Weston Real Estate Litigation Attorney

Weston sits in Broward County, which means a real estate lawsuit filed over a Weston property lands in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, and the federal courthouse for the region is in Fort Lauderdale. Those details matter early, because where a case is filed shapes the judge, the procedures, and how quickly a dispute reaches a hearing. The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team handles business and real estate disputes for owners, investors, and families in Weston, Broward County, Palm Beach County, and across South Florida.

If you need a Weston real estate litigation attorney, the underlying problem is usually one of a few kinds: a purchase contract that fell apart before closing, co-owners who cannot agree on what to do with a property, a cloud on title, or a tenant or landlord dispute that has stopped being routine. Each of these has its own deadlines and its own court procedure, and the choices made in the first few weeks often decide how the rest of the case goes.

Weston properties are frequently held by more than one person: investors in a shared building, siblings who inherited a home, former business partners who bought land together, or out-of-state owners who hold a South Florida unit as an investment. When those relationships sour, the dispute is about control and money as much as about the property itself, and the legal tools available depend on how title is held and what the parties signed.

Why Choose the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team for Real Estate Disputes

The Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team is a business and real estate litigation firm serving Weston, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, and the rest of Broward and Palm Beach Counties, along with clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own property or business interests in South Florida.

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 at Emory University in 1986 and his law degree at the University of Miami in 1989. His career has been built around complex contract disputes, which is the foundation of most real estate cases. 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.

A recent result shows what this work looks like at trial. After a five-day bench trial in Broward County Circuit Court, the judge issued a 32-page final judgment awarding the firm’s client specific performance of a commercial real estate contract, meaning the court ordered the deal enforced rather than leaving the client with a money claim. Outcomes depend on the facts and the documents in each case, but that judgment reflects the firm’s comfort taking a contract dispute all the way through trial.

The firm practices as a true legal team, so everyone working on a matter knows the file. Calls are answered, and a strict 24 hour return call policy applies when the attorneys are in court. Clients who live out of state are kept informed at each stage while the firm handles the local appearances. The attorneys are experienced in mediation and arbitration as well as courtroom litigation, and they look for the resolution that fits the client’s goals and budget rather than prolonging a case for its own sake. Many matters also arrive as referrals from other attorneys, including out-of-state lawyers whose clients have Florida disputes.

Real Estate Disputes a Weston Litigation Attorney Handles

• Failed Closings and Purchase Contract Disputes: A buyer or seller who walks away, a financing contingency argument, or a disagreement over deposits can all end up in court. Remedies range from damages to an order forcing the sale to go forward.
• Specific Performance Claims: Real property is treated as unique, so Florida courts can order a party to complete a sale. These claims carry a short one-year limitations period, which makes early action important.
• Partition Actions: When co-owners cannot agree, any owner can ask the court to divide the property or order it sold and the proceeds split. Former business partners, heirs, unmarried couples, and investors commonly end up here.
• Heirs Property Disputes: Family-held land passed down among relatives is governed by a special set of partition rules that give cotenants added protections before a forced sale.
• Quiet Title and Title Disputes: Competing ownership claims, a recorded instrument that clouds title, or an attempted fraudulent conveyance can be cleared through a quiet title action in the circuit court.
• Landlord and Tenant Disputes: Nonpayment of rent, lease violations, and termination notices follow strict statutory notice rules, and mistakes in the notice can undermine an eviction.
• Co-Owner and Partner Conflicts Over Real Property: Disputes between LLC members or partners who hold real estate through a company often involve both the operating agreement and the property itself.
• Emergency Injunctions: When a property is about to be sold, encumbered, or damaged, the firm seeks temporary or permanent injunctive relief to hold the status quo while the case proceeds.

What to Do When a Real Estate Dispute Reaches the Breaking Point

Start by gathering the paper. That means the signed contract and every amendment, the deed and any title commitment, correspondence with the other side, closing statements, deposit records, and for jointly owned property, any operating agreement or co-ownership agreement. Cases like these usually turn on the exact wording of the documents and the history between the parties, so what you hold at the beginning matters more than most people expect.

Then look at the clock. Florida sets different limitations periods depending on the claim. A lawsuit on a written contract generally must be filed within five years, while an oral or implied contract claim has four years. An action to rescind a contract has four years, and fraud claims run four years from discovery, with an outer limit of 12 years. The one that catches people off guard is specific performance, which has only one year. If you want a court to force a sale to close, waiting to see how negotiations go can cost you the claim.

