Pompano Beach Business Attorney

Most business owners who call a lawyer about a dispute want one of three things: to get paid, to get out, or to keep what they built from being taken apart while the argument plays out. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that helps owners, investors, and families reach those outcomes, serving clients in Pompano Beach, throughout Broward County, and across Palm Beach County. If you are searching for a Pompano Beach business attorney, the right fit depends on what kind of problem you have, because a contract dispute, a partner who stopped answering questions about the books, and a co-owned building nobody can agree on each call for a different strategy.

Pompano Beach sits in Broward County, so civil cases here are filed in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County. Federal claims go to the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Knowing which forum applies, and whether your case belongs in a complex business division, is one of the first decisions a litigator makes, and it shapes how fast and how expensively your case moves.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Business Disputes Near Pompano Beach

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation, much of it centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. The firm serves clients in Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, and throughout Broward and Palm Beach Counties, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own businesses or real estate here.

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 works as a true team, so everyone on your matter knows your file, and there is a strict 24 hour return call policy if the attorneys are in court when you call. Mr. Schwartz’s view is that clients usually start out wanting the most aggressive lawyer available and end up wanting one who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do. That means looking for the resolution that fits your goals and budget, whether through mediation, arbitration, or a courtroom, rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

Trial results matter when you are choosing a litigator. After a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the firm obtained a 32-page final judgment awarding its client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. For a business owner whose deal fell apart at closing, that is the kind of outcome that makes a contract worth more than a damages check.

Common Business Disputes a Pompano Beach Business Lawyer Handles

• Business Divorce: Co-owners who can no longer work together face deadlocked management, valuation fights, and buyout negotiations. The firm represents partners, LLC members, shareholders, and minority owners in these separations, whether they end in a negotiated buyout, a wind-down, or court-ordered dissolution.
• Breach of Operating or Shareholder Agreements: These cases turn on exact wording and on how the owners actually behaved over time. Missed capital calls, ignored voting provisions, and unauthorized related-party deals are typical triggers.
• Missing or Diverted Funds: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, disputed capital contributions, and managers who cannot account for company money support claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of the funds.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, construction contracts, and other significant business arrangements. The firm builds these cases around the document language and the course of dealing between the parties.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different visions, or in-laws who share ownership. These cases involve control and compensation, and they call for discretion alongside firm protection of your finances.
• Partition and Title Disputes: Co-owners of real estate who cannot agree on a sale or use can seek partition, and owners facing competing ownership claims can bring quiet title actions to clear the record.
• Commercial Real Estate Disputes: Failed closings, purchase and sale contract fights, and landlord and tenant conflicts, including claims to force a seller to complete a deal.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions to stop assets from being moved or spent, or to protect property and business interests while the case is pending.

What to Do When a Business Dispute Is Already Underway

Start by getting the paper together before anything else changes. That means the operating agreement or shareholder agreement and every amendment, the articles of organization or incorporation, tax returns, bank and credit card statements, loan documents, and the emails and texts where the disagreement played out. If a partner controls the accounting system, ask now for access and copies, and note any refusal in writing. Do not delete anything, even messages that make you uncomfortable, and do not take company records home in a way that could later be portrayed as improper. A lawyer can tell you what you are entitled to see and how to get it.

Next, check the clock. Florida gives five years to sue on a written contract and four years on an oral or implied one. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. A suit to rescind a contract has four years. A claim for specific performance has only one year, which catches people off guard when a real estate closing collapses and they spend months negotiating before calling a lawyer. Professional malpractice claims run two years from when they were or should have been discovered, and negligence claims are also two years for causes of action arising after March 24, 2023. Waiting rarely helps your position.

Be careful about self-help. Locking a partner out, moving money to a new account, or telling customers the business is closing can create counterclaims even if you were right about the underlying problem. If assets are actually leaving the company, though, speed matters, and a court can issue injunctive relief to freeze the situation while the case proceeds. In a Pompano Beach matter, that request is made in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, and the type and size of your case determine the division. Broward also has complex business divisions that handle matters such as the dissolution of certain business entities and large business and construction litigation, and a case can be filed directly into one under the circuit’s administrative procedure.

Finally, consider whether the relationship can be rescued before you file. A lot of these disputes settle once both sides see a realistic valuation and a fair exit. Mediation or arbitration can get there faster and more privately than a trial, and Mr. Schwartz’s team is experienced in both. If it cannot be saved, an early, organized filing usually beats a reactive one.

