Tamarac Business Attorney

Most business owners who call a lawyer in the middle of a fight want one of a few things: their partner bought out, their money recovered, a contract enforced, or a way to stop someone from draining the company while the case plays out. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm that works toward those outcomes for owners, investors, and families in Tamarac, Broward County, and throughout South Florida. If you need a Tamarac business attorney, the first question is usually not “should I sue?” but “what exactly is my position, and how much time do I have?”

Tamarac sits in the middle of a dense commercial corridor of small and mid-sized companies: medical and professional practices, contractors, retail and service businesses, and investors who own rental property and commercial space. Those businesses are often run by two or three owners, sometimes relatives, with an operating agreement that was signed years ago and never revisited. When the owners stop agreeing, the document on the shelf decides a great deal, and the clock on legal claims may already be running.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Tamarac Business Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in some of South Florida’s hardest business and real estate disputes, serving clients in Tamarac and across Broward County and Palm Beach County, including Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, and West Palm Beach.

Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1989 and has spent 37 years in litigation. He earned his undergraduate degree from Emory University in 1986 and his law degree from the University of Miami in 1989. 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. That matters for Tamarac clients because a dispute that starts in Broward circuit court can have federal dimensions, and the lawyers handling it should be comfortable in either forum.

The firm practices as a true legal team: everyone working on a matter knows the file, so a client who calls reaches someone who can actually answer. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when the attorneys are in court. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and the goal is the resolution that fits the client’s objectives and budget, not a longer case for its own sake.

On the trial side, the firm recently won a final judgment after a 5-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court. The 32-page judgment awarded the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract, meaning the court ordered the deal to be carried out rather than leaving the client with only a damages claim. A good share of the firm’s work also arrives through referrals from other attorneys, including out of state lawyers whose clients have disputes in Florida.

Business Problems a Tamarac Business Litigation Lawyer Handles

• Business Divorce: Co-owners who can no longer work together need a way to separate, whether through a negotiated buyout, a sale, a structured wind-down, or court-ordered dissolution. Valuation is usually the hardest part.
• Deadlocked Management: Two 50 percent owners who cannot agree on anything can freeze payroll, vendor payments, and strategic decisions. Florida’s LLC statute treats an unbreakable deadlock that threatens irreparable injury as a ground for judicial dissolution.
• Breach of Operating or Shareholder Agreements: Disputes over capital contributions, profit splits, transfer restrictions, and buyout formulas often come down to the exact wording of the agreement and how the parties have behaved since signing it.
• Breach of Fiduciary Duty: Managers and controlling owners owe duties to the company and to the other owners. Self-dealing, side businesses that compete with the company, and misuse of company funds can support claims against them.
• Missing Funds and Unpaid Distributions: Commingled accounts, diverted receipts, and partners who cannot account for company money may call for a demand for an accounting, a damages claim, and sometimes emergency relief to freeze assets.
• Complex Contract Litigation: Purchase agreements, commercial leases, loan documents, and construction contracts can all produce high-stakes disputes where the outcome turns on the text and the course of dealing.
• Family Business Disputes: Siblings who inherited a company, parents and children with different plans, or in-laws who share ownership face questions of control and compensation that carry personal weight alongside the financial ones.
• Partition and Title Disputes: Co-owners of real estate who cannot agree can ask a court to divide the property or sell it, and owners with competing ownership claims may need a quiet title action to clear the record.

What to Do When a Business Relationship Starts Coming Apart

Start by pulling together the documents that govern the relationship: the operating agreement or shareholder agreement, any amendments, the articles filed with the state, buy-sell terms, loan guarantees, and the commercial lease if the business occupies leased space. Many disputes are won or lost on a clause nobody remembered, such as a deadlock sale provision, a notice requirement, or a clause on where disputes must be heard. Florida’s statutes on both LLCs and corporations give effect to a deadlock sale provision in the owners’ agreement that is properly initiated, so reading your own documents before you file anything is not a formality.

Next, preserve financial records and stop deleting anything. Bank statements, tax returns, general ledgers, accounting software exports, emails, and text messages between owners are the raw material for any claim about missing money or breach of duty. If you suspect funds are being moved, say so to counsel immediately; a court can order injunctive relief, and in dissolution proceedings can appoint a receiver or custodian after notice and a hearing, but those remedies depend on moving quickly and showing real evidence.

Watch the deadlines. In Florida, an action on a written contract generally must be brought within five years, while a claim on an oral or implied contract has four. Fraud claims run four years from discovery, subject to a 12 year outer limit. Rescission carries four years. A claim for specific performance has just one year, which surprises many people and is a reason not to wait on a failed real estate or business sale. Negligence claims, including many professional malpractice claims, now carry a two year period for causes of action arising after the 2023 change. Which deadline applies depends on how the claim is framed, so do not assume you have the longest one.

On venue, business cases arising in Tamarac are generally heard in Broward County. County court handles lower-value claims, and circuit court handles larger ones. The Seventeenth Judicial Circuit sits in and for Broward County and operates complex business divisions that handle large business litigation and the dissolution of certain business entities, with cases directed there under the circuit’s administrative procedures. Disputes with a federal hook go to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, among other places.