Be careful about what you say and sign in the meantime. Do not accept partial payments, sign releases, or record anything against the property without understanding the effect. In a landlord and tenant setting, for example, a landlord who accepts partial rent after posting a nonpayment notice must handle it in a specific way, such as giving a receipt, placing the funds in the court registry, or serving a new notice, or the eviction can be derailed. Also resist the urge to take self-help steps like changing locks or cutting off access, which can create exposure of your own.

Where the case is filed depends on the property and the amount at stake. Because Weston is in Broward County, circuit-level cases are heard by the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, with the Central Judicial Complex in Fort Lauderdale and regional courthouses serving other parts of the county. Disputes above the county court limit go to circuit court, and larger business and construction matters can be directed into Broward’s complex business division through the procedure set by administrative order. A case may be brought in any county where part of the land sits, so a property spanning or located in Palm Beach County would be heard by the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit instead. Federal claims or cases involving parties from different states may belong in the Southern District of Florida, which holds court in Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Finally, decide early whether you are trying to preserve the relationship or end it, and whether speed matters more than leverage. If assets are being moved, a sale is imminent, or a tenant or co-owner is damaging the property, an emergency injunction may need to be filed before anything else. If the dispute is more contained, a demand letter, mediation, or a negotiated buyout may reach the same end at lower cost. A Weston real estate litigation lawyer can help you weigh those paths before positions harden.

Partition and Quiet Title in Broward County

Partition is one of the more misunderstood remedies. Florida treats these as equitable actions in the circuit court. The complaint must describe the land, identify the owners and where they live, and state each owner’s share. If the court orders partition, it appoints three commissioners, chosen by the court unless the parties agree, to determine whether the property can be divided fairly. When it cannot be divided without prejudice to the owners, the court may order it sold at public auction and the proceeds divided in proportion to each owner’s interest. A sale on credit is possible for good cause, but at least one-third of the purchase money must be paid down unless everyone consents otherwise.

Inherited property gets different treatment. Florida’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act applies to partition actions filed on or after July 1, 2020, when the land is held as tenants in common, there is no binding agreement among the owners about partition, at least one owner got title from a relative, and another statutory condition is met, such as relatives holding twenty percent or more of the interests. When the act applies, a court cannot simply order a sale; it must first have commissioners consider statutory factors and find that dividing the land would prejudice the owners as a group.

Quiet title works differently. Under Chapter 65, a person claiming legal or equitable title can ask the court to cancel a conveyance or other evidence of title and remove the cloud, including cases where someone who is not the rightful owner asserts a claim. Plaintiffs must generally trace title back at least seven years before filing unless the court orders otherwise. Where the claim rests on a fraudulent attempted conveyance, the statute provides a summary procedure and directs the court to advance the case on its calendar. Possession-based claims are a related issue: adverse possession without color of title requires actual, continuous, exclusive possession for seven years, with the claimant filing a return that includes a full legal description of the property.

When the Property Belongs to a Company

Many Weston real estate disputes are really business disputes in disguise, because the building or land is owned by an LLC or corporation. Here, a member or shareholder may have remedies beyond the property itself. A circuit court can dissolve an LLC on a member’s petition on several grounds, including deadlock that threatens irreparable injury, misappropriation or waste of assets, illegal or fraudulent conduct by those in control, or a situation where it is no longer reasonably practicable to carry on the business under the operating agreement. In those proceedings the court can appoint a receiver or custodian after a hearing, or order a purchase of the petitioning member’s interest.

Corporations follow a parallel framework. A shareholder may seek judicial dissolution on statutory grounds, and the corporation or other shareholders can elect to buy out the petitioner at fair value, which avoids dissolution. If the parties agree on price and terms within 60 days after the first election is filed, the court enters an order on those terms. Operating and shareholder agreements often contain their own deadlock sale provisions, and those can take priority if triggered before the court finds grounds for dissolution, so the agreement itself is the first document to read.

Weston Real Estate Litigation: Common Questions

How long do I have to sue over a breach of a real estate contract in Florida?

