West Palm Beach Contract Litigation Attorney

A signed agreement that the other side has stopped honoring leaves a West Palm Beach business owner, investor, or landlord with a clock running and money at risk. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate litigation for clients in West Palm Beach and throughout Palm Beach County and Broward County, and contract disputes sit at the center of that work.

Anyone searching for a West Palm Beach contract litigation attorney usually wants answers to a few blunt questions. Is the breach serious enough to sue over? How long do I have? Will a court enforce what we actually agreed to, or what the other side now says we meant? In most contract cases, the answers come from two places: the exact wording of the document and the way the parties dealt with each other before the dispute began.

Florida sets different filing deadlines depending on the kind of claim, and missing the right one ends a case regardless of how strong it was. A lawsuit founded on a written contract has a five-year period. A claim on an oral or implied agreement gets four years. Rescission claims run four years, and a claim seeking specific performance, where a court orders someone to actually carry out a deal, carries a one-year period. That last deadline catches people off guard, particularly in real estate deals that fall apart at closing.

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

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business litigation and real estate firm serving clients across West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach County, and Broward County, as well as clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who hold business or real estate interests in South Florida. Andrew M. Schwartz, the firm’s founder, has spent 37 years in litigation and was 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. Contract enforcement and interpretation have been at the center of his practice throughout his career.

Sundeep Nath, Senior Counsel, joins him on the firm’s litigation work. Mr. Nath is a Northwestern-trained litigator with years of experience in business and real estate cases in both state and federal courts. That matters in contract disputes, where the choice of forum can shape the whole case.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on your matter knows the file. Calls are answered, and when the attorneys are in court, a strict 24 hour return call policy applies. Clients who live out of state get the same attention; the firm handles the local court appearances so they do not have to travel for every hearing.

Results matter more than adjectives. In a recent matter, after a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the court issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract. Winning an order that forces a counterparty to complete a deal is among the harder outcomes in contract litigation, and it came from detailed trial preparation. The firm is equally comfortable in mediation and arbitration, and looks for the resolution that serves a client’s goals and budget rather than stretching a case out for its own sake.

Contract Disputes We Litigate in Palm Beach and Broward Counties

• Purchase and Sale Agreements: Business acquisitions and commercial property deals that collapse before or after closing, including claims over undisclosed liabilities, missed closing dates, and refusal to convey.
• Operating and Shareholder Agreements: Disputes among LLC members and shareholders over distributions, management authority, transfer restrictions, buyout formulas, and deadlock provisions.
• Commercial Leases: Landlord and tenant conflicts over rent, build-out obligations, personal guaranties, default and termination, and what happens to the space when a business fails.
• Loan Documents and Guaranties: Private lending disputes, defaults, and the personal liability of owners who signed guaranties on company debt.
• Construction Contracts: Payment disputes, change orders, delay claims, and defective work involving owners, contractors, and subcontractors.
• Fraud and Misrepresentation: Deals induced by false statements, where a claim may sit alongside the contract claim or support rescinding the agreement altogether.
• Money Owed and Missing Funds: Unpaid distributions, disputed capital contributions, and diverted company money, sometimes requiring an accounting and emergency relief to freeze assets.
• Real Estate Contract Enforcement: Suits to compel a seller or buyer to perform, or to recover when a residential or commercial closing fails.

What to Do When a Contract Is Breached

Start by collecting the paper. Pull the signed agreement and every amendment, then gather emails, texts, invoices, bank records, and any correspondence in which the other side acknowledged the obligation or explained why they were not performing. Courts read the written contract first, but the history between the parties often decides what ambiguous language means, so the surrounding record has real value.

Read the agreement itself before you send anything to the other side. Many contracts require written notice of default, give a cure period, send disputes to mediation or arbitration before any lawsuit, name a particular venue, or shift attorney fees to the losing party. Skipping a notice step, or sending a hasty demand that concedes a point, can hurt a case that would otherwise be strong. Keep communications factual and short, and avoid threats or admissions.

Then pin down the deadline. The limitations period depends on the claim: five years for a written contract, four for an oral or implied one, four for rescission, and one for specific performance. Those periods run from when the cause of action accrues, so identifying the date of breach matters. Waiting while negotiations drag on is a common way people lose leverage or the claim entirely.

If the dispute is large enough, it will be heard in the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, which sits in and for Palm Beach County, with the main courthouse in West Palm Beach. Claims above the county court ceiling go to circuit court; smaller ones go to county court, and the smallest to small claims. Cases between parties from different states, or ones raising federal questions, may belong in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Finally, ask early whether the situation needs emergency relief. If the other side is moving money, selling property, or doing something that cannot be undone, a temporary injunction can preserve the status quo while the case proceeds. That request should be made quickly, not after months of letters.

