Practice Group: Construction

Our Construction Practice Group is recognized by industry leaders and the legal community for its experience in providing construction related legal services throughout the state. We are engaged in all aspects of litigation, alternative dispute resolution and counseling services to private and public sector clients, for both residential and commercial construction. Our private sector clients include developers, owners, contractors, and community interest associations, such as cooperatives and condominium associations. We have also played lead roles in cases of statewide and national import, such as the Fire Retardant Treated plywood (FRT) cases in which we represented more than 100 developers and associations.

The Group is active and maintains a high profile in the construction and community interest association arenas, with members serving in leading roles. We also serve or have served as special counsel to a diverse group of clients including the New Jersey Builders Association, the City of Orange Township and private profit and nonprofit organizations. The firm serves as a Master Sponsor of the New Jersey Builders Association and as a Platinum Plus Sponsor of the New Jersey Chapter of the Community Associations Institute. The chair of our Group is a past co-chair of the Construction Committee of the American Bar Association's (ABA) Dispute Resolution Section and a past co-chair of the Construction Committee of the ABA's Section of Litigation. He and other members of the Practice Group are active members of the ABA's Forum on the Construction Industry, as well as the New Jersey State Bar Association's Section on Construction and Public Contract Law.

We offer clients a proven track record, drawing upon the experience of dedicated, skilled and diverse attorneys, including experienced trial attorneys and lawyers well versed in the regulatory affairs of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. We have successfully prosecuted and defended complex, multi-million dollar cases in both federal and state courts, from inception through trial and appeal. Accomplishments include settlement of the FRT litigation, resulting in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars by developer and association clients, a settlement where our condominium association client recovered almost $12.5 million for construction defect and financial claims, and a second settlement where our condominium association client received almost $10 million. We also obtained a decision by the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court that the developer of a condominium project may be liable to unit owners for failing  to disclose the existence of a nearby toxic dumpsite.

The legal and construction communities recognize that our broad-based experience and diversity of clients make our Group's members highly qualified mediators in resolving construction related disputes. Members of the Group are designated mediators in the Judiciary's Statewide Mediation Program, certified mediators in the U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, and are members of the American Arbitration Association panel of mediators and arbitrators. Our attorneys are trained in "partnering" and in various methods of alternative dispute resolution. We encourage our clients to consider cost effective and time saving alternatives to litigation.

Our Group's members frequently speak on construction-related topics and have published numerous articles in state and national publications on construction-related and alternative dispute resolution topics. Dennis A. Estis, the Group's chair, and Wendell A. Smith, along with Christine F. Li, chair of the Planned Real Estate Group, co-authored New Jersey Condominium & Community Association Law, published by Gann Law Books.