Fort Lauderdale Debt Collection Attorneys

Quick summary: Fort Lauderdale’s marine and port businesses hold expensive assets that move, including boats and cargo. Broward County also has several courthouses, so where a case is heard isn’t always obvious.

Fort Lauderdale has grown well beyond tourism. Downtown and the Cypress Creek area hold many finance, legal, and healthcare offices, and Las Olas Boulevard and Flagler Village are known for shops, restaurants, and mixed-use buildings. The marine industry is a major employer, with yacht building, repair, and service companies that buy from local suppliers and sell to buyers worldwide. Port Everglades and the I-95 and Florida Turnpike corridors support warehouses, distribution, and freight companies.

When one of those businesses doesn’t pay, the case is heard in Broward County, in Florida’s Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.

For creditors and referring attorneys

Creditors with Fort Lauderdale files are often marine parts suppliers, boatyards, freight vendors, equipment lessors, and landlords. Assets here can leave the dock or the county, so speed matters. We’ll tell you quickly what’s reachable and how fast we’d need to move.

Referring attorneys can send us Broward County enforcement work, including out-of-state judgments that must first be domesticated in Florida.

Collecting a debt or judgment in Fort Lauderdale

Businesses here commonly hold commercial property, bank accounts, inventory, equipment, and receivables. Marine businesses add vessels and costly equipment, which are often financed. The tools that fit:

• Boats and marine equipment: levy, after checking for a recorded vessel mortgage or lien
• Money owed by boat owners and other customers: garnishment of those receivables
• Office, warehouse, and retail property: a judgment lien recorded in Broward County
• Operating accounts: a writ of garnishment served on the debtor’s bank

Our judgment enforcement page explains each tool.

The venue: Broward County Central Courthouse

Broward circuit civil cases are heard at the Central Courthouse on SE 6th Street downtown. County civil is also handled at three regional courthouses: North in Deerfield Beach, South in Hollywood, and West in Plantation. The Seventeenth Circuit has a Complex Litigation Unit with a business subdivision for cases with many parties or heavy post-judgment supervision. Appeals go to the Fourth District Court of Appeal.

• Courthouse: Broward County Central Courthouse, 201 S.E. 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
• Clerk: Broward County Clerk of Courts
• Circuit: Seventeenth Judicial Circuit guide (official site)
• Appeals: Fourth District Court of Appeal

Frequently asked questions

Can a debtor’s boat be seized to pay a judgment?

It can, but boats are often financed, and a recorded vessel mortgage comes first. Boats also move. We check the records and act fast when there’s equity worth going after.

Will a Fort Lauderdale county court case be heard downtown?

Not always. Broward hears county civil at the Central Courthouse and at regional courthouses in Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Plantation. We confirm the location when we file.

Bottom line: If a Fort Lauderdale business owes you money, contact us or call (813) 229-0900. Some assets here don’t stay put, so it pays to start early.

Nearby: Miami, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach.

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