Client Overview of Construction Law

McLaughlin & Nardi, LLC Client Overview of Construction Law

McLaughlin & Nardi’s construction attorneys have decades of experience in a wide range of areas in New Jersey construction law. Our attorneys handle transactional work, such as contract negotiation and drafting and litigation, including state and federal construction litigation, construction arbitration and construction mediation. We also litigate bond and construction lien disputes, and provide business counseling to owners, contractors and subcontractors on construction projects.

Given this, we thought it might be valuable to summarize the many areas of New Jersey construction law. We have therefore compiled some of our blogs and other publications which we thought might be useful to our clients. We’ve put them together into the McLaughlin & Nardi, LLC Client Overview of Construction Law. The link is below. It’s not meant to be a comprehensive treatise on what to do in a particular situation. New Jersey’s construction law covers too many areas and is far too complex for a short “tell all” guide. However, our hope is that this publication gives you a useful overview of this complex area. If you have a particular situation about which you need advice, we encourage you to contact us at:

37 Vreeland Avenue
Totowa, New Jersey 07512
(973) 890-0004 (phone)
(973) 256-3641 (fax) info@esqnj.com (e-mail)

Some of the areas which our Overview discusses include these:

• Construction Contracts. The contract is the basic foundation of all relationships on construction projects, and it is the bedrock of New Jersey construction law. It sets out the rights and obligations of the parties, and its language often determines the outcome of disputes and litigation between them.
• Construction Litigation. Our attorneys have had significant success in construction litigation. We have tried to convey an overview of construction litigation, how to avoid it if possible, and how toCLient arrive at a successful conclusion if litigation cannot be avoided.
• Alternative Dispute Resolution. ADR includes various mechanisms to resolve disputes without going to court. The most common forms of ADR are mediation and arbitration. Construction arbitration involves a third-party (called a mediator) trying to bring the two sides to a dispute together to settle their disagreement without litigation. Construction arbitration involves a third-party (called an arbitrator) who hears testimony and reviews evidence in an informal, unappealable “trial” format.
• Construction Liens. New Jersey has its own Construction Lien Law. This law allows contractors and subcontractors to place a lien on property they have worked on to ensure they receive payment for their work. However, these liens can have extremely negative effects on owners. New Jersey’s Construction Lien Law therefore has technical requirements which must be strictly complied with to protect owners.
• Construction Industry Employment Issues. Our attorneys do a considerable amount of employment law. While employment laws that apply to all employers apply to contractors as well, the construction industry has its own unique employment law issues, most notably the classification (or misclassification) of workers as employees or independent contractors. Misclassification has significant consequences both for the employer and the worker.
• Prompt Payment Act. New Jersey has laws that require prompt payment for contractors and subcontractors, but also has provisions by which an owner can dispute invoices.
• Disputes Between Owners of Construction Businesses. As is common in any industry, one of the most frequent problems in construction businesses are disputes between the owners. Our attorneys are experienced in drafting agreements which avoid disputes and include mechanisms for resolving disputes amicably and, settling disputes before they turn into litigation. When litigation cannot be avoided we aggressively fight for our clients.
• Consumer Fraud. Consumer fraud is both a sword and shield. New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act applies to home improvement contracts. It gives homeowners a powerful tool to protect them from unscrupulous contractors, but it also has technical requirements which can trip up even the best and most honest of contractors. We work with contractors to insure that they do not violate the Consumer Fraud Act regulations and to defend them in Consumer Fraud Act litigation. We represent owners who have been the victim of dishonest contractors.

In short, we hope that our Overview gives you a comprehensive introduction to New Jersey’s complex construction laws. Please call us at (973) 890-0004 if you need help with a particular construction law issue.

Click here to download the McLaughlin & Nardi, LLC Overview of Construction Law.