How Florida Law Lets Owners Separate or Break a Deadlock

Florida’s LLC statute lists specific grounds on which a member or manager can ask a circuit court to dissolve the company. They include conducting all or substantially all of the company’s activities unlawfully, the impracticality of operating in line with the articles and operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that injures the company, and a deadlock among managers or members that cannot be broken while irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. On a showing of sufficient merit, the court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest. One wrinkle: if your operating agreement contains a deadlock sale provision and it is started before the court finds deadlock, that provision applies in place of a dissolution order.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder can petition for judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, including a corporation that has abandoned its business and failed to wind up within a reasonable time. The corporation or the other shareholders can respond by electing to buy out the petitioner at fair value, and if the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order on those terms. That election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it. Within 30 days of a dissolution petition under the main shareholder grounds, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they may avoid dissolution by buying out the petitioner. Courts in these cases can issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take steps to preserve company assets while the case is pending.

Real estate co-ownership has its own path. A partition action is brought in chancery, and the complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the land can be divided fairly. If it cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court can order a public sale and split the proceeds in proportion to ownership. Where the property is heirs property, meaning it passed through relatives and meets the statutory conditions, the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act governs and adds protections that make a forced sale harder. For competing ownership claims, a quiet title action asks the court to cancel a clouded conveyance and declare who holds title, and the plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring a Business Attorney in Pompano Beach

When should a Pompano Beach business owner call a litigation attorney?

Call when you first see a pattern: a partner stops sharing financial information, distributions stop without explanation, or a counterparty breaches a contract. Early advice can preserve evidence, preserve claims within the deadlines, and sometimes resolve the problem before anyone files.

What is a business divorce?

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

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

Five years for a contract founded on a written instrument and four years for an oral or implied contract. A claim for specific performance has a one-year period, so a failed real estate deal needs prompt attention.

Can I force a partner out of my LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and the partner’s conduct. Many agreements include buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law gives remedies for serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. A lawyer should read your agreement before you act.

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 the funds. If assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can issue emergency injunctive relief while the case is pending.

Do business disputes always end up in court?

No. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The right path depends on your goals, the strength of your documents, and whether the other side is willing to deal realistically.

Which court would hear my Pompano Beach business case?

State court cases are filed in Broward County. Disputes above the county court limit go to the circuit court, and small claims handle the lowest-value cases. Some qualifying matters can be directed into a complex business division, and federal claims go to the Southern District of Florida.

What happens to the business while a dissolution case is pending?

Usually it keeps operating. A court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, issue injunctions to preserve assets, or order a buyout instead of dissolution, depending on the grounds and the evidence.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my partner and I are still on speaking terms?

Often, yes. Having an attorney review the operating agreement, plan a negotiated exit, or document a buyout can keep a disagreement from turning into a lawsuit. The firm also offers outside general counsel services, including acting as your registered agent.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut but own a Pompano Beach business or property. Can you represent me?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from the tri-state area whose partners or co-owners are in South Florida. The firm handles local court appearances and keeps you informed, so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Can another attorney refer me or my client to your firm?

Yes. A significant part of the firm’s practice comes from referrals by other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes. The firm communicates with referring counsel throughout and respects that relationship.

If I co-own a property with a former partner, can I force a sale?

A co-owner can ask the court for partition, either dividing the property or ordering a sale with proceeds shared according to ownership interests. Whether a sale or division is appropriate depends on the property and the parties, and heirs property has additional rules.

Representing Pompano Beach Business Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

The firm’s work for Pompano Beach clients extends from the city’s commercial corridors and waterfront areas through Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Coconut Creek, Margate, Coral Springs, and Parkland, and south toward Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, and Hollywood. Business owners and investors throughout Broward County bring disputes that can be heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit or the Southern District of Florida in Fort Lauderdale.

The team also serves clients north across Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, West Palm Beach, and the surrounding communities, where cases are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit or in the federal courthouse in West Palm Beach. Whether the dispute involves a Pompano Beach storefront, a Fort Lauderdale investment property, or a company with owners in several counties, the team can litigate where the case belongs. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with South Florida business or real estate interests are welcome as well.

Talk With a Pompano Beach Business Litigation Attorney Today

When a partner, a contract, or a piece of property puts your finances at risk, a conversation with a Pompano Beach business litigation attorney can clarify your options before deadlines and decisions close them off. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team will review your documents, explain where you stand, and recommend the path that fits your goals and budget. Call us to schedule a consultation.