Plantation Business Litigation Attorney

Plantation sits in Broward County, and a business dispute filed here lands in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which maintains a complex business division for the kinds of cases that do not fit on an ordinary civil docket: entity dissolutions, large commercial disputes, and construction litigation. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families in Plantation and across Broward and Palm Beach Counties, and a Plantation business litigation attorney should know which court a case belongs in before a complaint is drafted.

The disputes that reach a litigator tend to follow a pattern. Two co-owners stop agreeing on direction, or one stops telling the other where the money went. A purchase contract falls apart weeks before closing. A lease, a loan document, or an operating agreement is read two different ways by the two people who signed it. In each situation the written agreement, the deadline clock, and the choice of court all shape what can realistically be won, and some of those decisions are made in the first weeks.

Dissolution, Deadlock, and Buyout Rights Under Florida Law

Many of the most consequential Plantation business cases are really about how owners separate. For an LLC, Florida law gives a member or manager grounds to ask a circuit court for dissolution in several situations: the company’s affairs are being run unlawfully, it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the articles and operating agreement, controlling members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, company assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or the owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. When a petition shows sufficient merit, the court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing with notice to the parties, or order the company or other members to buy out the petitioner.

Operating agreements matter enormously here. If an agreement contains a deadlock sale mechanism, such as a buy-sell or shoot-out provision, and that mechanism is started before the court finds that deadlock grounds exist, it can displace judicial dissolution and a court-ordered purchase. A member who files first without reading the agreement may give up leverage, and one who ignores the agreement may find the other side has already triggered it.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder petitioning for judicial dissolution can find the case redirected into a buyout: the corporation, or one or more other shareholders, may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms; otherwise the court determines fair value. The corporation must notify the other shareholders within 30 days of the filing that they may avoid dissolution by buying the petitioner out, and an election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside. During the case, the court can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take steps to preserve corporate assets.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Plantation Business 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 Plantation, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, and has practiced litigation in Florida since then. He holds an undergraduate degree from Emory University and a law degree from the University of Miami. His career has been built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders.

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 South Florida, where a dispute among Broward owners can end up in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit or the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida depending on the parties and claims.

The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on a matter knows the file and can answer when a client calls, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court. Trial experience is part of the record: after a 5-day bench trial, the Broward County Circuit Court 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 the firm aims for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Other lawyers refer a significant share of the firm’s work, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes.

Business Disputes We Handle for Plantation Owners and Investors

• Business Divorce: Deadlocked management, valuation fights, buyouts, structured wind-downs, and judicial dissolution among partners, LLC members, and shareholders, including minority owners who are being frozen out.
• Breach of Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Disputes that turn on the exact wording of the agreement, amendments, and the history of how the owners actually dealt with each other.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, construction contracts, and other significant business arrangements where performance or interpretation is contested.
• Missing Funds and Fiduciary Breach: Unpaid distributions, diverted company money, commingled accounts, and managers who cannot account for funds, with claims for an accounting and recovery.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions, including early relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while a case is pending.
• Partition Actions and Title Disputes: Co-owners of real estate, including former business partners, heirs, and investors, who need property divided or sold, plus quiet title actions to clear competing ownership claims.
• Failed Closings and Landlord-Tenant Disputes: Purchase and sale contract breakdowns, specific performance claims, and commercial or residential lease conflicts.
• Family Business Conflicts: Siblings, parents and children, or in-laws who share ownership and disagree about control, compensation, and succession.

Deadlines, Courts, and First Steps When a Dispute Breaks Out

Start with the clock. A claim on a written contract carries a five-year limitations period; contract claims not founded on a written instrument carry four years, as do actions to rescind. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer cap of 12 years. Negligence claims were cut to two years in 2023, and professional malpractice claims run two years from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Specific performance of a contract is the unusual one: the action must be brought within one year. A buyer or seller who waits to see whether a failed closing will fix itself can lose the remedy entirely.

Next, gather the paper. Collect the operating agreement or shareholder agreement and every amendment, the contract in dispute, bank and ledger records, tax filings, emails and texts about the disagreement, and any written notices. If you suspect money is leaving the company, record what you can see and avoid taking company records or accessing accounts you are not authorized to use; self-help often creates counterclaims. Where assets are at immediate risk, emergency injunctive relief may be the first filing rather than the last.

Choosing the court matters too. Broward cases go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which operates complex business and tort divisions. A case can be filed directly into a complex division only under that circuit’s administrative order, with a form submitted to the Clerk at filing, and the Clerk then randomly assigns it to a division. The circuit also hears matters at regional courthouses, including the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation. Cases with federal jurisdiction go to the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, among other cities.

