South Florida Contract Litigation Attorney

The goal in a contract fight is rarely abstract. You want the other side to perform, to pay what the agreement says they owe, or to be released from an obligation that no longer makes sense. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families across Palm Beach County and Broward County, and a South Florida contract litigation attorney on our team spends most of the case inside the four corners of a document and the history of how the parties actually behaved.

Contract cases in this market tend to involve purchase agreements, operating and shareholder agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts. Outcomes usually turn on specific wording, on what each side did after signing, and on whether you acted before a filing deadline ran out. The decisions you make in the first few weeks, including what to preserve, what to say to the other side, and where to file, often shape the rest of the case.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Contract Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a Boca Raton firm representing business owners, investors, and families in contract and real estate disputes throughout Palm Beach County, Broward County, and South Florida, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or property interests here. Complex contract litigation has been at the center of the practice for decades, and the firm also handles business divorces, disputes over missing funds, partition and title actions, and emergency injunctions that frequently grow out of a contract breach.

Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation. He is a graduate of Emory University and the University of Miami School of Law. Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of business and real estate experience in state and federal courts. The firm works as a true legal team, so everyone on your matter knows the file, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court.

Results matter more than adjectives. After a 5-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Specific performance, an order compelling the other side to close the deal rather than simply pay damages, is among the harder remedies to win, and it rests on careful preparation of the contract language and the record of the parties’ dealings. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration, and it looks for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings, buyers or sellers who walk away, and disputes over deposits, contingencies, and whether a party was ready, willing, and able to close. Real estate contracts can support specific performance as well as damages.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Disputes among LLC members and shareholders over buyout terms, management authority, distributions, transfer restrictions, and deadlock provisions written years before anyone expected to use them.
• Commercial Leases: Rent and operating-expense disputes, personal guaranties, default and termination fights, and tenant improvement obligations that landlords and tenants read very differently.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Claims between lenders, borrowers, and guarantors, including private lending among investors where the paperwork was thin or the repayment terms were never followed.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes, defective or incomplete work, change-order disagreements, and delay claims between owners, developers, and contractors on South Florida projects.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Funds: Contract and fiduciary claims against partners or managers who cannot account for company money, with accounting claims and emergency relief to stop assets from moving.
• Restrictive and Partnership Agreements: Disputes over what co-owners promised each other about contributions, profit splits, and exit terms, including family businesses where the agreement was informal.
• Oral and Implied Agreements: Claims built on handshake deals and course of dealing, where proof depends on emails, texts, payment history, and witnesses.

Deadlines and Decisions in the First Weeks of a Contract Dispute

Start with the calendar. Florida gives you five years to sue on a contract founded on a written instrument, and four years on an oral or implied contract. A claim to rescind a contract carries a four-year period, and fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to an outer limit of 12 years. Specific performance is the outlier: the statute allows only one year, which makes it the claim most likely to be lost by waiting. Professional malpractice claims, whether framed in contract or tort, have a two-year period running from when the claim was or should have been discovered. Recent changes to the negligence period did not alter the five-year written-contract period.

Next, preserve what you have. Gather the signed agreement and every amendment, the emails and texts around signing and performance, invoices, bank records, and anything showing how both sides behaved afterward. Courts often look past the written terms to the parties’ course of dealing, so informal communications can matter as much as the contract itself. Do not delete anything, and stop discussing the dispute in writing with the other side until you have advice.

Then decide what you actually want. Money damages, an order forcing performance, rescission, or an exit from the deal call for different claims and different timing. Read the contract for notice and cure requirements, a dispute resolution clause, an arbitration provision, a venue selection clause, and an attorney fee provision. Missing a required notice can weaken a strong claim, and an arbitration clause may move the whole case out of court.

Where you file depends on the amount and the forum. In Florida, county courts hear contract claims up to a threshold that is adjusted periodically, and circuit courts hear larger ones. Palm Beach County cases are heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach, and Broward County cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, centered in Fort Lauderdale. Broward also has a complex business division for large business and construction disputes, and cases can reach it through a direct-filing process. Contracts involving parties from different states may be heard in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which sits in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale among other cities.

One mistake we see often is waiting for the relationship to repair itself while a deadline runs, or sending an angry message that creates a record the other side later uses. Another is assuming that a signed agreement is the whole story. A prompt review of the paperwork lets you choose between demand, negotiation, mediation, emergency relief, or suit with your options still open.

How Contract Cases Are Won and Lost

Most contract cases come down to four questions: what the agreement actually requires, whether the other side failed to do it, whether you did your own part or were excused from it, and what the loss is worth. Ambiguous wording is common, and when a court finds ambiguity, evidence about negotiations and past dealings can decide the meaning. That is why the documents leading up to signing deserve as much attention as the signature page.

