Where West Palm Beach Business Cases Are Heard
West Palm Beach business runs on finance, wealth management, and real estate, and the disputes that reach us track it. Unpaid contracts, partnerships gone sour, money that moved where it should not have, and companies that got sued and need a defense that starts strong.
West Palm Beach sits in Palm Beach County, where civil cases run through Florida's Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. A business dispute worth more than $50,000 belongs in circuit court, and here that means the Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley Courthouse at 205 North Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. Filings go through Florida's statewide e-filing portal, the docket sits with the Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, and the filing fee for a circuit civil case runs about $400 under state law.
The Fifteenth Circuit does not run a separate business-court division, so commercial cases share the general circuit civil docket with foreclosures and injury suits. That is not a disadvantage if your lawyer treats it correctly. It means the schedule, the motion practice, and the pace of the case are driven by counsel rather than by a specialized court, and a well-built commercial case stands out to a generalist judge in a way that rewards preparation.
What We Handle for West Palm Beach Businesses
- Partner and ownership fights. Freeze-outs, deadlocks, records battles, and forced buyouts have their own statute and their own playbook. Start with suing a business partner or the full partner disputes guide.
- Contract and collection claims. Unpaid invoices and broken agreements, where a demand letter from a lawyer resolves a meaningful share before anyone sues, and collecting the judgment is priced in from the start.
- Fraud and civil theft. When money or property was actually taken, Florida law can put three times the damages plus attorney's fees on the table, behind a statutory demand with a 30-day clock.
- Defense. Everything above from the other chair, where the first month decides most of what follows.
The full practice, including the rules every owner learns the hard way, lives on our statewide business litigation page.
A contract broken, a partner off the rails, or a lawsuit on your desk?
The early moves set the price of everything after. Book a free 30-minute consult and get an honest read before you commit to a path.
Book your free consultRemote-First, in Court When It Counts
Most of a commercial case is documents, motions, depositions, and hearings that Florida circuits now routinely hold by video. That is why a West Palm Beach company does not need a lawyer with an office down the street; it needs one who prepares harder than the other side. We work by phone and video, file where the case belongs, and appear in the Palm Beach County courtroom for the moments that decide it, at trial and at the hearings that matter. We are a Miami firm serving West Palm Beach businesses remotely; this is not a West Palm Beach office.
When to Call, and What It Costs
Call when a partner locks you out or goes quiet, when a six-figure invoice ages past excuses, when your company has been served, or when you can see evidence starting to move. The free 30-minute consult maps the claim, the leverage, and the honest math before you commit to a path.
Fees are quoted at the consult, once we understand the claim, the documents, and the realistic recovery. Depending on the matter that may be hourly, contingency, or a hybrid, and fee-shifting can change the calculus, since many contracts carry prevailing-party fee clauses and some statutes award fees to a winner. We will also tell you plainly when the fight is not worth having.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you have an office in West Palm Beach?
No. We are a Miami firm serving West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County businesses remotely, by phone and video, and we appear in the Palm Beach County courthouse when the case calls for it. Most of a commercial case is documents, motions, and video hearings, so where your lawyer parks matters far less than it used to.
Where would my West Palm Beach business lawsuit be filed?
Business disputes over $50,000 are filed in circuit court. For West Palm Beach that is the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, sitting at the Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley Courthouse, and commercial cases are heard in the general circuit civil divisions. Smaller claims go to county court, and some contracts route disputes to arbitration instead, so the filing question is worth answering before the filing.
Do Palm Beach County hearings require showing up in person?
Usually not for the routine ones. Florida circuit courts commonly hold non-evidentiary hearings by video, and depositions and mediation are often remote as well. Trials and key evidentiary hearings happen in the courtroom, and we appear where the case is filed when it counts.
How much does business litigation cost?
It is quoted at the free 30-minute consult, after we understand the claim, the documents, and the amount at stake. Depending on the matter it may be hourly, contingency, or a hybrid, and fee-shifting can change the math, since many contracts carry prevailing-party fee clauses. We will also tell you plainly when the honest answer is a demand letter and a negotiation rather than a lawsuit.
Common Situations
The partner who went quiet. Distributions from a West Palm Beach company stop, the books close to one owner, and calls go unanswered. A records demand under Florida's LLC statute, followed by a claim built on what the records show, turns silence into a negotiated buyout.
The invoice that aged out of excuses. A vendor owes $180,000 on a contract with a prevailing-party fee clause. A demand letter with the ledger and the clause attached produces a secured payment plan in weeks, because defending a documented claim that also pays the other side's lawyers is a losing trade.
Sources
- Fifteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Divisions
- Palm Beach County Clerk of the Circuit Court & Comptroller, Main Courthouse
- Fla. Stat. §28.241 (circuit civil filing fees); §§26.012 and 34.01 (circuit and county court jurisdiction). Court and clerk details verified on the official sites above; retrieved 2026-08-09.
Updated August 9, 2026. Reviewed by Kevin D. Klagge, Esq., Fla. Bar No. 99502. Attorney Kevin Klagge represents families, businesses, and international clients in estate and tax planning, business structuring, and international law, with a focus on Florida legal tools. He litigates estate and business issues in court. General information about Florida law, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created. Outcomes depend on the specific facts; past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. We serve West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County businesses remotely. Do not send confidential information until we have agreed to represent you.