Category: Property Law
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Premises Liability Ruling for Fraternity
College Student Shot At Fraternity Files Premises Liability Suit Premises liability is a legal doctrine. It allows a victim injured on someone else’s property to obtain compensation. However, a victim cannot obtain compensation just because he was injured on someone else’s property. He has to prove something more. One of the things that he has to prove…
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Slip Fall Case: Snow Removal
Slip Fall Victim Sues For Fall Outside Her Apartment During Snowstorm Here are excerpts from an actual New Jersey slip fall case. Arlene Holmes was a tenant at an apartment complex owned and operated by INCAA-Carroll Street Houses Corp and VMC Management. She suffered a slip fall injury on the snow outside of her apartment.…
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Homeowner Liability To Injured Guest
What Is The Extent Of Homeowner Liability To An Injured Guest? Today’s topic is homeowner liability. Say an injured woman sees an accident lawyer. She was a guest at a neighbor’s home. Then she tripped on a bulge in the carpet, breaking her ankle. Must the neighbor pay her compensation? Like many other situations in the law, the…
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Accident Lawyer: Trespassers Can Sue
Accident Lawyer Advisory: Injured Trespassers May Be Able to Sue A trespasser comes to see an accident lawyer. He was on someone else’s property. He had no right to be on the premises. But he tripped on something. He was badly injured. Now he wants to sue the property owner for damages. Can he? You…
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The Case of The Unwarranted Inspection
Garfield has an ordinance that allows its construction official to make inspections to determine the condition of residential dwellings. (For those of you not familiar with the municipal law, Construction Official is a Latin term that means “an engineer who knows a politician.”) The ordinance allows the construction official to enter all dwellings at any…
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The Case Of The Repo Man Who Ran Off With The Car Owner
Annette failed to make her car loan payments. This default resulted in a visit from Ted the repo man. When Ted was about to drive away with Annette’s car, Annette decided that it was a good time to remove some personal items from the trunk. Ted, being a conscientious employee, wasn’t deterred. He drove off…
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Fallen At The Church, Or The Case Of The Profitable Parking Lot
As far as New Jersey state law is concerned, homeowners are not responsible to maintain the sidewalks next to their homes. Therefore, if a pedestrian trips and falls because of a defect in such a sidewalk, the homeowner generally can’t be sued. On the other hand, businesses are responsible to maintain their sidewalks. If someone…
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Banks Can’t Foreclose Without Mortgage In Hand
An appellate New Jersey court ruled recently that any lender trying to foreclose on real estate must prove possession of the mortgage note. In fact, the lender has to prove possession before it is even allowed to file a complaint. If there is no mortgage note, then the lender lacks what is called “standing.” Standing…
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New Court Program For Avoiding Foreclosures
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey recently started a new program designed to help avoid foreclosures. It’s called the Loss Mitigation Program. It provides several options besides mortgage modification to debtors who are in danger of losing their homes. The most interesting thing about the program is that there are no mediators. No one…
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Municipalities Can’t Regulate Booze
Sayreville, in Middlesex County, recently tried to regulate the type of restaurants that can allow “BYOB” (bring your own booze), a practice common in most municipalities. The apparent purpose of the regulation was to discourage those establishments that featured “adult” entertainment. Some guys weren’t too thrilled at the prospect of not being allowed to bring…