Remedies deserve early thought. Damages compensate a financial loss. Specific performance compels the breaching party to carry out the deal, which matters most when the subject is unique, such as a particular parcel of commercial property. When assets are at risk while the case is pending, a temporary or permanent injunction can freeze the situation, and our firm regularly seeks early and emergency injunctive relief for that purpose. Where the contract is the foundation of a business relationship, the fight may overlap with fiduciary duty claims, an accounting, or judicial dissolution of an LLC or corporation, and Florida’s statutes give courts tools such as receivers, custodians, and court-ordered buyouts in those cases.

Not every case should be tried. Mediation and arbitration resolve many disputes faster and at lower cost, and a well-prepared case improves settlement leverage. We prepare every file as though it will be tried, then pursue the path most likely to meet your goals.

Contract Litigation Questions Answered

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. Oral or implied contract claims have four years. The clock generally runs from the breach, so identify that date early.

Is the deadline different if I want the court to force the other side to perform?

Yes. A specific performance action has a one-year limitations period, far shorter than the damages period. If you want the deal completed rather than just compensation, waiting can cost you that remedy.

Do oral agreements count as contracts?

Many can be enforced, but proof is harder and the period to sue is four years. Texts, emails, payment records, and witnesses become the contract in practice. Some agreements, including certain real estate transactions, must be in writing to be enforceable.

What is the difference between damages and specific performance?

Damages are money to compensate your loss. Specific performance is a court order requiring the other party to do what the contract promised, typically in cases involving unique property. A Broward County court awarded our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract after a 5-day bench trial.

Can I get out of a contract if the other side lied to induce me to sign?

You may have a fraud or rescission claim. Rescission has a four-year period, and fraud runs four years from discovery, with a 12-year outer limit. Acting promptly after learning the truth also matters, because continuing to accept benefits of the deal can undercut a rescission request.

My operating agreement has a deadlock provision. Does it control?

Often yes. If a deadlock sale provision is initiated before a court finds grounds for dissolution, it can apply in place of a judicial dissolution order or a court-ordered buyout. Whether and how it can be triggered depends on its exact wording, so have the agreement reviewed before filing anything.

What if my contract has an arbitration clause or a clause naming another state’s courts?

Those clauses can move the case out of a Florida courtroom or limit where you can sue. They are frequently enforced, but there are arguments about scope and validity. Check for them before you file, since filing in the wrong forum wastes time and money.

Can the other side move money or assets while we fight?

It is a real risk. Courts can issue temporary injunctions to stop assets from being moved or spent during the case, and in some entity disputes can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing. Evidence that funds are being diverted strengthens a request for emergency relief.

How long does a contract lawsuit take in Palm Beach or Broward County?

It varies with the amount at stake, the court track, and how much discovery is needed. Straightforward claims can resolve in months, while complex business matters tried to a judge can take considerably longer. Mediation can shorten the timeline when both sides are willing to talk seriously.

Do I have to live in Florida to sue over a Florida contract?

No. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in South Florida disputes, handle the local court appearances, and keep them informed so they do not need to travel for every hearing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a smaller contract dispute?

Often it is worth at least a consultation. A lawyer can tell you whether the claim is strong, whether the contract shifts attorney fees to the losing party, and whether a demand letter or mediation will settle it for less than a full lawsuit. Smaller claims under the county court threshold follow a faster, simpler track.

Can another attorney refer a contract case to your firm?

Yes. A significant part of our practice comes from referrals by other lawyers, including out of state attorneys whose clients have Florida disputes. We keep referring counsel informed and respect their relationship with the client.

Contract Litigation Representation Across Palm Beach and Broward Counties

For clients in Palm Beach County, we handle contract disputes from Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Boynton Beach through Lake Worth, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, and Belle Glade, with court appearances in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Business owners and investors in Highland Beach, Lantana, Greenacres, Riviera Beach, and Juno Beach also come to us when an agreement breaks down.

In Broward County, we represent clients in Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Sunrise, Plantation, Davie, Hollywood, and Pembroke Pines, with cases heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. We also serve parties in Coconut Creek, Margate, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Weston, Oakland Park, and Lighthouse Point. Across both counties, that includes commercial landlords and tenants, developers and contractors, co-owners of operating companies, and out of state investors whose partners or properties are here.

Talk With a South Florida Contract Litigation Lawyer Today

If an agreement has broken down and you need to know your claims, your deadlines, and your realistic options, a South Florida contract litigation lawyer at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can review the document and the facts and tell you where you stand. Some disputes call for a firm demand or mediation, and others need a lawsuit or emergency relief to stop assets from moving. Call to schedule a consultation, and we will help you decide which path fits your goals and your budget.