Plantation Business Transactions Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team works with Plantation business owners, investors, and families who are buying, selling, structuring, or untangling companies and commercial property, serving clients across Broward County and Palm Beach County. Anyone searching for a Plantation business transactions attorney usually has a document in front of them that will govern the relationship for years: a purchase agreement, an operating agreement, a commercial lease, a loan package, or a buyout term sheet.

Most transaction problems are not created at the closing table. They are created by one vague sentence in a contract, a deal point that was settled by handshake and never written down, or a co-owner relationship that was never given an exit. The firm approaches transactional work with a litigator’s eye, because the lawyers drafting and negotiating your agreement have also been the ones standing in court when someone argues about what it meant.

That perspective shapes everything below: what a business transaction actually involves, where deals in Plantation tend to go wrong, what deadlines apply when they do, and how the courts in Broward County handle the disputes that follow.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Business Transactions

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in business and real estate matters throughout Broward County, Palm Beach County, and South Florida, including clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests here. Its founder, Andrew M. Schwartz, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989, has spent 37 years in litigation, and built his career around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among 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.

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. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file. Clients get a strict 24 hour return call policy when the lawyers are in court, and scheduled conference calls at times that work for everyone involved.

For transactional clients, the litigation background is the point. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of Andrew’s practice for his entire career, which means agreements are drafted knowing how a judge will read them. The firm’s record includes a recent five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court that ended in a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. That is the kind of outcome that depends on a contract being clear about what each side promised.

The firm also offers outside general counsel services, serving as a company’s registered agent and handling the contract, compliance, and operational questions that arise in the ordinary course of business. Having a litigator involved before a dispute starts often keeps a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit. The lawyers 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.

Transactions and Agreements Our Plantation Business Clients Bring Us

• Purchase and Sale of a Business: Asset sales versus equity sales, representations and warranties, indemnity, holdbacks, and what happens when the financials turn out different from what was presented.
• Operating Agreements and Shareholder Agreements: Management authority, capital contributions, distribution rules, transfer restrictions, and buyout or deadlock provisions that decide how an ownership split plays out.
• Commercial Leases: Retail, office, and warehouse space throughout Plantation and western Broward, including personal guaranties, build-out obligations, and default and termination provisions.
• Commercial Real Estate Purchase Contracts: Inspection and financing contingencies, closing deadlines, and the remedies available when a seller or buyer fails to close, including specific performance.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Promissory notes, security agreements, and personal guaranties that can follow an owner long after a business has changed hands.
• Construction and Contractor Agreements: Scope, payment schedules, change orders, and delay provisions for build-outs and development projects.
• Partner Buyouts and Exits: Valuation methods, payment terms, non-compete terms, and the paperwork that cleanly separates a departing owner from the company.
• Family and Closely Held Business Arrangements: Succession terms and ownership structures for siblings, spouses, parents, and children who share a company.

Where Deals Go Wrong and What the Law Says About Time Limits

Transaction disputes tend to cluster around a few failure points. The first is ambiguity: a clause that each side reads differently, discovered only when money is at stake. The second is the undocumented side promise, an assurance made during negotiations that never made it into the final agreement. The third is the missing exit. Co-owners who never agreed in writing on how to value or sell a stake are left arguing about it at the worst possible moment.

Once a deal does break, Florida’s time limits matter. A claim founded on a written contract generally must be filed within five years. A claim on an oral or implied contract has four years, as does an action to rescind a contract. A fraud claim has four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. These periods are why saved emails, signed drafts, and closing files are worth keeping.

Specific performance, where a court orders a party to complete a contract, such as closing on a commercial property, carries a much shorter one-year period. That is the remedy the firm obtained after trial in the Broward County commercial real estate case noted above, and it is a reminder that waiting to see whether a dispute resolves itself can cost you the strongest remedy. Also keep in mind that if your claim is against a professional such as an accountant or other adviser involved in the deal, the period is two years, running from when the problem was or should have been discovered.

What to Do When a Transaction Is Heading Toward a Dispute

Start by pulling together every document that touches the deal: the signed agreement, all drafts, the letter of intent, correspondence, closing statements, and financial records. If a counterparty is holding company funds or threatening to move assets, say so early, because courts can issue emergency injunctive relief to stop money or property from being moved or spent while the case is pending. That relief is far easier to obtain when the request is prompt and the paper trail is organized.

Do not sign amendments, releases, or new term sheets from the other side before a lawyer has read them, and be careful with informal written messages. A casual text conceding a point can show up as an exhibit later. Likewise, avoid taking unilateral steps, such as withholding payments or changing locks, without understanding what the agreement permits.

Next, read the dispute resolution language in your contract. Many agreements require mediation or arbitration before a lawsuit, or select a particular venue. If litigation is appropriate, the size of the claim determines the court. County court handles claims up to a set dollar limit that is adjusted periodically, and the circuit court hears the larger disputes, which covers most significant commercial cases. For Plantation, that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. The circuit also operates complex business divisions that handle large commercial cases and dissolutions of certain business entities, and a case can be filed directly into those divisions through the procedure set out in the circuit’s administrative order. The Broward court system includes a West Regional Courthouse located in Plantation itself, though where a particular case is heard depends on its type and size.

