Litigation

Most people are well aware from personal experience about landlord-tenant relationships. Parties enter into a written lease providing for payment of a monthly rent and security deposit and containing the rights and responsibilities of the parties during the tenancy. Then if a tenant fails to pay rent, the landlord may file an eviction action in the Special Civil […]

A statute of limitations sets forth the time that a plaintiff has to file a lawsuit on his claim. These statutes vary from state to state. For example, a New Jersey personal injury victim generally has two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit, or is barred from making a claim

In New Jersey, in order to maintain a professional malpractice lawsuit, a plaintiff must provide an “affidavit of merit” to the defendant after filing suit. The affidavit of merit statute in part requires that, in any action seeking damages “resulting from an alleged act of malpractice or negligence by a licensed person in his profession

Modular homes are a cost effective alternative to stick built housing. They are prefabricated in a factory setting, in units of boxes. Depending on the home size desired, the house can consist of from three to ten boxes or more. Because a modular home is manufactured under controlled conditions, there is more of an opportunity for

It seems like at least once a week, I get a call from someone who has had money frozen in their bank account due to entry of a judgment. In some cases, s/he does not even know that s/he was sued. Then there is a very limited amount of time before the creditor obtains a

In a prior blog on this firm’s websites, we looked at the general rules for serving a summons and complaint on an individual in New Jersey.  Let’s look at some of the variations in that process. A minor under the age of 14 must be served by delivery to either his parent, his guardian or

Faithless Servant Doctrine The New Jersey Supreme Court in its 2015 decision in Kaye v. Rosefielde confirmed that an employer suing a disloyal employee could recover the compensation paid to the employee during the period of disloyalty, even if the disloyal conduct did not actually damage the employer. The court found that “disgorgement” is an equitable remedy

New Jersey has one of the most stringent residential tenant security laws in the nation.  First, the landlord can charge no more than 1 ½ times the monthly rental amount as a security deposit.  Next, s/he must deposit the money in an interest bearing account for the benefit of the tenant, and notify the tenant

Let’s clear up some common misunderstandings about what it takes to have a claim for common law fraud in the civil courts of New Jersey. First, there must be a material misrepresentation of a presently existing or past fact.  That means that someone lied to you about something significant. Secondly, it must be proven that

In a recent unreported Appellate Division decision, the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) as applied to home contractor disputes was clarified. The contractor had sued the homeowners for $5000 owed on a home improvement contract and obtained a judgment against them. The Appellate Division reversed and dismissed the contractor’s breach of contract claim. The