Law Blog
May a Plaintiff Amend His Claim After Identifying the Incorrect Defendant?
In a world filled with partnerships, subsidiaries, and joint ownerships, identifying a defendant is not as easy as it sounds. However, if a plaintiff fails to name the correct defendant, he may risk dismissal. The question becomes what does a plaintiff need to do to...
Can a Tenant Recover Attorney’s Fees From a Landlord if the Lease Does Not Provide for That Right?
Landlords are generally the parties that prepare the lease agreements into which their tenants enter. This unequal bargaining power typically allows landlords to insert language that requires tenants to pay the landlord’s attorney’s fees for any legal claims that...
New Jersey Bulk Sales Law: Arguably the Most Important Law You’ve Never Heard of
The New Jersey Bulk Sales Law (Bulk Sale Statute) applies to transactions involving the sale, transfer or assignment in bulk of business assets of any part or whole of the person's business assets, other than in the ordinary course of business. N.J.S.A. 54:50-38. The...
New Jersey Municipal Mechanics’ Lien Law
It is well established that a subcontractor may recover against a public agency even though there is no direct contractual relationship between the parties. Accordingly, where either a contractor or a subcontractor performs work with respect to public improvements and...
What is Spot Zoning?
What is spot zoning? That was one of the questions before the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Hal Holding, LLC v. Mount Laurel Township, A-1340-10T2, 2012 WL 1556301 (N.J. Sup. Ct. App. Div. May 4, 2012.) In that case, the parties were...
Will the Economic Loss Doctrine Bar a NJ Negligence Claim if That Would Result in the Plaintiff Having No Remedy at All?
Will the economic loss doctrine bar a claim for negligence if by doing so, the plaintiff will be left without a remedy? That issue was addressed in Spectraserv, Inc. v. The Middlesex County Utilities Authority et al., Docket No. L-2577-07 (Law Div. July 25, 2013). In...
Does the New Jersey Declaratory Judgments Act Grant Rights to a Party Affected by a Municipal Ordinance?
May an individual whose rights have been affected by a municipal ordinance seek a declaratory judgment? The Supreme Court of New Jersey has construed the Declaratory Judgments Act in a way that allows such individuals to seek declaratory action. Bell v. Stafford Tp.,...
What Constitutes Constructive Eviction For A Commercial Tenant?
When has a landlord materially deprived its commercial tenant of an expected and intended use of a premises, as required for constructive eviction? The Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division for the First Department addressed this question. Pacific Coast...
Will a Commercial Tenant Have to Pay Rent While The Landlord Makes Renovations to the Property That Cause The Tenant to be Constructively Evicted?
In 1561 Irving, LLC v. Francisca Lopez, No. A-1150-10T3, 2012 WL 3115043 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Aug. 2, 2012), the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey was presented with the following question: if a landlord makes renovations to commercial...
What is Inverse Condemnation and How is it Applied When Ownership of the Land Changes?
In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey addressed the difficult issues surrounding inverse condemnation. Inverse condemnation is when a property owner is deprived of all or substantially all of the beneficial use of the...
Is a homeowner who retains and manages contractors for his own home improvement project able to enforce his rights under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (CFA) and New Jersey Contractor’s Registration Act?
In a published case, the Appellate Division of Superior Court of New Jersey determined that even though a homeowner may have acted as a “contractor” for his own project by retaining and managing all the other contractors, nevertheless, he still had the protections of...
Does a New York Contractor Need a License to Sue for Breach of Contract?
New York Contractors who perform work without the requisite license could find themselves lacking the necessary tools to bring legal action against residence owners they contract to do business with. In a New York case, the parties entered into a written contract that...
When Is Substantial Truth an Adequate Defense to Defamation?
In a 1964 decision, the Supreme Court established that truth is an absolute defense against defamation. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, 376 U.S. 254 (1964). However, for parties involved in defamation suits, it is similarly important to know about the affirmative...
What does it take to prove Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying occurs when one person repeatedly uses information technology such as blogs, chat rooms, cell phones, e-mails or instant messaging to deliberately threaten, harass or intimidate another person(s). Cyberbullying also includes cyberstalking; sending...
Court Defines Test for Filing Anonymous Lawsuit
Whereas many Internet defamation cases involve anonymous defendants, there are many situations in which a plaintiff wants to remain anonymous. For example, a victim of defamatory comments of a sexual nature may wish to remain anonymous to avoid public humiliation. In...
Rescission of an Employment Contract Based on an Employee’s Misrepresentations
In accordance with general principles of law, rescission of a contract is generally allowed only in narrow situations, such as where a party is fraudulently induced into entering into the contract. Rescission may also be permitted where there is a willful, material,...
Is it a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to sue a debtor in the wrong city?
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) when it instituted a Syracuse City Court action in New York State against a debtor in a city where the debtor did not reside....
What Elements Need to be Satisfied Under New York Law to State an Unjust Enrichment Claim?
To state a claim for unjust enrichment in New York, a plaintiff must establish that a) the defendant benefitted; b) the defendant benefited at the plaintiff’s expense; and c) that equity and good conscience require restitution. Tasini v. AOL Inc., 851 F.Supp.2d 734,...