Donald B. Brenner

• New Jersey 
• Pennsylvania
• Third Circuit Court of Appeals
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania 
• Supreme Court of the U.S. 

• J.D., Rutgers Law School, 1982
  • Editor, Notes and Comments, The Rutgers Law Journal
• B.A., State University of New York at Albany, 1979
  • Magna cum laude

*Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances*

Mr. Brenner has been lead or co-counsel at trial for multiple complex cases, including Renaissance Condominium Association, Inc. v. Renaissance Estates, L.P. et. al., which was nearly a six-month jury trial against 24 active defendants ending in a verdict and settlements totaling nearly $20,000,000*. Camelot Condominium Association, Inc. v. Dryvit Systems, et. al., a nearly two-month jury trial which resulted in a jury verdict in March 2008 finding that Dryvit, the largest EIFS Manufacturer in the United States, violated the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. This verdict was the first of its kind in New Jersey, with a total recovery of $5 million*.

Mr. Brenner has been lead counsel or co-counsel in many condominium construction litigation cases which have settled at or shortly before trial. The terms of the settlements are confidential, but a representative sample includes (results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances):

• $7,250,000 settlement* at trial of a complex construction deficiency case against over 30 defendants involving claims relating to roofs, EIFS, stone, and decks in a 125-unit condominium;
• $6,000,000 settlement* before trial of a complex design and construction defect case Stark & Stark took over from another law firm involving a 460-unit condominium with severe water infiltration and structural deficiencies;
• $4,250,000 settlement* achieved during transition negotiations in a complex condominium construction defect case involving EIFS, decks, dormers, and other common elements;
• $3,000,000 settlement* before trial of a complex construction deficiency case against over 20 defendants involving claims relating to EIFS, windows, doors, the sea wall, roofs, and structural damages to concrete decks constructed from concrete filigree slabs in a 50-unit condominium;
• $1,650,000 settlement* at trial of claims against 6 defendants relating to EIFS, framing, the fire suppression system, and structural issues in a 48-unit condominium;
• $1,600,000 settlement* before trial of claims against 8 defendants relating to structural issues, decks, roofs, and EIFS in a 2-story, 7-unit condominium;
• $1,390,000 settlement* before trial of claims relating to deficient installation of stucco and stone on 69 single-family homes;
• $1,300,000 settlement* before trial of claims relating to deficient installation of a brick exterior cladding system on a 6-story mid-rise building;
• $1,000,000 settlement* at trial of claims against multiple defendants relating to structural issues caused by severe site drainage deficiencies.

Mr. Brenner was also lead counsel on numerous complex construction cases, including (results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances):

• A construction design and deficiency case against 20 defendants involving claims totaling over $15,000,000* relating to severe water infiltration through stucco, roofs, and balconies of a 300-unit condominium in northern New Jersey;
• A construction deficiency case for a large condominium against 40 defendants involving claims totaling  roughly $20,000,000* relating to exterior stone, EIFS, brick, roofs, and framing issues;
• A construction design and deficiency case for an eight-story condominium involving approximately $15,000,000* in damages for claims relating to brick, roofs, EIFS, balconies, a large curtain wall window system, and structural failures; and
• A six-story condominium in northern New Jersey where severe water infiltration is causing massive damage. The builder chose to install ceramic floor tile on the exterior walls of the building by adhering it to (what remains of) gypsum sheathing.

Mr. Brenner was also lead counsel or co-counsel in the trial of the condemnation of the Long Branch Pier in Long Branch, New Jersey. After trying the first set of liability issues to a favorable verdict, the damages portion of the case was settled at trial for $2,650,000 (results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances).

*Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances*

• The Surfside Disaster- A Case Study of Building Collapses. NJICLE. October 1, 2021.
• Effective Preparation of Expert Witnesses. 25th Anniversary National Expert Witness SEAK Conference. May 14, 2016.
• Construction Litigation: What to Expect, How to Recover Your Damages and Fix Your Buildings Without Going Broke. The NJ Cooperator‘s Condo, HOA, Co-Op, & APT Seminar. May 7, 2014.
• Experience Counts in Complex High Rise Transitions. Community Trends. May 2016.
• Co-Author. Builders, Contractors and Homeowners: Beware- Insurance Carriers are Deleting Construction Deficiencies Coverage. New Jersey Law Journal, (October 19, 2009).
• Homeowner’s Association Standing To Assert Without Joining the Homeowners. New Jersey Law Journal. March 24, 2008.
• EIFS Cases: Is it Preferable to Bring Them as Class Action Suits or as Individual Suits? Journal of Community Association Law, 52, Vol. 6, No. 2, (2003).
• Consider Conflicts of Interest Before Representing A Developer and A Community Association. Journal of Community Associations Law, 51 No. 2, (2000).
• Minority Shareholder Oppression Under the Business Corporations Act. New Jersey Law Journal. August 16, 1999.
• There Is a Developing Trend Among Courts of Making Choice of Forum Clauses in Franchise Agreements Presumptively Invalid. Commercial Law Journal. Spring, 1997.
• Attorney Negligence in Commercial Transactions: An Ever-Widening Spectrum of Liability. Commercial Law Journal. Spring, 1996.
• Vanished Collateral: Fifth Amendment Concealment. Banking Law Journal. October, 1995.
• New Jersey Supreme Court Rules that Foreclosing Mortgages Are Subject to the Anti-Eviction Act in Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Actions. Commercial Law Journal. Summer, 1995.
• The Right of Access to Civil Courts Under State Constitutional Law: An Historical and Current Perspective. Rutgers Law Journal. 1982.

• New Jersey Super Lawyers List issued by Thomson Reuters (Methodology)
  • 2005 – 2022; Construction Litigation: Business, Business Litigation

• Best Lawyers List issued by Woodward/White, Inc. (Methodology)
  • 2010 – 2022; Litigation – Construction

* No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.

• American Bar Association – Forum on Construction Law
• New Jersey State Bar Association – Construction Law Section
• Commerical Law Journal – Former Contributing Editor
• Community Trends the Community Associations Institute (CAI) Magazine – Former Contributing Editor
• The Lawyer’s Advisory Council of the New Jersey’s Banker’s Association – Former Member
• National Editorial Board of Advisers to Lender Liability News – Former Member