David J. Byrne, Shareholder, is a member of the Business Law Group and concentrates his practice in the area of Community and Condominium Association Law. David Byrne provides homeowners associations, condominium associations and cooperatives with a full range of legal advice and services including the drafting and negotiation of association service contracts, rules and regulations and alternative dispute resolution (“ADR”), collections, transition negotiations with developers, construction defect litigation, municipal services and relations, fair housing compliance, restrictive covenant enforcement and interpretation, and any necessary litigation-related services.

Mr. Byrne successfully secured the Appellate Division’s reversal of a trial court’s refusal to apply the Municipal Services Act (“Kelly Bill”) to a community association in development, a decision reported at 330 N.J. Super. 345 (App. Div. 2000). Mr. Byrne also appeared before New Jersey’s Appellate Division, arguing in favor of a community association’s right to tow vehicles, enforce restrictive covenants, protect owners’ privacy and the collection of assessments and attorneys’ fees. Mr. Byrne successfully secured the dismissal of the complaint of several condominium owners in the United States District Court, District of New Jersey, regarding the United States Fair Housing Act, parking issues and allegations of retaliation, a decision reported at 173 F. Supp 2nd 244 (D.N.J. 2001).  Mr. Byrne successfully represented the association in the landmark New Jersey Appellate Court decision upholding parking-related rules on public roads in a private community and protecting that board from a defamation suit, a decision reported as Verna v. Links at Valleybrook Neighborhood Association, Inc. at 371 N.J. Super 77 (App. Div. 2004).  He successfully argued that a condominium need not provide ADR prior to instituting an action for injunctive relief, in a reported decision, Finderne Heights Condo. Association, Inc. v. Rabinowitz, 390 N.J. Super. 154 (App. Div. 2007). He successfully defended several associations via jury trials against fiduciary duty suits. He also testified before the 2003 New Jersey State Committee on Investigations inquiring into home construction and inspection abuses.

Mr. Byrne frequently lectures for the New Jersey Chapter of the Community Associations Institute, the Cooperator, the South Jersey Condominium Managers Association, the Institute of Real Estate Managers, the New York/New Jersey Cooperator Annual Conference and the Delaware Valley Chapter of CAI. He has lectured extensively on a variety of topics, including the collection of community association assessments, a developer’s obligations pursuant to New Jersey’s Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act (“PREDFDA”), alternative dispute resolution, mediation, insurance, contract law and construction defects. He has written numerous articles for CAI’s Community Trends magazine, the national publication Community Association Law Reporter and the New York and New Jersey Cooperator, addressing issues such as affordable housing units, collections, free speech concerns, ADR and fiduciary duty.  Mr. Byrne is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Community Association Manager, a publication serving the needs of the country’s community association managers.

 

In 2008, Mr. Byrne was named by the New Jersey Law Journal as one of the top 40 Lawyers under 40 in New Jersey.

You can read Mr. Byrne's most recent blog post here.