If the deal crosses county lines or involves property in Palm Beach County, that county sits within the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit instead. Federal court is available in the Southern District of Florida, which covers both counties, when the case meets the requirements for federal jurisdiction. The firm handles state and federal proceedings and can advise on which forum fits your dispute.

Finally, think about the relationship. Some disputes are best resolved by negotiation or mediation that keeps the business running. Others require a court. The right answer depends on your goals and your budget, and a frank early conversation usually clarifies which path makes sense.

When Co-Owners Cannot Agree: Dissolution and Buyout Options

Many business transactions end up as ownership disputes. For an LLC, Florida law allows a manager or member to ask the circuit court for judicial dissolution on specific grounds: the company’s affairs are conducted unlawfully; it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the articles and operating agreement; controlling managers or members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently; assets are being misappropriated or wasted, causing injury; or managers or members are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. Courts can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a buyout of the petitioning member’s interest.

One drafting point matters a great deal here. If your operating agreement contains a deadlock sale provision, such as a buy-sell mechanism, and it is started before the court finds deadlock grounds, that provision generally controls in place of a dissolution order or court-ordered buyout. A clause written years ago can decide how a dispute ends, which is why transaction documents deserve careful drafting.

For corporations, a shareholder may petition for dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can often elect to buy the petitioner’s shares at fair value instead. 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. Such an election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to set it aside or modify it. Courts in these proceedings can also issue injunctions and appoint a receiver or custodian to preserve company assets.

Co-owned real estate raises related issues. Florida’s partition statutes let a co-owner ask the court to divide property or order it sold and the proceeds divided. Heirs property, such as property held among relatives who inherited it, is governed by a separate act with added protections. The firm also handles quiet title actions when competing claims cloud ownership.

Plantation Business Transactions: Your Questions Answered

What does a business transactions attorney actually do?

A business transactions attorney drafts, reviews, and negotiates the agreements that create, transfer, or finance a business or its property. That includes purchase agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, leases, and loan documents, plus the advice needed to close the deal.

Should I hire a lawyer to review a contract before I sign it?

For anything involving meaningful money, ownership, or personal liability, yes. A review catches vague terms, one-sided remedies, and personal guaranties before they bind you, and it costs far less than litigating the same language afterward.

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

Five years for an action founded on a written instrument. Oral or implied contract claims have four years. Do not rely on these as a comfortable cushion, since evidence and witnesses can fade well before the deadline.

What is the deadline to seek specific performance of a contract?

One year. This remedy compels a party to complete the contract, for example to close on commercial property, and the short period means a buyer or seller who wants the deal itself rather than damages should not delay.

Can a court order my partner to buy me out of our LLC?

In a dissolution proceeding, a Florida court may order a purchase of a petitioning member’s interest on a showing of sufficient merit. Your operating agreement may also contain buyout or deadlock sale terms that apply first, so the document matters as much as the statute.

Does a business transaction dispute have to go to court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and many contracts require one of those steps first. The firm’s lawyers are experienced in both alternative dispute resolution and courtroom litigation.

What if my business partner is moving money out of the company?

You may have claims for breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of funds. Where assets are at immediate risk, a court can issue emergency injunctive relief to stop them from being moved or spent during the case.

Which Broward court handles a large commercial dispute from Plantation?

Claims above the county court limit go to the circuit court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. Large business disputes may be directed to its complex business divisions under the circuit’s administrative procedure.

Do I need a Florida lawyer if I live in New York or New Jersey?

If your business, partner, or property is in South Florida, Florida law and Florida courts will likely control. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, handling local court appearances so they do not have to travel for every hearing.

Does having a general counsel reduce the chance of being sued?

It often does. Regular legal review of contracts, compliance, and operational decisions tends to surface problems while they are still cheap to fix. The firm’s general counsel program includes serving as the company’s registered agent.

What is the difference between a business transaction matter and a business litigation matter?

Transactions create and document the deal; litigation resolves it when someone says the deal was broken. Because the same firm handles both, the people drafting your agreement understand how it will hold up if challenged.

Serving Plantation Business Transactions Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

Clients also come from Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Coconut Creek, Margate, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, and Parkland, along with neighboring Cooper City and Lauderdale Lakes.

The firm’s reach continues north into Palm Beach County, serving Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and the communities around them. Throughout South Florida, the firm also works with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business interests or real estate here and need a Florida lawyer to handle the deal and any dispute that follows.

Speak With a Plantation Business Transactions Lawyer Today

Whether you are about to sign a significant agreement or are already dealing with a deal that has gone sideways, the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your documents and explain where you stand. As a Plantation business transactions lawyer team serving Broward and Palm Beach Counties, the firm will give you a practical assessment and a path that fits your goals and your budget. Call to schedule a consultation.