Plantation Breach of Contract Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, landlords, tenants, and families in contract disputes arising in Plantation and across Broward County, along with neighboring Palm Beach County and the rest of South Florida. When a signed agreement stops being honored, the dispute is rarely just about the paper. It is about a closing that never happened, a payment stream that dried up, a partner who walked away from obligations, or a lease whose terms one side decided to ignore. Anyone searching for a Plantation breach of contract attorney is usually past the point of trading friendly emails and needs someone who can read the agreement closely and tell them what it is worth in court.

The clock matters more than most people expect. Florida gives five years to sue on a contract founded on a written instrument, but only four years for an oral or implied agreement, and a claim for specific performance carries a one-year period. A client who spends two years hoping the other side will come around can quietly lose the strongest remedy available. Plantation is also home to the West Regional Courthouse in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which gives local contract disputes a real, nearby forum, and some larger business cases can be routed into Broward’s complex business division.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach County, Broward County, and clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who have business or real estate interests in South Florida. 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 from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts.

Contract cases tend to turn on the exact wording of the agreement and on how the parties actually dealt with each other over time, and the firm prepares them with that level of detail. The practice is organized as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when an attorney is in court. Clients are told plainly that most people eventually want a cost-effective result rather than a fee bill that outruns common sense, so the firm uses mediation and arbitration where they serve the goal and litigates fully when they do not.

The firm’s record includes a recent commercial real estate win. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment on May 15, 2024, awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That outcome reflects the kind of work contract clients bring: high-value agreements where the remedy sought is not money but the deal itself.

Kinds of Contract Disputes That Reach Our Plantation Clients

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings, disputed deposits, and sellers or buyers who refuse to perform, in both commercial and residential transactions, sometimes calling for a suit to compel the sale itself.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Breaches of buyout terms, distribution provisions, non-compete clauses, and management obligations among LLC members and shareholders.
• Commercial Leases: Landlord and tenant disputes over rent, build-out obligations, personal guarantees, defaults, and early termination, which often run alongside a statutory notice process.
• Loan and Financing Documents: Promissory notes, guaranties, and lender or borrower disputes where the question is what was promised and what triggered default.
• Construction and Contractor Agreements: Unfinished work, change-order fights, payment withheld over alleged defects, and disputes between owners, general contractors, and subcontractors.
• Unpaid Distributions and Diverted Funds: Cases where a partner or manager cannot account for company money, supporting claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of funds.
• Family Business Agreements: Contract conflicts among siblings, parents, children, and in-laws who share ownership and disagree on control or compensation.
• Oral and Implied Agreements: Handshake deals and course-of-dealing arrangements, which are enforceable but harder to prove and carry the shorter four-year filing period.

What to Do When the Other Side Stops Performing

Start by collecting the whole paper trail, not just the signed agreement. That means amendments, side letters, purchase orders, invoices, bank records, and above all the emails and texts that show how each side behaved before and after the problem began. Courts look at the history of the parties’ dealings, and a contract that looks clean on its face can read very differently once the surrounding communications are in front of a judge. Preserve everything in its original form and stop deleting messages, even ones that seem unhelpful.

Next, read the contract for the provisions that control the fight: notice and cure requirements, attorney fee clauses, arbitration or mediation requirements, venue and governing law language, and any deadline for asserting a claim. Many agreements require written notice of default before a lawsuit, and skipping that step can hand the other side an easy argument. At the same time, identify which limitations period applies. A written contract claim generally has five years; an oral or implied one has four; fraud has four years from discovery with an outer cap of twelve; and a specific performance action must be brought within one year. If real property or an irreplaceable deal is involved, waiting even months can matter.

Where is the case heard? Disputes above the county court ceiling belong in circuit court, which for Plantation means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in and for Broward County, with the West Regional Courthouse located in Plantation. Smaller claims go to county civil court, and very small ones to small claims. Larger commercial cases may qualify for Broward’s complex business division, and contracts with diverse parties and sufficient value can sometimes land in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale. If money is disappearing or an asset is about to be moved, an emergency injunction may be the first filing rather than the last, and it is worth raising with counsel before the assets are gone.

Common mistakes are predictable. People send angry messages that characterize the contract differently than their own pleadings later will. They keep accepting partial performance without reserving their rights, or they stop performing their own side and hand the other party a counterclaim. They also assume an oral promise is worthless, when in fact it may be enforceable if timely pursued. A short, early review of the documents usually costs far less than repairing these errors later.

