New Jersey Construction Legal Questions

In order to have a claim against any party, you would need to have damages.  If you suffered an injury, depending on the facts and details, you may have a personal injury and/or workman's compensation in claim.  In New Jersey, employers are required to carry workman's compensation insurance.  Good luck to you, Melanie Ryan ... Read More

Your question about breach of contract implies that you want to sue him. But before just stopping payment without warning or filing a lawsuit there may be other methods to get him to finish the job. Stopping payment without warning might create an adversarial situation. Edward Zohn, Attorney at Law, Warren NJ, 908.791.0312  ... Read More

Call the code enforcement office for the town.  they have to keep vibrations down to a minimum.  you should have someone take a film of your entire property and date it so that if there are any cracks, you will be able to document that the cracks are new.  You may also have to contact the county engineer, and determine if the neighbor has ll of the proper permits for interior renovations and construction.... Read More

Get the name and address of the contruction company.  If you don't know it - call the town and get the information from the building permit.  Send a letter, certified mail, to the contracution company and the owner of the property advising them of the damage.  Include pictures.  You should also put your own homeowner's insurance company on notice.  Tell them you want the damage repaired immediately.  you may need to get an estimate for the cost of repairs.... Read More

No, I'm sorry but the statute of limiations for this has probably run out several years ago.  There will be an argument that you knew, or should have known about the error many years ago.  Furthermore, if you look at the surveyor's contract, there is probably a clause that says that damages are limited to the amount paid to the surveyor for the work completed.  ... Read More

This question was posted twice, so I deleted the second one.     If you have a basement contractor, he is a home improvement contractor who must be licensed.  If not, there is a violation;  If licensed, there must be a written contract setting forth what is to be done, how long to take, payment schedule and starting date.  If no written contract, then Consumer Fraud Act violation; if beyond start date, then breach of contract and potential CFA claim.  If he is sued for CFA, and loses, he may owe treble damages.  Tell hinm to give you back your money and avoid a lawsuit and a complaint to his licensing board.... Read More

Get the building inspector out there, quick !!  Take photographs and/or video of what happens on a rainy day and ask the building inspector to issue a violation notice.  It could be a matter of regrading the property or re-directing the flow of down spouts or other drainage issues, but if the water is now flowing on to your property because of the pool, you have to get the town involved. ... Read More

I'm not sure what your complaint is.  Do the units work?  Is the house being cooled?  You complaining because of oversized units?  Is the claim that there is some excess cost you have incurred as a result?  If so, you will need to hire an expert who will be able to demonstrate the difference in the cooling capacity of the proper size compressor and the size compression that you have, the cost of each payment of loss you have suffered as a result of the oversized compressors being utilized.... Read More

The lawyers for the class action lawsuit are concerned with settling the common questions and issues that apply to all members of the class.  By your description, you have other issues that are not part of the class issues.  In such a case, it is always wise to retain your own attorney to deal with those aspects in particular, and generally to watch out for your particular interests.... Read More

You didn't say which state you were in when the injury occurred.  Here in Ohio, and in every other state, you would have a workers compensation claim.  The issue with the workers compensation claim is that in most circumstances the workers compensation act for that state insulates the employer from personal injury claims.  Your medical charges and, if you have uncompensated lost time from work that should be covered by workers comp.  You will not get the classic "pain and suffering" that you would in a non-work related personal injury, but you may have some temporary or permanent partial disability as a result of your injury. One of the ways around that protection for the employer is if there is a law in your state requiring special safety requirements for your particular work.  From your description, it sound like the kind of equipment which would need a guard, but that will vary from state to state and with the specifics of the equipment.  In Ohio it is called a VSSR or a Violation of a Specific Safety Requirement claim.  That will get you additional compensation.  You may also have a direct personal injury claim against your employer, depending on the laws in your state.  Personal injury claims in work related injuries are most often available when the employer intentionally did something, like remove a guard, which would be likely to cause your injury.  The theory that avoids the workers comp defense to a personal injury claim, at least in Ohio, is that such an injury is not "in the course of and arising out of your employment" because you don't expect your employer to do something to intentionally hurt or injure you.  Other states may have other types of personal injury laws in the event of such a violation. You may also have a claim against the manufacturer of the equipment.  That, too, will depend on several issues, including state law, the age of the equipment, what guards were on the equipment when it was manufactured and several other issues.  Each state has a statute of limitations, a limitation of time between the date of the injury and the time you file the lawsuit/file a workers compensation claim.  In addition, many states have statutes of repose, a limitation on the time period between the delivery/installation of the equipment that injured you and the time of the injury/date of the filing of the lawsuit.  Those laws change all the time.  When I was in law school Ohio did not have a statute of repose and the law firm that I worked for filed a claim on a conveyor belt manufacturer that built a conveyor 75 years earlier.  Now, Ohio has a statute of repose that would have forbidden that claim. Check Lawyers.com for a workers compensation attorney in your city and state.  It is likely that a good workers comp attorney in your state will also be able to handle the VSSR type claim and any personal injury claim against the manufacturer, if there is one available to you.... Read More

no - its not "legal" to store those materials on your lawn.  however, if the company that stored the materials there is repairing your lawn, the "wrong" they have committed has been made "right".  you did not mention any other damages you had other than the construction company damaging your lawn.   If the renovations were to the road, it is possible that the concrete blocks were to be placed in an easement along side of the road and the company placed them on your property inadvertently.  You should be certain that the town you live in does not have an easement or right of way along your property. ... Read More