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New Jersey contractors face serious legal risks under the Consumer Fraud Act and HICRA. Learn practical steps for NJ contractor lawsuit protection, from proper contracts and licensing to documentation and insurance strategies that keep you out of court.

New Jersey businesses face common contract issues including vague terms, unenforceable non-competes, missing dispute resolution clauses, and verbal agreements. Learn how to protect your business with practical guidance from Peter J. Lamont, Esq., a Bergen County contracts attorney with over 20 years of experience.

When the opposing party refuses to produce documents, answer interrogatories, or comply with discovery obligations, it can stall your entire case. This post explains the tools New Jersey courts provide to force compliance, including motions to compel, sanctions, and adverse inference instructions.

Escrow deposit disputes are one of the most common conflicts in New Jersey residential real estate. Learn what causes them, how interpleader actions work, and how to protect your deposit whether you are the buyer or the seller.

Not every bad review is protected speech. Learn when a negative online review crosses the line into defamation under New Jersey law and what steps small business owners can take to fight back.

Verbal agreements are one of the most common sources of business disputes in New Jersey. Learn why handshake deals fail and what every small business owner should do instead.

When a customer refuses to pay your invoice, New Jersey law gives you options. Learn the legal steps to collect what you are owed, from demand letters to small claims court and beyond.

Construction disputes in New Jersey can involve defective workmanship, contractor licensing violations, mechanic's liens, and more. Learn about your legal options and how the Law Offices of Peter J. Lamont can help protect your property and your investment.

When a business partner breaches a contract, knowing your legal rights is critical. This guide explains the types of breach of contract claims in New Jersey, the steps you should take to protect your interests, and the damages you may be entitled to recover. Contact Lamont Law for a consultation.

People use the word default as if it means a judgment already exists. New Jersey practice separates the concept into two distinct stages. The first stage is the entry of default under Rule 4:43 1. The second stage is a default judgment under Rule 4:43 2. The distinction matters because the legal effect, the available remedies, and the difficulty of fixing the problem change dramatically once judgment enters.

A default judgment is a court judgment entered against a defendant who did not respond to a lawsuit in time. In plain terms, the case moves forward without that defendant participating, and the plaintiff can obtain a judgment that carries the same force as any other judgment. In New Jersey civil cases, default practice is governed primarily by Rule 4:43, and the consequences can be immediate and serious once judgment is entered and collection tools become available.

Spring work begins in January with paperwork. New Jersey regulates residential home improvement through the Consumer Fraud Act, the Home Improvement Practices regulations, and the Home Improvement Contractors Registration Act. These rules set who may perform the work, what must appear in the contract, what disclosures are mandatory, and how changes must be documented. Courts enforce these requirements strictly. Noncompliance exposes contractors to treble damages and fee shift

Winter weather tests premises safety in a way that ordinary operations do not. Snow, ice, melt, and refreeze change conditions hour by hour. New Jersey law does not relax the standard of care because a storm is inconvenient. It measures what a prudent commercial owner or operator did in view of the conditions, the volume of visitors, and the predictability of hazards. The analysis turns on control of the area, notice of the condition, timing of the response, and the paper rec

January often reveals what happened while offices were closed. Inboxes were compromised, forwarding rules were created, cloud folders were accessed, and payment instructions were altered. New Jersey law does not pause for closures. The duty to investigate and, when required, to notify affected residents applies with the same force whether the breach was discovered on a weekday morning or on the evening of December twenty third. A disciplined response that preserves evidence,

An employee’s restrictive covenant…will generally be found to be reasonable if it ‘simply protects the legitimate interest of the employer, imposes no undue hardship on the employee and is not injurious to the public.

A residential host owes social guests a duty to warn about known hazards that guests are unlikely to discover and to act with reasonable care when activities create risk. Loose handrails, dim stair lighting, slick tile at the entry, curled rugs near the table, and extension cords across walk paths are classic sources of claims.

Guests in a private home are social guests under New Jersey law. A host must warn about dangerous conditions the host knows about and the guest is unlikely to discover, and must act with reasonable care when activities on the property create a risk of injury.

Halloween brings unusual traffic to properties, irregular lighting, temporary structures, and an influx of minors who are lawfully on private walkways and steps. The mix of costumes, darkness, and decorations creates risks that courts analyze under ordinary negligence and premises liability principles. In New Jersey, the duty is not seasonal.

Discovery is the backbone of civil litigation in New Jersey. It is the process by which each side exchanges information and documents necessary to prepare for trial. Without it, litigation would become a guessing game.

Litigants in New Jersey federal court often encounter both magistrate judges and district judges during their cases. Many clients are confused about the difference in their roles and authority. Understanding this distinction is critical to navigating federal litigation effectively.