudulent attempted conveyance can move on an expedited calendar. Separately, Florida bars a suit to recover real property unless the plaintiff or a predecessor was in possession within the prior seven years.

When the Property Dispute Is Really a Business Dispute

Many of our real estate cases start as partner disputes. When owners of an LLC cannot agree, a court may dissolve it on grounds including deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriated or wasted assets, or conduct that makes it impracticable to carry on under the operating agreement. In a dissolution case the court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member. If an operating agreement already contains a deadlock sale provision that is started before the court finds deadlock, that provision generally controls.

Corporations work somewhat differently. A shareholder petitioning for dissolution can face an election by the company or other shareholders to buy the shares at fair value, and if the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms. Because the firm handles the dissolution side as well, a client with property tied up in a failing entity does not need to coordinate two separate lawyers.

Palm Beach Real Estate Litigation Questions

What counts as real estate litigation?

It covers any lawsuit over ownership, possession, sale, or use of real property. That includes contract disputes over a sale, partition suits, quiet title actions, adverse possession claims, and landlord and tenant cases.

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

For a contract based on a written instrument, five years. An oral or implied contract has four years. A suit to rescind has four years. The window for a specific performance action is only one year, so a buyer trying to compel a closing should not wait.

Can a court force a seller to complete a sale?

Yes. Real property is treated as unique, and a court can award specific performance, an order requiring the seller to convey. It has to be asked for in time and proved on the contract and the parties’ conduct.

My co-owner will not sell. What can I do?

You can ask the court for partition. If the property can be divided fairly it will be divided, and if not the court can order it sold at public auction and divide the proceeds by ownership share.

What is heirs property, and why does it matter?

It is land held as tenants in common where title came from a relative and other statutory conditions are met, such as relatives holding at least twenty percent of the interests. A different set of partition rules applies, which favors dividing the land over forcing a sale.

What is a quiet title action?

It is a suit to establish who owns land and to cancel a deed or claim held by someone who is not the rightful owner, removing the cloud on title. The plaintiff must generally show title for at least seven years back.

Can someone take my property through adverse possession in Florida?

It is possible, but the rules are strict. The claimant needs seven years of actual, continuous possession under a claim of title. Without a recorded instrument, the claim also requires a return filed with the property appraiser that includes a full legal description.

I live out of state. Can I litigate a Palm Beach property case without moving here?

Generally yes. We regularly represent clients in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own South Florida property, and we handle the local appearances and filings while keeping you informed.

Could my case end up in federal court?

Some can. The Southern District of Florida covers Palm Beach and Broward Counties and holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Most property disputes are state court matters, but the forum depends on the claims and the parties.

If a partner or co-owner is moving money or property, can I stop it?

A court can issue temporary or permanent injunctions, including emergency relief, to preserve assets and property while the case is pending. These requests move fast and need strong supporting documents.

Is a lease dispute worth taking to a lawyer?

Often, because the notice rules are technical. A nonpayment notice allows three days, excluding weekends and court-observed holidays, and a noncurable default allows seven days to vacate. Accepting partial rent does not by itself waive a landlord’s right to terminate or sue, but doing it wrong can create problems.

Do all real estate disputes end in a trial?

No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and we pursue the route most likely to reach your goals at a reasonable cost.

Serving Real Estate Litigation Clients Throughout Palm Beach County

We represent property owners and investors from Palm Beach County’s northern communities, including Jupiter, Tequesta, Palm Beach Gardens, and North Palm Beach, down through Riviera Beach, West Palm Beach, Lake Worth Beach, and Palm Springs. Clients also come from Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Greenacres, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton, and from Highland Beach, Lantana, and the town of Palm Beach itself. We also appear for clients with property in the western county, including Belle Glade.

Our work extends south into Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, and neighboring communities, and reaches clients across the rest of South Florida. Many of our clients live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut and hold property or business interests here.

Speak With a Palm Beach Real Estate Litigation Attorney

If a closing has collapsed, a co-owner is blocking a sale, or a competing claim has clouded your title, talk to a Palm Beach real estate litigation lawyer before a deadline closes. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team will review your documents, explain which claims and remedies apply, and recommend the path that fits your goals and budget. Call us to schedule a consultation.