Sunrise Business Attorney

Sunrise business owners who are weighing whether to sue a partner, defend a contract claim, or buy out a co-owner usually have less time than they think. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business litigation, partnership and member disputes, and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families in Sunrise and across Broward County, along with neighboring Palm Beach County and the rest of South Florida. If you are searching for a Sunrise business attorney, the first questions are usually practical: what claims you actually have, how long you have to bring them, and which court will hear the case.

Business disputes in Sunrise tend to involve a company that is still operating while the owners fight, which is what makes them hard. A partner is paying himself from company accounts, a minority member is locked out of the books, or a seller has refused to close on a commercial property. Each of those problems has its own legal tools and its own clock, and choosing the wrong tool or waiting too long can cost more than the dispute itself.

Broward County cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and disputes above the county court limit belong in circuit court. The Seventeenth Circuit also runs a complex business division, created for the larger, document-heavy cases that include dissolution of certain business entities and big commercial and construction litigation. Knowing whether your case belongs there, and how to get it there, is part of what a Broward business litigator does before the first hearing.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team as Your Sunrise Business Attorney

The Andrew M. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and has practiced in Florida since being admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. His work has been built around complex contract disputes, business divorces, and conflicts between partners, LLC members, and shareholders, which is the kind of dispute Sunrise owners bring when a relationship has stopped working.

Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, joins Andrew on the team. He is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That matters in Broward, because a business dispute can land in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit or, when the claims or parties support it, the Southern District of Florida, which sits in Fort Lauderdale. The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file, and it keeps a strict 24 hour return call policy when attorneys are in court.

Recent results give a sense of the work. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment granting our client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Contract disputes that turn on exact wording and the history between the parties are central to the firm’s practice, and the firm is equally experienced in mediation and arbitration. Andrew’s own view is that clients usually want a lawyer who acts as the situation requires and uses finesse when finesse will do, and that fees should not outweigh good common sense. The firm also takes referrals from other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes, and handles local court appearances for clients who live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut.

Business Disputes We Handle for Sunrise Owners and Investors

• Business Divorce and Partnership Disputes: Deadlocked management, disputes over who contributed what, disagreements about profit splits, and owners acting in their own interest. Remedies range from negotiated buyouts to structured wind-downs to court-ordered dissolution.
• LLC and Shareholder Disputes: Breaches of operating and shareholder agreements, minority owners shut out of decisions, and fights over whether an owner can be removed. The governing agreement is the starting point, followed by the remedies Florida’s LLC and corporation statutes provide.
• Judicial Dissolution: When owners are deadlocked and the company is suffering irreparable injury, when assets are being misappropriated or wasted, or when it is not reasonably practicable to operate under the operating agreement, a member or manager may ask the circuit court to dissolve an LLC.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, operating agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts, where the outcome often turns on precise language and how the parties actually dealt with each other.
• Missing Funds and Accounting Claims: Unpaid distributions, diverted company money, commingled accounts, and managers who cannot account for funds, handled through claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, and recovery of the money.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings, parents and children, spouses, and in-laws who share ownership and disagree about control, compensation, and succession, handled with discretion while protecting the client’s financial position.
• Injunctions and Emergency Relief: Temporary and permanent injunctions to stop assets from being moved or spent and to protect company property while the case is pending.
• Partition and Title Disputes: Co-owners who cannot agree on shared real estate, including former business partners, heirs, and investors, along with quiet title actions to clear competing ownership claims.

What a Sunrise Owner Should Do First When a Dispute Surfaces

Start by pulling together the governing documents: the operating agreement, shareholder agreement, partnership agreement, any buy-sell terms, and amendments. Many of these contain buyout, expulsion, or deadlock sale provisions, and Florida’s LLC statute specifically gives priority to a deadlock sale provision that has been initiated before the court finds grounds for dissolution. The agreement may also contain a mediation or arbitration clause that determines where the dispute is heard, so read it before anyone files anything. Then gather bank statements, tax returns, ledgers, capital contribution records, and the emails or texts that show how the owners really operated.

Next, think about 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 outside limit of 12 years. A claim for specific performance has just one year, which is why real estate purchase disputes cannot sit. Negligence claims were cut to two years in 2023, and professional malpractice claims have their own two-year period running from when the problem was or should have been discovered. If a partner is draining accounts, the emergency question comes before the limitations question: whether you need a court order now to freeze the situation.

Resist the common mistakes. Do not lock a partner out of the books or the premises on your own, do not move money to “protect” it, and do not sign a quick settlement or buyout term sheet without having the valuation tested. In corporate cases, the corporation or the remaining shareholders can elect to buy out a petitioning shareholder 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 makes the early weeks of a dispute strategically important.

