Royal Palm Beach Business Litigation Attorney

The deadline that catches business owners off guard is often not the one on the contract. A claim on a written agreement carries one limitations period, an oral deal another, a fraud claim a third, and a demand for specific performance of a real estate contract carries the shortest of all. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate disputes for owners, investors, and families in Royal Palm Beach and across Palm Beach County and Broward County, and a Royal Palm Beach business litigation attorney has to know which clock is running before anything else gets decided.

Royal Palm Beach sits in the heart of the western communities, where small companies, medical and professional practices, shopping center tenants, contractors, and family-owned businesses make up much of the commercial base. When co-owners stop agreeing, when a partner’s accounting stops adding up, or when a purchase contract falls apart before closing, the dispute rarely stays quiet for long. The cases are decided on the wording of the operating agreement or contract, the paper trail behind it, and how quickly the right relief is requested from the court.

Our work centers on the disputes that cost business owners the most: partner and member conflicts, business divorce, complex contract litigation, missing company funds, partition and title disputes, and emergency injunctions. Below is how those cases actually work under Florida law, what to do in the first days, and what to expect from the courts that hear them.

The Deadlines That Control a Florida Business Dispute

Florida sets different filing periods for different kinds of claims, and choosing the wrong theory or waiting too long can end a strong case before it starts. A lawsuit on a contract, obligation, or liability founded on a written instrument must be filed within five years. A claim on an oral or implied contract has four years. A suit to rescind a contract also has four years. Fraud carries four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of twelve years. Negligence claims, including many claims against outside professionals, run only two years, and a professional malpractice claim not involving medicine has a two-year period that begins when the claim was or should have been discovered with reasonable diligence. The 2023 reform that shortened the negligence period did not touch the five-year written-contract period or the four-year period for intentional torts.

The most unforgiving deadline belongs to real estate buyers and sellers. An action for specific performance, which asks a court to compel a party to complete a contract rather than pay damages, must be brought within one year. A buyer who spends months negotiating after a seller walks away from a commercial closing can lose the remedy that matters most. Judgments are different: an action on a Florida court judgment can be brought within twenty years, which matters when a debtor has gone quiet and assets surface later.

Because one set of facts can support several claims with different clocks, the first job in any new case is mapping every viable theory against its deadline. A breach of an operating agreement, a breach of fiduciary duty, and a fraud claim arising from the same conduct may expire on different dates.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Business Litigation Near Royal Palm Beach

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 Royal Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County. Founder Andrew M. Schwartz has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. His career has been built around 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.

Andrew is joined by Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That matters in this region, where a dispute can end up in a Palm Beach or Broward circuit court or, depending on the claims and the parties, in the Southern District of Florida. The firm practices 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 and cannot answer right away.

The firm’s results include a recent matter in which, after a five-day bench trial, a Broward County Circuit Court judge entered a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration and looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Clients who live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut but own a business or property here can rely on the firm to handle the local court appearances, and a good share of our work arrives through referrals from other attorneys.

Business and Real Estate Disputes We Handle for Royal Palm Beach Clients

• Business Divorce and Partner Disputes: Deadlocked management, disputes over contributions and profit splits, and one owner acting for his or her own benefit can freeze a company. We represent partners, LLC members, shareholders, and minority owners in buyouts, valuation fights, and judicial dissolution.
• Operating Agreement and Shareholder Agreement Breaches: Many disputes turn on buyout formulas, transfer restrictions, voting rights, and deadlock provisions already written into the governing documents, and the exact language often decides the case.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Managers, controlling members, and majority shareholders owe duties to the company and its owners. Self-dealing, undisclosed side arrangements, and favoring one owner over another can support claims for damages and an accounting.
• Missing Funds and Accounting Claims: Unpaid distributions, commingled accounts, diverted company money, and disputed capital contributions call for forensic reconstruction of where the money went and, when needed, emergency orders freezing further transfers.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, construction contracts, and operating agreements are enforced or defended based on precise wording and the parties’ course of dealing.
• Partition Actions and Title Disputes: Co-owners who cannot agree on a shared property, including former business partners, heirs, and unmarried couples, can ask the court to divide the land or order a sale. We also handle quiet title actions to clear competing ownership claims.
• Real Estate Contract and Closing Disputes: Failed closings, defaults on purchase and sale contracts, and landlord and tenant disputes in commercial and residential property often call for fast action given the short specific performance deadline.
• Temporary and Permanent Injunctions: When assets, property, or business operations are in danger while a case is pending, early and emergency injunctive relief can preserve the status quo.

