Recent Blog Posts

• Municipalities Cannot Require Builders to Provide Common Open Spaces
  The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled this month in two companion cases, New Jersey Shore Builders Association v. Township of Jackson, A-5805-06 (June 23, 2008) and Builders’ League of South Jersey v. Egg Harbor Township, A-1563-07 (June 23, 2008), that municipalities cannot require as a condition of approval that builders and developers provide on-site recreation areas or facilities, or common open space, outside the context of planned unit developments. The Court also held that municipalities cannot require payment of monies to built such facilities off-site in lieu of providing them on-site. The Court found that ordinances requiring such conditions of development approvals were not authorized under the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL). Through this ruling, the Court has ended a longstanding practice of municipalities to exact these types of conditions from developers, and, for developers who have in the past been made to remit payments in lieu of providing on-site recreation areas, ....
• Homeowner's Association Standing To Assert Without Joining the Homeowners
  Donald B. Brenner, Shareholder and Chair of Stark & Stark's Construction Litigation group, authored the article Homeowner's Association Standing To Assert Without Joining the Homeowners for the March 24, 2008 edition of the New Jersey Law Journal. You can read the full article here. ....
• $5 Million Verdict In Favor Of New Jersey Residential High-Rise Building
  On March 11, 2008, in the matter of Camelot Condominium Association, Inc v. Dryvit Systems, Inc., pending before the Superior Court of New jersey, Docket No. BER-L-012457-04, a jury entered a verdict in favor of the Plaintiff and against Dryvit Systems, Inc ("Dryvit") for violations of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. Dryvit Systems is the largest manufacturer of Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems for residential and commercial construction in the United States. With settlements the Plaintiff obtained before and during trial from other defendants, the total irecovery for the Plaintiff following the jury verdict was $5,046,000. The case involved a joint repair project done in 1998 on what was then a 16 year old high rise building clad with roughly 300 panels coated with Dryvit's EIFS. The jury returned a verdict that charged Dryvit with knowledge that the Dryvit EIFS finish coating on the buildng's exterior panels softened when exposed to substantial water penetration. That ....
• Condo Association Equitably Estopped from Consumer Fraud Act Relief When Its Conduct Resulted in the Violation
  After a condominium association president declined a contractor’s request to execute a written change order and directed the contractor to proceed with the additional work, the association was barred from seeking relief under the Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”) (N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -167) provisions requiring that all modifications to contracts for home improvements be in writing. B & H Securities, Inc., v. CKC Condominium Ass’n, Inc., 2008 WL 508082 (App. Div., February 27, 2008). Defendant Association hired Plaintiff contractor to complete installation of a fire alarm system in its building that had been begun, but not completed, by a prior contractor. After Plaintiff inspected the premises, its engineer, Charles Hamburger, briefly inspected a portion of the building and estimated the time and expense necessary to complete the project. The parties entered into a time-and-materials contract for completion of the fire alarm system , which was necessary for the building to pass a municipal ....
• Property Owner Did Not Waive Arbitration Clause by Participating in Lawsuit
  In an unpublished case, the Appellate Division recently affirmed the trial court’s decision that defendant property owner did not waive the arbitration clause of its AIA construction contract with plaintiff construction company by participating in plaintiff lawsuit for a year before invoking the arbitration clause. Delam Construction Corp. v. 15 Thornton Road, L.L.C., A-0582-06T1 (App. Div., December 10, 2007. After weighing a variety of factors, including plaintiff’s incurring the expenses of litigation, plaintiff’s bringing a lawsuit although it must have known of the arbitration clause, and defendant’s “playing fast and loose” with the court until invoking the arbitration clause on the eve of trial, the court concluded that plaintiff would not be prejudiced by remitting the case to an arbitrator since the discovery accomplished during the pendency of the lawsuit would be useful in the arbitration. Neither party disputed that $187,368 plus interest remained unpaid to plaintiff ....
