Tamarac Contract Litigation Attorney

Tamarac sits in Broward County, which means a contract dispute that crosses the amount-in-controversy line for circuit court is heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and a larger commercial fight may be eligible for the circuit’s complex business docket. That detail shapes how a case is staffed and how fast it moves. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for owners, investors, and families in Broward County, Palm Beach County, and across South Florida, and a Tamarac contract litigation attorney from this team starts any dispute by reading the actual agreement and the history between the parties.

Contract cases in Tamarac tend to come from the ordinary machinery of local commerce: shopping center leases along the commercial corridors, closely held companies run by partners or family members, construction and renovation agreements, and purchase contracts for investment property. The money at stake and the wording of the document drive nearly every decision, including which court has jurisdiction, whether emergency relief is realistic, and whether a negotiated outcome makes more sense than a trial.

The question most people bring is simple: the other side did not do what the contract says, so what can be done about it? The answer depends on how the contract was written, when the breach happened, and what remedy actually fixes the problem. Damages, specific performance, rescission, and injunctive relief are different tools with different deadlines, and picking the wrong one can cost a claim.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team represents business owners, investors, and families in some of South Florida’s most contested business and real estate disputes, serving clients in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and throughout Palm Beach and Broward Counties. Founder Andrew M. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of his practice for his entire career. He earned his undergraduate degree at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989.

Senior Counsel Sundeep Nath, a Northwestern-trained litigator, brings years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That matters in contract work because the Southern District of Florida sits in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, and some disputes belong there, depending on the parties and the claims.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a file knows it and can answer when a client calls. There is a strict 24 hour return call policy when a lawyer is in court. The firm is also experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and it looks for the outcome that fits the client’s goals and budget instead of stretching a case out for its own sake.

A recent result shows what this work looks like at the trial level. After a five-day bench trial, a Broward County circuit judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Winning that remedy required proving the contract terms, the client’s own readiness to perform, and why money damages would not be an adequate substitute.

Types of Contract Disputes We Handle for Tamarac Clients

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Failed closings on commercial or residential property, disputes over deposits, financing and inspection contingencies, and claims that a seller or buyer walked away without a legal basis. Specific performance is sometimes the remedy that matters most.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Breaches of governance, distribution, transfer, and buyout provisions among LLC members and shareholders, including deadlock sale clauses that can displace a judicial dissolution.
• Commercial Leases: Disputes over rent, common area charges, personal guaranties, assignment and subletting, and defaults between landlords and business tenants.
• Loan and Financing Documents: Defaults, guaranties, notes, and disputes between private lenders and borrowers or among investors in a shared deal.
• Construction and Renovation Contracts: Payment disputes, defective or incomplete work, scope changes, and claims between owners, general contractors, and subcontractors.
• Partnership and Joint Venture Agreements: Fights over who contributed what, how profits are split, and whether a partner has acted in his or her own interest instead of the business’s.
• Unpaid Distributions and Missing Funds: Contract claims paired with an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, or recovery of diverted company money, sometimes with emergency injunctive relief to freeze assets.
• Family Business Agreements: Disputes among siblings, parents and children, or in-laws who share ownership, where the agreement is often informal or poorly documented.

What to Do Right Now When Someone Has Breached Your Contract

Start by pulling together the signed agreement, every amendment, and every written communication about performance, payment, or problems. Emails and text messages often decide contract cases, because they show what each side understood the deal to be. Do not delete anything, and avoid sending new messages that characterize the breach until you have spoken with counsel. Offhand statements like “I can live with that” have been used as waiver arguments.

Next, identify the deadline that governs your claim. In Florida, an action on a contract founded on a written instrument has a five-year limitations period. A claim on an oral or implied contract gets four years, and rescission also carries four. A fraud claim runs four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. Specific performance is the outlier: the statute gives one year, which is why a buyer or seller holding a failed real estate contract cannot wait. A claim founded on negligence is now two years, and professional malpractice claims, whether pleaded in contract or tort, also carry two years from discovery, so how a claim is framed can change the clock.

Where the case is filed depends on the amount. County court handles claims up to a statutory ceiling, and small claims sits below that, while larger disputes belong in circuit court. For a Tamarac resident or business, that means the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit in Broward County, whose courthouses include the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and the West Regional Courthouse in Plantation. If the contract involves Palm Beach County property or parties, the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in West Palm Beach may be the proper venue. Some large business disputes qualify for the Broward complex business division, which handles major commercial and construction litigation; a case can be filed directly into it only through the procedure set out in the circuit’s administrative order. Federal court in Fort Lauderdale or West Palm Beach is an option only where jurisdictional requirements are met.

A common mistake is delay while negotiating. Settlement talks do not pause the limitations period unless the parties sign a tolling agreement. Another is continuing to perform while quietly accumulating losses; sometimes the better move is a written notice of default, sometimes a demand for assurances, and sometimes immediate emergency relief. If funds are being moved or property is at risk, a motion for a temporary injunction may need to be on file within days, not months. A prompt consultation lets counsel read the contract, check the deadlines, and choose between negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and suit.

How Contract Cases Turn on Wording, Remedies, and Forum

Most contract litigation is won or lost on three questions: what does the language actually say, what happened between the parties that explains or modifies it, and what remedy is available. Courts start with the four corners of the agreement, but ambiguity, course of dealing, and conduct can all matter. That is why a careful lawyer reads the entire document, including recitals, definitions, notice provisions, and boilerplate that people skip.