Remedies a Court Can Actually Deliver

A breach of contract judgment is usually money, but money is not the only tool. Compensatory damages aim to put the injured party where performance would have placed them, and they require proof tied to the contract, not just a sense of unfairness. Where the subject of the deal is unique, such as a particular commercial property, specific performance can compel the breaching party to complete the transaction, which is the relief the firm obtained after the Broward bench trial described above. Rescission unwinds a contract that was procured improperly and carries a four-year filing period. Injunctive relief, temporary or permanent, can stop a party from moving assets, violating a restrictive covenant, or disposing of property while the case proceeds.

Contract disputes between co-owners often reach beyond the breach itself. A broken operating agreement may support judicial dissolution of an LLC when members are deadlocked and irreparable injury is threatened, or when assets are being misappropriated or wasted. For corporations, shareholders may petition for dissolution on defined grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy out the petitioner at fair value, with a 60-day window to agree on terms. Courts can also appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing. These remedies often become leverage toward a negotiated buyout, which is frequently the practical resolution when two owners can no longer work together.

Questions About Breach of Contract Claims in Plantation

What counts as a breach of contract in Florida?

A breach occurs when a party fails to perform a duty the agreement requires without a legal excuse. The claim generally requires a valid contract, a material failure to perform, and damages resulting from that failure. Not every missed detail is material, and the difference often decides the case.

How long do I have to sue for breach of contract?

Five years for a contract founded on a written instrument, and four years for an oral or implied contract. Fraud claims have four years from discovery, capped at twelve, and a suit for specific performance must be brought within one year. The 2023 negligence reform did not change the written-contract period.

Does the contract have to be in writing to be enforceable?

No. Many oral agreements are enforceable, though certain categories, such as some real estate transactions, generally need a writing. Oral claims are harder to prove and have the shorter four-year period, so documenting the arrangement through later emails and payments matters.

What is specific performance, and when is it available?

It is a court order requiring a party to carry out the contract instead of paying damages. It is typically sought when the subject is unique, such as a particular piece of real estate. The one-year limitations period makes speed important.

Which court would hear my case if the other party is in Plantation?

Larger disputes go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Court in and for Broward County, and the West Regional Courthouse sits in Plantation. Smaller claims go to county civil court or small claims depending on amount. A contract may also dictate venue, so the agreement itself should be checked first.

Should I try mediation or arbitration before suing?

Often yes, and many contracts require it. Our attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and we choose the path most likely to reach your goal efficiently, not the one that drags a case out.

Can I recover my attorney fees?

Only if the contract or a statute provides for it. Many commercial agreements contain a prevailing-party fee clause, which can cut both ways, so it is worth understanding that language before filing or defending.

My business partner is taking money from the company. Is that a contract claim?

It can be several claims at once, including breach of the operating or shareholder agreement, breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, and recovery of funds. If assets are being moved, a court can be asked for emergency injunctive relief to stop it while the case proceeds.

What if I also failed to perform part of the contract?

That does not necessarily end your claim, but it will shape it. Expect the other side to raise your own breach as a defense or counterclaim. Candidly assessing your own performance early avoids surprises later.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Can you handle a Plantation contract dispute for me?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from those states with business or real estate interests in South Florida, handle the local court appearances, and keep you informed so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Can a landlord terminate a lease without going to court?

Not for a residential tenancy. For unpaid rent, a landlord must deliver written demand and wait three days, excluding weekends and court-observed legal holidays, before terminating. For other curable violations the notice gives seven days to correct. Commercial leases follow their own terms, so the lease language controls the process.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller contract dispute?

Sometimes a short review and a well-drafted demand letter resolves it. Amounts up to the small claims ceiling can be pursued with less formality, but the cost of counsel should be weighed against what is at stake. An early consultation can tell you honestly whether litigation makes economic sense.

Serving Plantation and Surrounding Broward County Contract Clients

We represent clients in Plantation, from neighborhoods near the Fashion Mall and along University Drive and Broward Boulevard to the residential sections that border Sunrise and Davie. Our reach extends throughout Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Davie, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Tamarac, Coral Springs, Margate, Coconut Creek, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Weston, and Cooper City. We also serve Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Royal Palm Beach, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests in the region. Whether the dispute involves a Plantation retail lease, a Fort Lauderdale partnership, or an investment property split between owners in different states, we bring the same file-level attention to the agreement.

Speak With a Plantation Breach of Contract Lawyer

When someone has broken a promise that your business, investment, or property depends on, the options narrow as deadlines pass and evidence ages. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreement, tell you plainly what claims and defenses exist, and recommend whether negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or a lawsuit is the better route. If you are looking for a Plantation breach of contract lawyer who will read the document closely and give you a realistic assessment, call our team to schedule a consultation.