Finally, avoid the common mistakes: locking the other owner out of the books or the premises without legal advice, moving money “to protect it,” signing a quick settlement or buyout term sheet without a valuation, and venting by email in ways that become exhibits. Often the best first move is a measured, documented demand that preserves your position while leaving room for a negotiated exit.

How Business Divorces and Dissolutions Actually Resolve

Owners often assume the only options are staying in business together or going to war. In practice there is a middle range. Florida’s LLC statute lists the grounds on which a member or manager can seek judicial dissolution: unlawful conduct of the company’s affairs, it not being reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, misappropriation or waste of assets that causes injury, or a deadlock that cannot be broken and threatens irreparable injury. In a dissolution case, the court can appoint a receiver or custodian, or order the company or other members to buy out the petitioner’s interest.

For corporations, the statute allows a court to dissolve or order another remedy, and it gives the other shareholders a way to avoid dissolution by electing to buy out the petitioner at fair value. If the parties agree on value and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order directing the purchase on those terms, and an election to purchase generally cannot be undone unless the court finds it equitable. The corporation must notify the other shareholders of this option within 30 days after the petition is filed. Throughout the case, the court can issue injunctions and take steps to preserve company assets.

Real estate adds its own track. If co-owners cannot agree on a property, a partition action asks the court to divide the land or, if dividing it would prejudice the owners, to order a sale at public auction with proceeds shared in proportion to ownership. Florida also has special rules for heirs property, where relatives inherited an interest, and those cases follow a more protective process that favors keeping the property in the family when possible. Quiet title actions, filed in any county where part of the land lies, let an owner cancel a cloud on title and obtain a judgment confirming ownership.

Questions Tamarac Business Owners Ask

What does a business attorney in Tamarac do that a corporate formation service does not?

A formation service files paperwork. A business litigation attorney reads your agreements, evaluates claims, negotiates exits, and goes to court when an owner, vendor, landlord, or buyer will not do what the contract requires.

Can I force a partner out of my LLC?

It depends on your operating agreement and the conduct involved. Many agreements contain buyout, expulsion, or dissociation provisions, and Florida law provides remedies for serious misconduct or when the company cannot function. An attorney needs to read the agreement before you take any step.

My partner is taking money from the business. What can I do?

You may have claims for 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 while the case is pending.

How long do I have to sue over a broken contract in Florida?

Five years for a contract based on a written instrument, and four years for an oral or implied one. Fraud is four years from discovery with a 12 year cap, and specific performance is only one year. The right deadline depends on how the claim is pleaded.

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 wind-down, or a court-ordered dissolution.

Does every business dispute end up in court?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and your agreement may require one of those steps first. The firm’s attorneys are experienced in both alternative dispute resolution and trial.

What happens if my operating agreement has a deadlock or buy-sell clause?

Under Florida’s LLC and corporate statutes, a properly initiated deadlock sale provision can take the place of a court-ordered dissolution or buyout, so the timing of who invokes it first can matter a great deal.

Can the court appoint someone to run the company while we fight?

In a dissolution proceeding, a court may appoint a receiver or custodian once there is a showing of sufficient merit, and it must hold a hearing after notifying the parties. It is a significant step, typically reserved for situations where assets or operations are in real danger.

I live in New York or New Jersey but own a Tamarac business or property. Can you handle it?

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

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

Often, yes, at least for an early assessment. Whether a claim belongs in county or circuit court depends on the amount in controversy, and a short review of the contract can show whether the claim is strong enough to justify the cost. The firm looks for a solution that makes sense against the budget.

My co-owner and I are relatives. Does that change how the case is handled?

The legal claims are the same, but the handling is different. Family business disputes call for discretion, careful communication, and attention to relationships that will continue after the case, while still protecting your financial interests.

Can you help before a dispute starts?

Yes. Through its outside general counsel program, the firm serves as a company’s registered agent and assists with contract, compliance, and operational questions, which often keeps a disagreement from becoming a lawsuit.

Serving Business Clients Across Tamarac and Broward County

The firm’s work for Tamarac clients extends across the surrounding Broward County communities, including Sunrise, Lauderhill, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale, Margate, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Plantation, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Oakland Park, and Fort Lauderdale. Business owners and investors in Davie, Weston, Hollywood, and Pembroke Pines can also turn to the firm for contract, partnership, and real estate disputes.

The firm also represents clients throughout Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, and West Palm Beach, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who have business or real estate interests in South Florida. Whether the dispute involves a Tamarac shopping center tenant, a partnership in a professional practice, or a shared investment property, the same team handles the matter from first call to resolution.

Talk With a Tamarac Business Litigation Attorney

If a partner, co-owner, buyer, or landlord is putting your business, investment, or property at risk, the sooner someone reads your documents and evaluates your options, the more choices you will have. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can assess whether you are looking at a negotiated exit, a damages claim, an emergency injunction, or a court filing. Call to speak with a Tamarac business attorney about your situation and the best path forward.