Pompano Beach Business Litigation Attorney

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in Pompano Beach and across Broward County who are caught in disputes over contracts, co-ownership, company money, and real property. When a Pompano Beach business litigation attorney is needed, it is usually because a relationship that once ran on a handshake has stopped working: a partner has gone silent, distributions have dried up, a buyer has walked away from a closing, or a co-owner of a building will not agree to sell.

Pompano Beach is a market built on small operating companies, marine and commercial property, restaurants, contractors, medical practices, and investment real estate held in LLCs. Those structures work until the owners disagree. Then the questions that were never answered on paper become the whole case: who controls the company, what the operating agreement really says, where the money went, and who has the right to the property.

Many of these fights have a clock on them. Written-contract claims in Florida carry a five-year limitations period, while oral and implied contract claims carry four, and a suit seeking specific performance of a contract has just one year. Knowing which deadline applies to your dispute is one of the first things worth sorting out.

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

The Andrew M. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He is a graduate of Emory University (1986) and the University of Miami School of Law (1989), and his career has centered on complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts among partners, LLC members, and shareholders. He is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience handling business and real estate cases in state and federal courts.

The firm practices as a true legal team, meaning everyone working on a matter knows the file and can answer when a client calls. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court, and the staff schedules conference calls at times that work for everyone involved. Clients serving a business in Pompano Beach, Fort Lauderdale, or elsewhere in Broward and Palm Beach Counties get a team that can respond quickly when a dispute is moving fast.

Recent results reflect the kind of work the firm does. After a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Specific performance, an order that a party actually carry out the deal, is a demanding remedy, and it depends on careful preparation of the contract record and the parties’ history of dealings.

The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and it looks for the resolution that fits a client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake. Andrew Schwartz’s own view is that clients rarely need a hyper-aggressive lawyer; they need one who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do.

Business Disputes We Handle for Pompano Beach Owners and Investors

• Business Divorce: Co-owners who can no longer work together may need a negotiated buyout, a sale, a structured wind-down, or court-ordered dissolution. Deadlocked management and valuation fights are the usual flashpoints.
• Partner and LLC Member Disputes: Claims for breach of an operating agreement or shareholder agreement, and breach of fiduciary duty by a manager or controlling owner who puts personal interest ahead of the company.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, construction contracts, and operating agreements. These cases often turn on exact wording and the course of dealing between the parties.
• Missing Funds and Accounting Claims: Unpaid distributions, diverted company money, commingled accounts, and disputed capital contributions, with claims for an accounting and recovery of funds.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions to stop assets from being moved, spent, or encumbered while the case is pending.
• Partition Actions: Former partners, heirs, and unmarried co-owners who need a court to divide property or order it sold and split the proceeds.
• Title Disputes and Quiet Title: Actions to clear competing ownership claims or remove a cloud on title, including claims arising from a questionable conveyance.
• Failed Closings and Lease Disputes: Purchase and sale contract breaches, plus landlord and tenant conflicts involving commercial and residential property.

What to Do When a Business Dispute Is Already Underway

Start by gathering the documents that define the relationship: the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, the articles of organization or incorporation, any buy-sell or deadlock provision, the contract in dispute, and bank and accounting records. A deadlock sale clause in an operating agreement can matter a great deal; under Florida’s LLC statute, one that is initiated before a court finds deadlock grounds applies in place of a judicial dissolution order. Do not delete emails or texts, and do not move company funds yourself to “protect” them, which can create problems of its own.

Next, pin down the deadline. A claim on a written contract has five years, an oral or implied contract claim has four, and fraud has four years from discovery with an outer cap of 12 years. Negligence claims, including many professional malpractice claims, run two years for causes of action that accrued after the 2023 change. A specific performance claim has only one year, which surprises people who assume they have the full contract period. If money is leaving the company, move quickly. A court can issue injunctive relief and, in dissolution cases, can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing with notice to the parties. Waiting weeks to see whether a partner “comes around” is a common mistake, and it can leave nothing left to recover.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount and the claims. County courts hear actions at law up to the county court limit, with small claims below that, and circuit courts hear larger disputes. For a Pompano Beach business, a case in state court will generally be heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Broward County, and the circuit’s complex business division handles matters such as dissolutions of certain business entities and large business and construction litigation. Some disputes belong in federal court, and the Southern District of Florida holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. Not every case needs a courtroom, though. Many resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and an early look at your agreement will often show which path is realistic.

