Newark Construction Dispute Lawyers

Construction Dispute Law in New Jersey

Owners of real estate in Newark, New Jersey commonly 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 disputes 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 normally 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 process through which the parties agree to have their dispute resolved by a third party, which can render a binding decision. Arbitration can be faster and cheaper than litigation, and it has some other advantages, as well.

Litigation of construction disputes in Newark, New Jersey can be extremely time-consuming, stressful, and costly. Nevertheless, there are (relatively rare) times where it is the only option.

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

Delays in Construction: Delays are commonly points of contention between contractors and landowners. Contracts sometimes have clauses which explicitly state that the project needs to be completed by a certain date, or penalties will be imposed on the contractor (reduced payments, for example). However, if the contract doesn't contain such built-in remedies, or one party refuses to abide by them, litigation may be necessary. If a contractor causes a delay that it could have prevented, it will normally be liable to the landowner for any harm resulting from it.

Owner's refusal to pay: if the contractor finishes a project to specifications, and the owner of the property doesn't pay the contractor, the contractor will most likely file a lawsuit to recover the agreed-upon price. In such cases, the owner will normally argue that the contractor's work wasn't of acceptable quality. In these cases, the court must decide who first breached the contract. In these cases, it's the party who did not breach first who wins the lawsuit. If the court finds that the contractor breached the contract through sub-quality work product, the owner will not be accountable for payment (though he may have to pay for materials and labor), and if the court finds that the construction was acceptable, the owner has to pay, because he is the party in breach.

Subcontractor Disputes: When a construction company is contracted to complete a large project, there is normally a great deal of specialized work to be done which they aren't equipped to handle. As a result, they hire other contractors, who, in this arrangement, are subcontractors, to do some of the work. However, the general contractor (the one that the landowner hired to do the work) is still responsible for the completion of the project - if a subcontractor causes a problem, the general contractor is on the hook for it. This sometimes leads to landowners suing general contractors for the mistakes of subcontractors. If the general contractor loses, and has to pay the client, the general contractor can then sue the subcontractor for whatever amount of money it had to pay.

Mechanic's Lien: If the contractor wins in a lawsuit against the land owner, and the court orders the owner to pay the contractor for services rendered, the contractor needs a way to secure payment, if the owner refuses. In some cases, a mechanic's lien authorizes the contractor to force the sale of the land, and any improvements to it, in order to secure payment for the services it provided.

Can a Newark, New Jersey Attorney Help?

Construction disputes can be time-consuming and costly. Hiring a brilliant Newark, 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.

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Life in Newark

Newark is a massive city. To give you an idea how massive, "The Brick City" is the largest in all of New Jersey and at a short distance of 8 miles from Manhattan, it's an ideal place for many New York professionals to call home. Port Newark is on Newark Bay along the Atlantic Ocean and is the largest port on the East Coast. The Port of Newark offers the most rail facilities, biggest cranes, and wide deep docking. It serves as the location for shipping nearly all New York containers. Newark's skyline shows what industrious city it is. Newark is home to the headquarters of Prudential Financial, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey, New Jersey Transit, and the Public Service Enterprise Group PSEG are headquartered in downtown Newark.

Newark plays host to some of the nation's best universities and schools. The New Jersey Institute of Technology has educated NASA aerospace engineers to National Technical Medal of Technology winners. Rutgers University is located in Newark and has been consistently voted as one of the top business and graduate school in the United States. The city and local colleges draw outstanding talent for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center that is just adjacent to Military Park, a 6 acre green space with the well known "Wars of America" statue on display. You may also remember Brick City which was aired as a five part documentary on the Sundance Channel in 2009. The second installment comes in 2011. The documentary revolved around Newark's leaps and bounds to improve the safety and corruption of the past.

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Construction Dispute Law in New Jersey

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