For a written contract, the general limitations period is five years. An oral or implied contract has four years. A claim seeking specific performance has just one year, so a buyer who wants the court to compel a sale should act quickly rather than assume the longer written-contract period applies.

Can a court really force someone to complete a property sale?

Yes. Because land is treated as unique, Florida courts can order specific performance of a real estate contract. The firm obtained that kind of result for a client after a bench trial involving a commercial property in Broward County. Whether it is available in your case depends on the contract terms and your own readiness to perform.

What is the difference between partition and quiet title?

Partition resolves what happens to property that several people own together, by dividing it or selling it and splitting the proceeds. Quiet title resolves who owns the property in the first place, by removing competing claims or clouds on title. Some disputes involve both.

Which court would hear my case if the property is in Weston?

Weston is in Broward County, so state court cases are heard in the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. County court handles smaller claims within its jurisdictional limit, and circuit court hears larger disputes and equitable matters like partition and quiet title. Federal court in Fort Lauderdale may apply in cases involving federal issues or parties from different states.

Do I need a lawyer to evict a tenant?

The notice requirements are strict, and errors can delay or defeat the case. For unpaid rent, the landlord must deliver a written demand and wait three days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and court-observed legal holidays, before terminating. Other violations may require a seven-day notice, with or without a chance to cure depending on the conduct. Having an attorney review the notice before it is served prevents avoidable setbacks.

If a landlord takes partial rent after serving a notice, is the eviction ruined?

Not automatically. Accepting partial rent does not waive the right to terminate or sue, but the landlord must follow one of the statutory paths: give a receipt stating the date, amount, and balance due, deposit the partial rent in the court registry when filing, or serve a new three-day notice for the revised amount.

My co-owner and I inherited a house from a relative. Can one of us force a sale?

Possibly, but inherited property may qualify as heirs property, which brings added protections. If it does, the court generally must follow the heirs property procedures, including consideration of whether dividing the land is feasible, before ordering a sale. Whether your situation qualifies depends on how title is held and who the cotenants are.

Can I stop a co-owner or partner from selling or borrowing against a property while the case is pending?

In urgent situations, a court can issue temporary injunctive relief to preserve the property or company assets while the dispute is decided. The firm regularly seeks early and emergency relief where property or funds are at risk of being moved or spent.

I live in New York or New Jersey. Do I have to travel to Florida for every hearing?

The firm represents clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut who own South Florida property or business interests, and it handles the local court appearances. Clients are kept informed at each stage so they can protect their interests without traveling for every proceeding.

Does every property dispute end up in a trial?

No. Many are resolved through negotiation, mediation, or arbitration, and the firm’s attorneys are experienced in each. A negotiated buyout or structured sale often serves the client better than a trial, though some disputes require a court ruling.

What if my property dispute is really a dispute with a business partner?

That is common. When a company owns the real estate, the remedies may include claims under the operating or shareholder agreement, judicial dissolution, a court-supervised buyout, or claims for an accounting and breach of fiduciary duty. The firm handles both the business and the real estate sides together.

Can I recover money if my business partner took funds connected to a property deal?

You may have claims for an accounting, breach of fiduciary duty, conversion, and recovery of the funds. The firm handles disputes over unpaid distributions, diverted company money, and commingled accounts, and can seek emergency relief to stop assets from being moved.

Serving Weston and Surrounding South Florida Communities

The firm’s real estate litigation work begins with Weston and extends across Broward County, including Davie, Cooper City, Southwest Ranches, Pembroke Pines, Miramar, Sunrise, Plantation, Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Fort Lauderdale. Property and co-owner disputes in these communities often involve the same questions about title, partition, and contract enforcement, and the same Broward courts.

The firm also represents clients throughout Palm Beach County, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, and West Palm Beach, where the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit hears cases. Clients from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut with a stake in South Florida real estate or a local business partner are served as well, with the Florida court work handled by the firm.

Speak With a Weston Real Estate Litigation Attorney

If a closing has collapsed, a co-owner is blocking a decision, or a cloud on title is keeping you from selling, the options narrow as deadlines pass. A conversation with a Weston real estate litigation attorney at the Andrew M. Schwartz Legal Team can clarify which claims you hold, which court is the right one, and whether the situation calls for emergency relief or a negotiated exit. Call to schedule a consultation and bring the contract, the deed, and whatever correspondence you have.