What to Do in the First Days of a Business Dispute

Start by securing documents before the other side controls them. Gather the operating or shareholder agreement and every amendment, the purchase or lease contract, bank and credit card statements, tax returns, financial statements, and the emails and texts that show how the parties actually dealt with one another. If you are a minority owner or a member who has been shut out, request company records in writing; the response, or the refusal, becomes part of the case. Avoid deleting anything, confronting a partner in writing in ways you would not want a judge to read, or signing a new agreement, release, or buyout offer without having it reviewed.

Next, identify which deadlines apply, as described above, and whether anything cannot wait for a final judgment. If a partner is moving funds or an asset is about to be sold or encumbered, the immediate question is whether to seek an injunction. In a judicial dissolution proceeding, a court may appoint a receiver or custodian, but only after notice and a hearing, so evidence of misappropriation or waste should be organized quickly. Check the operating or shareholder agreement for a deadlock sale or buy-sell mechanism as well; in some cases, whichever side triggers that mechanism first determines whether the court’s dissolution remedies or the contractual process controls.

For forum, remember that circuit court hears disputes above the county court ceiling, and county court handles claims in the middle range up to that ceiling. Disputes involving Royal Palm Beach businesses typically belong in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, which is based at the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, with a clerk’s branch serving Royal Palm Beach itself. If the other owners, the property, or the contract tie the dispute to Broward County, the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward may be the proper venue, and that circuit operates complex business divisions that take large business and construction cases and certain entity dissolutions. Some disputes also belong in federal court in the Southern District of Florida, which sits in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Choosing the right court early avoids a costly transfer fight later.

The most common mistakes are waiting while a partner continues to drain the company, continuing to accept benefits under an agreement while claiming it was breached, relying on a verbal understanding the written agreement contradicts, and letting a deadline pass while negotiating. Many disputes still resolve through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and a well-prepared litigation position is often what makes that resolution possible.

How Florida Law Ends a Failed Business Partnership

When owners cannot continue together, Florida’s statutes give a court real tools. For limited liability companies, a manager or member can seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include conduct that is unlawful, a business that cannot reasonably be carried on under its articles and operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets causing injury, or a management deadlock that cannot be broken and threatens irreparable injury to the company. A court that finds sufficient merit may appoint a receiver or custodian or order that the company purchase the petitioning member’s interest instead of dissolving.

For corporations, a shareholder can petition for dissolution on similar grounds, including abandonment of the business without a reasonable effort to liquidate. A feature worth knowing is the buyout election: the corporation, or other shareholders if it does not act, may elect to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within sixty days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms, and the election generally cannot be withdrawn unless the court finds that fair. The corporation must also notify the other shareholders within thirty days of the filing that they may avoid dissolution by purchasing. While the case is pending, a court may issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve assets.

Valuation is where these cases are won or lost. A minority owner who is squeezed out, a partner who contributed capital but received no distributions, and a founder whose co-owner is diverting revenue all need a credible number, and the process of arriving at it shapes settlement as much as the trial itself. Where the relationship can be saved, we work to resolve the dispute in a way that keeps the business running. Where it cannot, we help clients separate on fair terms through a negotiated buyout, a structured wind-down, or litigation.

Partition and Quiet Title for Co-Owned Property

Partition actions in Florida proceed in chancery under Chapter 64. The complaint must describe the land, name the owners and where they live, state what share each holds, and include whatever else the court needs to decide the parties’ rights. After a judgment of partition, the court appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree. If the commissioners report that the property cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order a sale at public auction and divide the proceeds in proportion to each owner’s interest. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets special treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition cases filed on or after July 1, 2020, to real property held as tenants in common where no binding agreement governs partition, at least one cotenant acquired title from a relative, and further conditions are met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. When the act applies, a court may not order partition in kind unless the commissioners have weighed the statutory factors and found that dividing the land would prejudice the cotenants as a group. Heirs, siblings, and investors who inherited or co-purchased property should know which regime governs before deciding whether to seek a sale or a buyout.