• Consumers Cannot Waive Regulatory Requirement for Written Home Improvement Contracts
  The Appellate Division recently denied a landscaping contractor’s suit to collect amounts due for extra work in addition to that called for in his contract for complete landscaping of the defendants’ home. Online Contracting, Inc. v. Tripucka, No. A-2622-06 (App. Div., December 6, 2007). The defendants counterclaimed for treble damages and attorneys’ fees under the Consumer Fraud Act (N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to 116). The court concluded that the contractor’s failure to secure a written agreement for extras totaling $32,994 violated N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.2(a)(12), which requires all home improvement contracts exceeding $500 to be memorialized by a writing signed by the parties, specifying the work to be performed and the materials to be used, and identifying the start and end date. The contractor argued that the following language, included within the underlying agreement for landscaping purposes, authorized verbal change orders: Any alteration or deviation from the description of the work listed ....
• Gehry - Construction Defects are Inevitable
  World famous architect Frank Gehry, and his firm Gehry Partners is a defendant in a recent lawsuit brought by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology alleging design and construction defects in a $300 Million building on the Cambridge, Massachusetts campus. MIT also sued the contractors who built the building, alleging that design and construction defects caused leaking, cracking, and poor drainage, and that MIT will have to pay millions to fix the problems. Gehry, when interviewed about the lawsuit, said that construction problems in complex buildings are inevitable, and “The chances of it getting done ever without something colliding or some misstep are small.” Gehry, like most architects surely believes that his design is fine, and that the builder made mistakes in execution. The builder, a the New Jersey arm of a Swedish firm called Skanska AB, when asked for comment, stated “This is not a construction issue, has never been.” So, the builder believes, of course, that the design ....
• Builder's Risk Policy Does Not Cover Damage to City Sewer Pipe
  Plaintiff WHP9, the developer of a multi-building residential project in North Bergen, secured a builder’s risk policy from defendant Centennial Insurance and liability insurance from another carrier before beginning construction. WHP 9, Inc. v. Centennial Ins. Company, A-1454-06T1 (App. Div. October 23, 2007). Plaintiff’s application for the builder’s risk coverage stated the development’s value when complete as $6 million, without reporting the municipality’s sewer pipe or its cost in any way. While driving piles for footings, a subcontractor punctured a 36-inch cast iron sewer line that ran beneath the property. The damage was discovered in 2002, and the municipality issued a stop work order in March 2003. Plaintiff’s liability insurer defended plaintiff in the municipality’s damage suit, ultimately settling with the municipality. Asa a result of the stoppage, Plaintiff incurred lost rental income and other expenses exceeding $3 million. Defendant denied coverage under the builder’s ....
• Appellate Division Enforces Terms of Association’s Insurance Policy
  In an unpublished decision, the Appellate Division recently enforced an insurer’s duty to indemnify and defend a condominium association for damages resulting from an occurrence during the policy period even though they were not discovered until after the policy had expired. Steinbauer v. East Coast Acquisitions, LLC, 2007 WL 2593007 (App. Div. September 11, 2007). In March 2003, Ramapo Ridge Condominium Association Phase II (“the association”) discovered that a pipe had burst and flooded an abandoned unit. After the municipality declared the unit unsafe, Sirius American Insurance Co. (“Sirius”), which insured the association under a property damage and general liability policy effective from July 2002 through July 2003, undertook to repair and remediate the damaged unit, which was thereafter acquired by East Coast Acquisitions (“East Coast”) at a foreclosure sale. After additional repairs and upgrades, East Coast conveyed the unit to the plaintiff in July 2004. When plaintiff’s ....
• New Jersey Federal Court Declines to Hear Minnesota Insurance Coverage Dispute.
  Judge Noel L. Hillman of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, sitting in Trenton, recently dismissed a case before her on the grounds that the New Jersey court was an inappropriate place to hear the dispute. The case is First Colonial Insurance Co., et. al, v. Custom Flooring, Inc., et. al., 2007 WL 1651155 (D.N.J. June 4, 2007). The claims in the case involved a flooring project in a building in Minnesota. The general contractor on the job was a New Jersey Corporation named Stone Cor. There was a suit filed in Minnesota over defects in the flooring installation against Stone Cor and its subcontractor Custom Flooring, Inc. This suit was eventually settled, with participation from one of Custom Flooring’s insurance companies, First Colonial. Stone Cor was also an additional insured on a policy issued by Farmer’s Insurance Exchange, which denied coverage in the Minnesota case and declined to provide a defense. The New Jersey action was filed by First Colonial ....