How Florida Law Treats Dissolution, Buyouts, and Co-Owned Property

When owners cannot continue together, Florida gives a court real tools. For an LLC, a manager or member may seek judicial dissolution on several grounds, including that it is not reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement, that controlling managers or members have acted or are expected to act illegally or fraudulently, that assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or that the owners are deadlocked and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. In those proceedings a court can appoint a receiver or custodian, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations work somewhat differently. In a shareholder’s dissolution proceeding, the corporation or the other shareholders can elect to buy the petitioner’s 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 directing the purchase. That election is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify it. The corporation must also notify the other shareholders within 30 days that they may avoid dissolution by electing to buy. Courts in these cases can issue injunctions and preserve corporate assets while the dispute proceeds.

Co-owned real estate follows its own rules. Partition actions are brought in chancery under Chapter 64. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners, and if the land cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order it sold at public auction and divide the proceeds by ownership interest. Property inherited by relatives may qualify as heirs property, which brings additional protections under the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act before any forced sale.

Quiet title actions allow a person claiming legal or equitable title to ask the court to determine ownership and remove a cloud caused by a competing claim or conveyance. A plaintiff generally must trace title back at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise, and the suit may be filed in any county where part of the land lies.

Questions Pompano Beach Business Owners Ask

What is a business divorce?

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

Can I force a partner out of my Florida LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and the partner’s conduct. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law offers remedies when a member has engaged in serious misconduct or the company cannot function. Reviewing the agreement is the first step.

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 cases a court can order injunctive relief to stop assets from being moved or spent while the dispute is pending.

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

Five years for a written contract and four years for an oral or implied one. Some related claims differ: a suit for specific performance has one year, and a fraud claim has four years from discovery, capped at 12 years overall.

Does every business dispute end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. The right path depends on what the agreement requires, what is at stake, and whether assets are at risk in the meantime.

How does a partition action work in Florida?

The court can divide jointly owned property or, when division is impractical, order it sold and distribute the proceeds. Commissioners are appointed to evaluate whether the land can be divided fairly, and heirs property gets additional procedural protections.

My operating agreement has a deadlock sale clause. Do I have to use it?

Not necessarily, but timing matters. If a deadlock sale provision is initiated before the court finds deadlock grounds, it applies in place of a judicial dissolution order or a court-ordered buyout. Because the provision can control the outcome, it is worth having counsel read it before you file anything.

Can I file for judicial dissolution without losing my right to a buyout?

Often, yes. For corporations, filing on certain grounds does not affect a shareholder’s right to start an available deadlock sale provision, and the other side may elect to buy your shares at fair value instead of facing dissolution. How these options interact depends on the entity type and your agreement.

Which court would hear a business case from Pompano Beach?

Most are filed in the state circuit court sitting in and for Broward County, which is the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and larger or more complex business matters may be assigned to its complex business division. Disputes with federal jurisdiction can be heard in the Southern District of Florida.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a stake in a Broward business. Can you still help?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida. The team handles local court appearances and keeps you informed, so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Do you work with other attorneys on referred matters?

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

Serving Business Litigation Clients Across Pompano Beach and South Florida

The firm works with clients in Pompano Beach and throughout Broward County, including Lighthouse Point, Deerfield Beach, Coconut Creek, Margate, Coral Springs, Parkland, Oakland Park, Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Sunrise, Tamarac, Hollywood, and Hallandale Beach. To the north, the firm serves Palm Beach County communities such as Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach.

Whether the dispute involves a marine business, a commercial building, a family company, or an investment property held among partners, the firm brings the same attention to the agreement, the money, and the property. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own interests in South Florida are also served, with local appearances handled so they can protect their position from a distance.

Talk With a Pompano Beach Business Litigation Lawyer

If a partner, co-owner, or counterparty is putting your company, your investment, or your property at risk, speak with a Pompano Beach business litigation lawyer before positions harden or deadlines pass. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review your agreements, explain the options under Florida law, and recommend the path that fits your goals and budget. Call to schedule a consultation.