Quiet title actions address a different problem: competing claims or a cloud on ownership. Chapter 65 allows a person claiming legal or equitable title to ask the court to determine title and cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title held by someone who is not the rightful owner. The suit may be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and a plaintiff must generally trace title for at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise. Adverse possession claims require, with or without color of title, seven years of continuous possession, and a claim based on color of title requires the underlying instrument to have been recorded in the county where the property sits.

Questions Royal Palm 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 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 your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides remedies when a member has engaged in serious misconduct or when the company can no longer function. We review the agreement first and then explain which paths are available.

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. In urgent situations 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 over a breach of contract?

For a contract founded on a written instrument the period is five years; for an oral or implied contract it is four. A request for specific performance of a real estate contract must be filed within one year, so that remedy can expire long before a damages claim does.

Will a court dissolve my LLC if my co-owner and I are deadlocked?

It can, if the deadlock cannot be broken and irreparable injury to the company is threatened or occurring. The court may instead appoint a receiver or custodian or order a purchase of the petitioner’s interest. If the operating agreement has a deadlock sale provision that was started before the court finds grounds, that provision generally takes the place of a dissolution order.

Can a business dispute be settled without a trial?

Often, yes. Negotiation, mediation, and arbitration resolve many disputes, and our attorneys have extensive experience in each. We pursue the route most likely to meet your goals efficiently, and we prepare for trial regardless.

If I inherited a property with my siblings, can one of us force a sale?

Any co-owner can ask the court for partition. When the property qualifies as heirs property, a special statute adds protections, including requirements before a court may order a sale and opportunities for other cotenants to buy out the petitioner. Whether your property qualifies depends on how title was acquired and held.

What if my purchase of a commercial property fell through at closing?

You may be able to sue for damages, for specific performance, or both, depending on the contract and who defaulted. Because the specific performance period is one year, speak with counsel early rather than waiting while the parties negotiate.

Which court would hear a business case arising in Royal Palm Beach?

Larger cases are filed in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit’s circuit court for Palm Beach County, and smaller ones may belong in county court under its dollar ceiling. Cases tied to Broward go to the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and some claims can proceed in the Southern District of Florida. Venue depends on where the parties, property, and contract are located.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Do I have to travel for every hearing?

No. We handle the local court appearances and proceedings and keep you informed at each stage, so you can protect your South Florida business or real estate interests without traveling for every hearing.

Do you work with other lawyers on referred cases?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes and by Florida lawyers who do not handle business litigation. We communicate with referring counsel throughout and respect their relationship with the client.

Does having a general counsel relationship help before a dispute starts?

It can. Through our outside general counsel program, we can serve as the company’s registered agent and help with contract, compliance, and operational questions. Catching a problem in a contract or an ownership arrangement early often keeps a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit.

Serving Business Litigation Clients Across Royal Palm Beach and Palm Beach County

We represent clients from Royal Palm Beach and the neighboring western communities of Wellington, Loxahatchee, Loxahatchee Groves, Acreage, and Lake Worth. Our reach continues through central and coastal Palm Beach County, including West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Greenacres, Riviera Beach, Lantana, and Belle Glade. Because many business and real estate disputes cross county lines, we also serve clients in Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Plantation, and Hollywood.

Whether the dispute involves a medical or professional practice, a shopping center tenancy, a construction contract, a family company, or a shared investment property, the same fundamentals apply: identify the right claims, observe the deadlines, and choose the court and forum that fit the case. We also act for owners from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose partners or co-owners are here in South Florida.

Talk With a Royal Palm Beach Business Litigation Lawyer

When a partner, co-owner, or contract counterparty puts your company, investment, or property at risk, the decisions you make in the first weeks often shape the outcome. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of South Florida litigation experience to business and real estate disputes, and we will tell you plainly which claims you have, which deadlines apply, and what resolution is realistic. If you are looking for a Royal Palm Beach business litigation lawyer, call us to schedule a consultation and talk through your situation.