East Orange Construction Dispute Lawyers

Find the right Construction Dispute attorney in East Orange, NJ

Construction Dispute Law in New Jersey

Owners of real estate in East Orange, New Jersey frequently contract with other parties ("contractors") for construction on the property they own. Such projects are likely to suffer at least a few minor setbacks, and any project also carries the risk of major setbacks, delays, or unexpected costs.

Most often, landowners and construction contractors are able to resolve minor to moderate disagreements between themselves, and litigation is rarely necessary. Nobody likes litigation, so, to this end, most construction contracts have built-in remedies in case something goes wrong, like set price reductions if construction is delayed.

Even if disagreements can't be resolved amongst the parties to the contract, they don't need to take their dispute into the court system. For instance, construction contracts typically call for mediation or arbitration before any disputes are resolved by the courts. Mediation is a process by which a third party serves as a sort of intermediary in settlement negotiations between the parties to the contract. The mediator can help keep negotiations on track, and suggest possible solutions the parties might not have thought of. The mediator can't issue a binding decision, however. Arbitration is a procedure through which the parties agree to have their dispute resolved by a third party, which can render a binding decision. Arbitration can be quicker and cheaper than litigation, and it has some other advantages, as well.

Because of the large cost in time and money involved, litigation in East Orange, New Jersey is regarded a last resort. However, in rare cases, it does become necessary.

Examples of Construction Disputes That Might Lead to Litigation in East Orange, New Jersey

Construction Delays: Delays in construction are prevalent sticking points between contractors and landowners. These delays can sometimes lead to litigation, especially if the construction contract makes it clear that time is an important factor, or if the contract mandates a certain completion date. In such situations, a court will often award the landowner compensation for any monetary losses he or she suffered as a result of the delay.

Refusal to Pay: Disagreements can also arise from a client's refusal or inability to hold up his end of the deal. Sometimes, once a project is complete, or nearly so, a landowner will express an unwillingness to pay the contractor for his services. There might be a variety of reasons for this - sudden loss of money, or dissatisfaction with the quality of the work are a few examples. It's rare that a client will refuse to pay a contractor simply because they don't feel like it (and if that is the reason, they'll typically come up with a better one to argue in court). In these cases, a court will occasionally have to decide if the client is obligated to pay the full price. If the work was, indeed, not up to the standards laid out in the contract, the contractor is not entitled to the full price, but is still entitled to the actual value of the work, even if it's considerably less than the contract price.

Subcontractor Disputes: With very considerable construction projects, general contractors don't always have the resources to do all the work themselves, so they hire other contractors to do some of the work for them. Nonetheless, it is the general contractor who is ultimately responsible to the owner for the satisfactory completion of the project. So, it is very critical to the general contractor that subcontractors do a good job. If the subcontractor causes a delay or other issue, and the owner sues the general contractor as a result, the general contractor can then go after the subcontractor to recover whatever it lost in the lawsuit.

Mechanic's Liens: Sometimes, when a contractor wins in a case against the landowner who hired him or her, and obtains a court order for payment, the contractor will still refuse to pay. Since a money judgment isn't worth much without a way to enforce it, the laws of many states have evolved to permit what's known as a "mechanic's lien." As a last resort, if a landowner refuses to pay the contractor for work done on the property, the contractor can force a sale of the property, and keep the proceeds, up to the amount of money owed.

Can a East Orange, New Jersey Attorney Help?

Construction disputes can be time-consuming and costly. Hiring a reliable East Orange, New Jersey real estate attorney can make it much easier to deal with such disputes, and help you avoid litigation, or prevail if litigation becomes necessary.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in East Orange

East Orange, New Jersey is a city in Essex County, and it has a population of about 68,000 people. East Orange was originally incorporated by an act of the New Jersey Legislature in 1863.

East Orange is a fairly diverse city, and a significant number of immigrants from the South American country of Guyana have taken up residence there, accounting for 2.5% of the population. As with any city with a significant immigrant population, immigrant communities have added a touch of their own culture to East Orange, giving it that much more character.

New Jersey has designated the city of East Orange as an "urban enterprise zone." This is a package of benefits that the state extends to entrepreneurs if they decide to open a business in a community that needs economic revitalization. Businesses are encouraged to set up shop in these zones mostly with tax and regulatory breaks. As an attempt to stimulate consumer spending in these areas, the sales tax is lower than in other parts of New Jersey.

There are plenty of East Orange, New Jersey lawyers who can probably handle any legal issue that you might find yourself facing. If you find yourself with any legal problems, you should call an East Orange, New Jersey lawyer as soon as possible.

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