The most common mistakes are waiting too long, signing a buyout or settlement term sheet without reviewing valuation methodology, and answering a demand letter in writing before counsel has seen it. A short consultation early often changes how a negotiation unfolds.

Partition and Quiet Title: When Co-Owners of Property Cannot Agree

Real estate disputes frequently grow out of business ones. When former partners, siblings, or investors hold property together and cannot agree, partition actions are heard in chancery. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and their residences, and state each owner’s share. After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three commissioners to determine whether the land can be divided fairly. If division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale to the highest bidder and distribute the proceeds by ownership share. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, though at least one-third of the price must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Heirs property gets different treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to cotenants who acquired title from relatives, where qualifying conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. In those cases, partition in kind is favored unless commissioners find it would prejudice the cotenants as a group.

Quiet title is the other side of the coin. A person claiming legal or equitable title can ask the court to determine ownership and remove a cloud created by a conveyance or competing claim. The plaintiff generally must deraign title for at least seven years before filing, and the case can be filed in any county where part of the land lies. Adverse possession claims bring their own requirements, including seven years of continuous possession and, without color of title, a claim not founded on a written instrument.

Plantation Business Litigation Questions, Answered

What is a business divorce?

It is the separation of co-owners of a company, whether partners, LLC members, or shareholders. It can end through a negotiated buyout, a sale of the business, a structured wind-down, or court-ordered dissolution when the owners cannot agree.

Can I force a business partner out of an LLC in Florida?

It depends on the operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides court remedies when a member’s conduct is serious or the company can no longer function. An attorney needs to read the agreement before advising on options.

What can I do if a partner is taking money from the business?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of funds. In urgent situations a court can issue injunctive relief to prevent assets from being moved or spent while the case proceeds.

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

Five years for a claim founded on a written instrument, and four years for oral or implied contracts. Recent changes to the negligence deadline did not alter the written-contract period.

Is there a different deadline if I want the court to force a sale or closing?

Yes. An action for specific performance must be brought within one year, much shorter than an ordinary contract claim. Anyone trying to enforce a real estate contract should act quickly.

What happens when LLC owners are truly deadlocked?

If the operating agreement has a deadlock sale provision and it is started before the court finds deadlock grounds, that provision controls. Otherwise a court can order dissolution, appoint a receiver or custodian, or direct a buyout of the petitioning member, after the required hearing.

Can the other owners avoid dissolution by buying me out?

In a corporation, yes. The company or other shareholders can elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value within 60 days of the first election, the court enters an order on those terms, and the election is irrevocable unless the court sets it aside.

Which court would hear my Plantation business dispute?

Typically the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit for Broward County, with smaller claims in county court and certain cases eligible for the circuit’s complex business divisions. Federal claims go to the Southern District of Florida.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a Broward business. Do I need to travel for hearings?

Generally not for routine matters. The firm represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, handles local court appearances, and keeps out of state clients informed at each stage.

Is it worth litigating a smaller dispute, or should I negotiate?

Often negotiation or mediation produces a better net result when the amount at stake is modest relative to fees. A lawyer can assess whether a demand letter, mediation, or filing offers the best return, and the firm aims for cost-effective outcomes rather than litigation for its own sake.

Can a partner be stopped from moving assets before a judgment?

Possibly. Courts can issue temporary injunctions and, in dissolution cases, appoint a receiver or custodian to preserve assets. These requests move quickly and depend on documented evidence of risk.

Do you work with other attorneys on referrals?

Yes. A significant part of the firm’s practice comes from referrals, including out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes, and the firm keeps referring counsel informed throughout.

Serving Business Litigation Clients From Plantation Across South Florida

From Plantation, our team represents owners and investors throughout western and central Broward County, including Sunrise, Davie, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Tamarac, and Weston, and across the county in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Hollywood, Hallandale Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Pompano Beach. Business disputes rarely respect county lines, so the firm also handles matters in Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and neighboring communities.

Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses or real estate here are welcome as well, whether the other owner lives in Plantation or elsewhere in South Florida.

Talk With a Plantation Business Litigation Lawyer Before Deadlines Run

If a partner, co-owner, or contract counterparty has put your company, investment, or property at risk, speak with a Plantation business litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team. A conversation about your agreement, your timeline, and your options costs little compared with a missed deadline. Call to discuss your situation and what a realistic path forward looks like.