Most of you know Habitat for Humanity as a charitable organization that builds houses for the economically disadvantaged.  Its most famous volunteer is former American President Jimmy Carter.  Central to the Habitat program is the concept of sweat equity, where the home recipient puts in a mandated number of hours of labor alongside the volunteers.  Habitat is dependent upon private donations of materials, funds and volunteer labor.  I was pro bono counsel for a Habitat chapter for 22 years, during which time we built 30 houses.  I handled real estate purchases and sales, zoning applications, subdivision approvals and general corporate representation for that affiliate.

Read more →

In the recent reported Appellate Division decision in Raji v. Saucedo,  the trial court determination barring a tenant’s counterclaim against the landlord was upheld.  The facts were that the landlord filed an eviction action for non-payment of rent.  On the trial date, the parties negotiated an agreement that the tenant would make some rental payment in exchange for being allowed to remain in the house for a couple of months.  That agreement was entered by the court as a consent judgment.

Read more →

In a prior blog, we discussed a New Jersey Supreme Court decision barring accident victims from recovering their medical expenses from the negligent driver causing the injury. The plaintiff in that case had chosen a $15,000.00 personal injury protection (PIP) limit on his insurance, and the Court stated that therefore, he was limited to recovering a maximum of $15,000.00 for his medical expenses related to the accident from the other driver’s insurance company, where his expenses were far in excess of that limit and where the other driver was responsible for the accident.  We invited the Legislature to step up and right this wrong.

Read more →

In a recent unreported decision, the New Jersey Appellate Division confirmed that an unlicensed, uninsured accident victim was barred for suing for his pain and suffering and medical expenses arising from his motor vehicle accident.  The plaintiff was operating an uninsured, unregistered vehicle owned by his ex-girlfriend who was incarcerated in Texas.  He had moved to New Jersey eight months before the accident.  He had no valid drivers license or medical insurance coverage.

Read More

When a homeowner fails to make mortgage payments, the lender will typically file a foreclosure action. Ultimately the lender may obtain a final judgment of foreclosure and then schedule a sheriffs sale for the property. At the sheriffs sale, the highest bidder will obtain title to the property, by a deed from the sheriff to the bidder upon payment in full of the bid price. The bidder then records the sheriffs deed with the county clerk and is then considered to be the record owner of the property.

Read More