Toms River Construction Dispute Lawyers

Find the right Construction Dispute attorney in Toms River, NJ

Construction Dispute Law in New Jersey

Owners of real estate in Toms River, 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 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 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 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.

Litigating a construction dispute in Toms River, New Jersey is definitely not something that anybody likes doing. Nonetheless, it is sometimes necessary, as a last resort.

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

Construction Delays: Delays in construction are frequent 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.

Owner's Refusal to Pay: If the contractor completes the project, and the owner refuses to pay the agreed-upon price, the contractor will normally file a lawsuit to recover what is owed. Of course, the owner will normally claim that there is a good reason for not paying, arguing that the contractor didn't conform to the project's specifications, or that the quality of construction was unacceptably poor. In such a case, the court will have to decide if the contractor actually breached the contract by doing shoddy work, which could, at least in part, excuse the owner's duty to pay.

Subcontractors: Subcontractors are hired by general contractors to assist them in large construction projects, normally specialized tasks like installing plumbing. Nonetheless, no matter how much of the work is performed by subcontractors, the general contractor (the one that the client actually hired to do the project) is liable to the landowner as if it were doing all the work itself. This essentially means that, if a subcontractor messes up, the general contractor is the one who gets sued. But all is not lost in such a situation. If the general contractor has to compensate the owner because of the mistakes of a subcontractor, it can sue the subcontractor for whatever it had to pay to the landowner.

Mechanic's Liens: A mechanic's lien is a way for a contractor to secure payment if a landowner declines to pay. In such cases, if the contractor sues and wins, he or she can sometimes impose a mechanic's lien on the property he or she just worked on. This authorizes the contractor to force a sale of the property to cover the judgment. It is usually used when other attempts to secure payment fail.

Can a Toms River, New Jersey Attorney Help?

Construction disputes and disagreements can be very hard to deal with alone. The assistance of a Toms River, New Jersey real estate attorney can make the process of dealing with these disputes much quicker and easier.

Talk to a Real Estate Law Attorney now!

Life in Toms River

Toms River underwent a name change in November of 2006. Prior to being called Toms River, the city was called the Township of Dover. As of 2010, the city has a population of 91,239 people.

The city is known because in 2006 it was ranked fourteenth amongst the Safest City in the U.S. by Morgan Quitno. Three hundred and sixty-nine cities were surveyed. CQ Press, in 2007 and 2008 also ranked Toms River in their Safest Cities list.

Toms River has been pictured in popular television shows such as MTV's Made and Jersey Shore, as well as Boardwalk Empire on HBO. It has also been pictured in the popular film The Amityville Horror.

The area is home to many attorneys who have established well-respected practices. Therefore, the legal inquiries of residents and local businesses can easily be handled by Toms River's legal force.

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