Boilerplate often controls the fight. An arbitration clause may send the dispute out of court altogether. A forum selection clause may require suit in a particular county. A fee-shifting clause can make the loser pay the winner’s attorney’s fees, which changes the risk calculation on both sides. A notice-and-cure provision may make a premature lawsuit vulnerable to dismissal. Reviewing these provisions before filing, rather than after the other side raises them, saves time and money.

Remedy selection matters as much as proof of breach. Money damages compensate loss, but when the subject is unique, such as a particular piece of commercial real estate, specific performance can compel the other party to complete the deal. Injunctions can stop a partner from draining accounts or violating a restrictive covenant while the case proceeds. In ownership disputes, contract claims often travel with statutory remedies. Under Florida’s LLC statute, a court can dissolve a company on grounds that include deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriation of assets, or an inability to carry on activities consistent with the operating agreement, and it can appoint a receiver or order a buyout instead. For corporations, a court may order dissolution or another remedy, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy out a petitioning shareholder at fair value, with a 60-day window for the parties to agree on price and terms. Whether a deadlock sale clause in the agreement applies first can change the whole path of the case.

Finally, the forum shapes the timeline. Circuit courts in Broward and Palm Beach use case management systems that sort cases onto tracks, and complex matters may move to specialized divisions. A realistic strategy accounts for discovery, mediation, and trial settings, and for the cost of each stage compared with the amount in dispute. Many contract disputes resolve in mediation once the documents are exchanged and each side has a clear view of the weaknesses in its position.

Common Questions About Contract Litigation in Tamarac

What counts as a breach of contract in Florida?

A breach occurs when a party fails to perform a promise in the agreement without a legal excuse. A claim generally requires a valid contract, a material breach, and resulting damages. Whether a breach is material, and whether the non-breaching party must give notice or an opportunity to cure first, depends on the contract’s wording.

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

Five years under Florida law for a claim founded on a written instrument. Oral and implied contracts have a four-year period. The amendments that shortened the negligence period to two years did not change the five-year written-contract deadline.

Is there a shorter deadline if I want the court to force the other side to complete the deal?

Yes. An action for specific performance is subject to a one-year limitations period. Anyone holding a failed real estate contract and wanting the property, rather than money, should treat that deadline as urgent.

Should my case be in county court or circuit court?

It depends on the amount in controversy. County court hears claims up to a statutory ceiling, small claims handles the lowest tier, and circuit court hears larger disputes. The ceiling is adjusted periodically, so confirm the current figure before filing. Equitable remedies such as injunctions and specific performance are typically circuit court matters.

Which court would hear a contract dispute arising in Tamarac?

Tamarac is in Broward County, so state court cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, with courthouses in Fort Lauderdale, Plantation, Deerfield Beach, and Hollywood. Federal cases, where jurisdiction exists, go to the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

What is Broward’s complex business division, and could my case qualify?

It is a specialized docket within the Seventeenth Circuit that handles large business and construction litigation, among other complex matters. Direct filing into it is allowed only under the circuit’s administrative order, using the required form at filing. A lawyer can tell you whether the size and nature of your dispute fits.

Can I recover attorney’s fees if I win?

Only if the contract provides for fees or a statute does. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fee clause, which cuts both ways, so it should be weighed before filing.

My contract has an arbitration clause. Does that end my right to go to court?

Generally the clause will be enforced, and the dispute goes to arbitration instead of a judge or jury. Arbitration can be faster and more private, though review of the result is limited. Counsel can read the clause to see its scope and what procedural rules it adopts.

Can a partner’s misuse of company money be handled as a contract case?

Often it is both. The operating or shareholder agreement may supply contract claims, while breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, and recovery of funds can be pleaded alongside. If assets are being moved, a court can be asked for emergency injunctive relief to stop the spending while the case proceeds.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer for a mid-sized contract dispute?

Often yes, because the first decisions about notice, remedy, and forum are hard to undo. A lawyer can also tell you early when a negotiated or mediated resolution costs less than litigation, which is an honest answer many clients value.

I live in New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut. Can I handle a Tamarac contract dispute from out of state?

Yes. The firm regularly represents out of state clients with South Florida business or real estate interests, handles local court appearances, and keeps clients informed so they do not need to travel for every hearing.

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across Broward and Palm Beach Counties

The firm’s work for Tamarac clients extends across the surrounding Broward County communities, including Lauderhill, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Margate, Coconut Creek, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Oakland Park, Lauderdale Lakes, Davie, and Hollywood. Business owners and investors in these cities bring leases, purchase agreements, construction contracts, and partnership disputes that often end up in the same Seventeenth Judicial Circuit courthouses.

To the north, the team represents clients throughout Palm Beach County, from Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Boynton Beach to West Palm Beach, where the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit sits. Many of our contract clients live elsewhere, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and hold business interests or real estate in this region.

Talk With a Tamarac Contract Litigation Attorney Today

When a signed agreement is not being honored, the choices you make in the first weeks can determine which remedies remain available. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of litigation experience to contract disputes for clients in Tamarac and across South Florida. Call to schedule a consultation with a Tamarac contract litigation attorney who will read your agreement, check your deadlines, and give you a practical read on whether to negotiate, mediate, arbitrate, or file suit.