Remedies a Court Can Order in a Contract Case

Most contract plaintiffs want money damages, meaning the financial position they would have been in had the contract been performed. Recoverable damages depend on proof, and courts distinguish between losses that flow directly from the breach and speculative ones. Lost profits claims in particular demand careful financial evidence.

Some deals cannot be fixed with a check. Real property is treated as unique, which is why courts will order specific performance of a land contract, compelling the party to close. That is the remedy our firm secured after the Broward County bench trial described above. Rescission is the opposite approach: unwinding the agreement and returning each side to where it started, often used where fraud or a fundamental failure undermines the deal.

Contract cases involving co-owners often spill into related claims. When a business partner breaches an operating or shareholder agreement and takes company money, the case can include breach of fiduciary duty, an accounting, and recovery of funds. If the relationship has failed beyond repair, Florida’s LLC statute allows a member to seek judicial dissolution on grounds that include deadlock with irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, or the impracticability of carrying on business under the operating agreement. For corporations, a shareholder petition for dissolution can prompt the company or other shareholders to elect to buy the petitioner out at fair value. An operating or shareholder agreement with its own deadlock sale provision may control instead, which is another reason the document’s wording drives strategy.

Contract litigation rarely has to run its full course. Many disputes settle through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and a firm that tries cases credibly negotiates from a stronger position.

Contract Litigation Questions From West Palm Beach Clients

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. The clock generally starts when the breach occurs, not when you discover how much it cost you.

Is the deadline different for an oral agreement?

Yes. A claim on an oral or implied contract has a four-year period. Oral deals are also harder to prove, so documentation that confirms the terms becomes critical.

What is specific performance, and why is its deadline so short?

Specific performance is a court order requiring someone to do what the contract promised, most often to complete a real estate sale. The period for that kind of action is one year, much shorter than for damages, so these claims need fast attention.

Do I have to go to court, or can the dispute be resolved another way?

Not always. Many contracts require mediation or arbitration, and even without such a clause, negotiation and mediation resolve a large share of disputes. We pursue whichever path is most likely to achieve your goals efficiently.

Which court will hear my case?

That depends on the amount at stake, the parties, and any forum clause in the contract. County court handles claims up to a threshold that is adjusted periodically, circuit court handles larger ones, and federal court may be available where the parties are from different states and the amount is sufficient. Palm Beach County cases belong to the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit.

Can I recover my attorney fees if I win?

Only if a statute or the contract provides for it. Many commercial agreements include a prevailing-party fee clause, and those clauses can cut both ways, so they deserve a close read before you file.

What if the other side already breached but I kept doing business with them?

Continuing to perform or accept performance can raise waiver or modification arguments. It does not necessarily end your claim, but how you responded to the breach matters, and written reservations of rights can help.

Can I sue if the contract was signed by my former partner without my approval?

Possibly. Authority questions turn on the operating agreement or bylaws, the signer’s role, and whether the company ratified the deal. These cases often combine contract and fiduciary duty claims.

How long does a contract case take in Palm Beach County?

It varies widely with complexity. Circuit civil cases are managed under a case management system that assigns each case to a track, so a straightforward dispute moves differently than a document-heavy business case. Early injunctive proceedings can move in weeks, while a case that goes to trial takes considerably longer.

I live in New York or New Jersey and my contract partner is in South Florida. Can you handle this?

Yes. We regularly represent clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with business or real estate interests here. We handle the Florida court proceedings and keep you informed so you do not need to travel for every hearing.

Is it worth hiring a lawyer if the amount in dispute is modest?

Often it is worth at least a consultation. A demand letter from counsel resolves many disputes, and a fee-shifting clause may change the economics. We will tell you candidly whether the cost of pursuing a claim makes sense against what you could recover.

Can a referring attorney bring me a case in this area?

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

Serving Contract Litigation Clients Across West Palm Beach and South Florida

We represent clients in West Palm Beach itself and across Palm Beach County, including Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Jupiter, Juno Beach, North Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Lake Park, Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Lake Worth Beach, Greenacres, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, and Boca Raton. Business owners in the surrounding corridors and communities that rely on West Palm Beach for commerce and the courthouse also turn to us when a deal goes bad.

To the south, our work extends into Broward County, including Fort Lauderdale, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coral Springs, Parkland, Plantation, Hollywood, and the neighboring communities where commercial real estate and closely held companies generate disputes. We also serve clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut whose partners, tenants, or co-owners are here in South Florida.

Speak With a West Palm Beach Contract Litigation Lawyer

When someone refuses to honor an agreement, the strength of your position depends on how quickly it is reviewed and how carefully the record is built. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team brings decades of South Florida contract litigation experience to disputes involving business interests, real estate, and the people who share ownership of both. Call to speak with a West Palm Beach contract litigation lawyer about the agreement, the breach, and your options for resolving it.