For Sunrise owners, filing usually means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, with courthouses including the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and regional courthouses in Plantation, Deerfield Beach, and Hollywood. Claims above the county court limit are heard in circuit court, and a case that qualifies can be directed into the circuit’s complex business division through its administrative order and filing form. If the dispute reaches into Palm Beach County, it would be heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. Federal cases are heard in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

How Business Divorce and Dissolution Work in Florida Courts

When co-owners cannot resolve a deadlock, Florida’s statutes give the court real options beyond simply ending the company. In an LLC dissolution case, a member or manager can seek dissolution on specific grounds: unlawful conduct of the company’s affairs, impracticability of operating under the articles and operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that injures the company, or a deadlock that cannot be broken and threatens irreparable injury. On a showing of sufficient merit, the court may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order the purchase of the petitioning member’s interest instead of dissolving the company.

Corporations have a parallel framework. A shareholder may petition for dissolution on the statutory grounds, including that the corporation has abandoned its business and failed to liquidate within a reasonable time. Within 30 days of such a proceeding beginning, the corporation must notify the other shareholders that they may avoid dissolution by electing to purchase the petitioner’s shares at fair value. While the case is pending, the court may issue injunctions, appoint a receiver or custodian, and take other steps to preserve corporate assets. An election to purchase is irrevocable unless the court finds it equitable to modify or set it aside, so valuation advice should come before the election, not after.

Real estate disputes between co-owners follow their own path. Partition actions are brought in chancery, the complaint must describe the land, name the owners, and state each owner’s share, and the court appoints three commissioners to evaluate whether the land can be divided. If division would prejudice the owners, the court may order a public sale and divide the proceeds. Inherited property held by relatives may be governed by Florida’s heirs property partition provisions, which add protections before a forced sale. Quiet title actions can be filed in any county where part of the land lies, and the plaintiff generally must trace title for at least seven years before filing, unless the court orders otherwise.

Sunrise Business Attorney FAQ

What does a business attorney do for a Sunrise company in a dispute?

The attorney reviews the governing documents, identifies the claims and defenses, advises on the limitations deadlines, decides whether emergency relief is needed, and chooses the forum, whether negotiation, mediation, arbitration, or court. In practice, much of the work happens before a complaint is filed, including valuation questions, preserving records, and positioning the client for a buyout or settlement.

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

Five years for an action founded on a written instrument. Oral or implied contract claims have four years, and rescission claims have four years. A specific performance claim has a much shorter one-year period, so real estate contract disputes should be evaluated quickly.

Can I force a partner out of my LLC?

It depends on the operating agreement and the partner’s conduct. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida’s LLC statute provides court remedies for serious misconduct, misappropriation of assets, or an unbreakable deadlock. The agreement should be reviewed before any step is taken.

What can I do if a business partner is taking company money?

Possible claims include breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, conversion, and recovery of the funds. When assets are at risk of being moved or spent, a court can issue injunctive relief and, in dissolution proceedings, may appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing.

Does every business dispute end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and many agreements require one of those paths first. The firm is experienced in alternative dispute resolution as well as trial work, and pursues the route most likely to meet the client’s goals efficiently.

Which court would hear my Sunrise business case?

State court cases above the county court limit are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit’s circuit court for Broward County. Larger or more complicated cases can be directed to the circuit’s complex business division. Federal claims go to the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale.

My partner and I are family. Does that change anything legally?

The legal claims are the same, but the strategy often differs. Family-owned companies raise questions about control, compensation, and succession alongside the usual contract and fiduciary issues, and the firm handles those cases with discretion while keeping the client’s financial position protected.

What is the difference between a buyout and judicial dissolution?

A buyout lets one side keep the business and pay the other fair value for their interest. Judicial dissolution ends the company and winds it down. Florida’s statutes allow buyouts as an alternative in dissolution cases, and deadlock sale provisions in an agreement can control the outcome if they are initiated in time.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a Broward business interest. Can you represent me?

Yes. The firm regularly represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests in South Florida. We handle the local filings and court appearances, so you do not have to travel for every hearing.

Can a co-owner force the sale of commercial property we own together?

A co-owner can ask the court for partition. If the property cannot be fairly divided, the court may order a sale at public auction and divide the proceeds by ownership share. Different rules and protections apply if the property qualifies as heirs property.

How early should I call a lawyer, before or after the relationship breaks down?

Before is better. Reviewing an operating agreement or shareholder agreement before a dispute begins, or having outside general counsel in place, often prevents a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit. Once money is missing or a deadlock has set in, the earlier the review, the more options remain.

Serving Business Owners in Sunrise and Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

From Sunrise, the firm represents owners and investors throughout Broward County, including Plantation, Tamarac, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Davie, Weston, Hollywood, and Pembroke Pines. It also serves clients across neighboring Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, and throughout South Florida. Business divorces, contract disputes, partition cases, and emergency injunction matters all arise in these communities, and the firm brings the same attention to each.

Talk With a Sunrise Business Litigation Attorney Before the Dispute Hardens

If you are looking for a business litigation attorney in Sunrise, call the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team to talk through what is happening with your company, your partners, or your property. Whether the right answer is a negotiated buyout, a mediation, a request for emergency relief, or a lawsuit, an early conversation will tell you which, and how much time you have. Call today to schedule a consultation.