In the summer of 2017, Becker secured a landmark $9 million-plus jury verdict against the subsidiary of a national developer on behalf of a condominium association located along the Hudson River. The award included punitive (treble) damages for violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud...
A great concern of any association board or manager is responding to a fire. While not often the first thing on a board member’s mind; once it happens all focus turns to how the association can help to reduce risk. The occurrence of a fire...
For every condominium and homeowner association, “control” is eventually transferred by the developer to an owner-controlled governing board after construction. This is called “transition.” A successful transition is one in which the owner-controlled board works with the developer to ensure appropriate governance, adequate financial resources,...
Dos Keep your Board educated concerning emerging trends. Board members aren’t tied the latest cases, legislation, and changes that impact their roles as board members. Many allied professionals – attorneys, accountants, engineers, insurance agents – will send emails or links to posts about important new...
Part Three of a Three-Part series: The leak came from another unit, how is it my responsibility? In week one of our three-part series, we learned that the association is generally not responsible for property damage in a unit barring some negligence on its part...
Part Two of a Three-Part series: They are responsible, shouldn’t their insurance carrier provide coverage? Last week in part one of our series, “Who pays when causation, claims and coverage cross?” we discussed responsibility for property damage. We learned that responsibility is not as simple...
Part One of a Three-Part series: My oriental carpet was damaged by a roof leak; shouldn’t the association pay for the cost to replace my carpet? The answer is, “it depends.” Having insurance does not always equate to a legal responsibility for damage caused (or...
Do . . . 5. Create realistic budgets that fund all necessary operating expenses and reserves. Many board members take great pride in never raising assessments. This is a great practice if there is an ability to reduce certain costs – say insurance premiums. But if it...
Very often boards of condominiums and other community associations hesitate to engage in litigation against unit owners who fail to pay common expense assessments due to fear of the legal expense. In addressing this concern, I often advise boards that likely if you do nothing, you...
On December 7, 2017, a Hudson County Superior Court Judge, in the matter of Grandview II at Riverwalk Port Imperial Condominium Association, Inc. v. K. Hovnanian at Port Imperial Urban Renewal III, LLC, et al, Docket No. HUD-L-2839-14 ("Grandview II"), denied summary judgment to an architect...