• District Court Defines "Residential Construction"
  As the real estate market contracts, contractors, subcontractors and suppliers with unpaid balances will need to protect their interests by, among other things, taking advantage of applicable lien laws. In construing New Jersey’s lien laws, definitions of “residential” and “commercial” construction have long been considered by many to be a gray area. The Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey recently addressed the distinction. It held that agreements with general contractors or developers in which contractors, subcontractors, and suppliers agree to provide work, services, material or equipment to large-scale residential developments are residential construction contracts. In re: Kara Homes, ____ F.Supp. _____ (D.N.J. August 29, 2007).This means that such contractors, subcontractors and suppliers must follow the more complex provisions applicable to residential construction contracts when they wish to secure an unpaid balance with a construction lien. In New Jersey, the ....
• If You Volunteer For Something, Do It Right.
  There are often instances during construction projects where someone, a field superintendent, a manufacturer’s representative, a salesman, a consultant, etc. will “stop by” a job site and “inspect” work that is being done. Sometimes the inspection is needed before the manufacturer issues a warranty, or it may be done by the product distributor as a favor to the installer. These inspections usually do not result in changes or repairs, and often the inspector assures everyone that the installation is just fine. If the inspection is done because it is required by a contract, or otherwise, then obviously a duty to act reasonably is implied. Even in the absence of an obligation to perform such inspections, the law will impose a duty to act reasonably, if one who relies upon the work is harmed. Even if you are doing someone a favor, if you represent that the work was done properly, you could be liable if it turns out you were wrong. New Jersey law holds that one who gratuitously undertakes ....
• Consumer Fraud Case Hits New Jersey Supreme Court - Appellate Division
  The New Jersey Supreme Court Appellate Division recently upheld a judgment against a stucco/masonry contractor under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act in Briggs v. Luisi, et al.. The case involved allegations by the owners of a single family home that the stucco/masonry contractor negligently performed repair work on the exterior of the house and on cracks in the home's foundation, and that the contractor violated the Consumer Fraud Act through affirmative misrepresentations and knowing omissions in connection with a five year warranty issued covering the work. After performing only a portion of the scope of work he was retained to complete, the contractor gave the homeowner a guarantee on the exterior stucco surface and the foundation of the entire house against cracks and defects for a period of five years. In discovery, however, the contractor admitted that he did not complete all of the work that was described in the warranty. He also acknowledged that the plaintiff and the ....
• Lying Home Seller Found Liable for Hiding Mold
  After a bench trial, a judge in New Haven, Connecticut ruled that the seller of a house that had obvious, visible mold damage - black mold stains in the utility room and water stained and rotted wood inside - had intentionally concealed the existence of this problem, and was liable to the buyers for the cost to prevent further water intrusion, the cost to repair the damage caused by past water intrusion, and $25,000 for emotional distress. The case is Camerone v. Phillips, 2007 WL 241258, (Conn. Super. Jan. 17, 2007), The award of emotional distress damages was later vacated. Camarone v. Philips, WL 2081330 (Conn. Super. April 17, 2007). The plaintiffs purchased a home in North Haven, Connecticut from the sellers in 2003. Upon moving in, they immediately noticed severe water seepage in the lower level of the house, and brought suit against the sellers for failing to disclose the problems. Sellers argued that the buyers had hired a home inspector, and relied upon his inspection, and ....
• Construction Defect Case Frequent Claim
  A component product’s failure to perform as represented by its manufacturer is a frequent claim in a construction defect cases. Often, defendants of such claims attempt to hide behind general disclaimers and limitations of warranty. Addressing the failure of a component product of yachts, the Federal Court for the New Jersey District recently denied a manufacturer’s summary judgment motion, having concluded that a general disclaimer of warranty will not automatically defeat an express warranty created by representations, descriptions and affirmations set forth in a product bulletin. Viking Yacht Co. v. Composites One LLC, ___ F. Supp.2d ___, 2007 WL 2153243 (D.N.J. July 26, 2007). Defendant’s distributor sold the plaintiffs, two New Jersey yacht manufacturers, the gel coat used as the outermost surface of the yachts. Gel coat provides an attractive finish while protecting the yacht from water and other materials. Prior to their purchase of gel coat, defendant provided the plaintiffs ....