Unlicensed Work: Should You Pay? Do You Have To?
January 11, 2022
by Bob Incollingo
I was recently asked about the legal responsibility of a consumer to pay for the services of unlicensed well drillers and pump installers.[read more]
Concealed Defects in a Hot Real Estate Market
September 2, 2021
by Bob Incollingo
I recently had lunch with an engineer friend who asked if I thought the hot residential real estate market foreshadowed a coming wave of “morning after” lawsuits by buyers against sellers.[read more]
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Construction Contract Start Dates
April 21, 2020
by Bob Incollingo
For the time being, the State of New Jersey has halted all non-essential construction projects by Executive Order No. 122 as part of its effort to reduce the rate of community spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). [read more]
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Temporary Succession Planning for Small Business Management
April 2, 2020
by Bob Incollingo
As a small business owner in the time of coronavirus (COVID-19), you want to keep things running if you need to go out sick. Now is a good time to plan for temporary succession of management, and if you are doing business as an LLC, you’re in luck. [read more]
Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Breach of Construction Contract
March 12, 2020
by Bob Incollingo
When your people are down sick and you can’t staff the job, will coronavirus excuse breach of contract? [read more]
On the Hook for Your Subcontractor’s Payroll and Taxes?
March 4, 2020
by Bob Incollingo
New laws signed by Governor Phil Murphy on January 20, 2020 make New Jersey construction contractors responsible for their subcontractors’ debts for unpaid wages and violations of employer tax law. [read more]
Which Warranty for a Tear Down and Rebuild?
December 16, 2019
by Bob Incollingo
It’s not enough for a lawyer to know the answer to a simple question. That lawyer needs to be able to “cite to authority” so that a judge can have confidence that the question has been answered the same way in the past. Relying on past decisions is the basis for our common law system, and it works pretty well over competing approaches. [read more]
NJ Public Works Contractor Apprentice Program
October 15, 2019
by Bob Incollingo
The New Deal is not over. Eighty years on, the National Apprenticeship Act of 1937 authorizes and directs the Secretary of Labor “to formulate and promote the furtherance of labor standards necessary to safeguard the welfare of apprentices, to extend the application of such standards by encouraging the inclusion thereof in contracts of apprenticeship, to bring together employers and labor for the formulation of programs of apprenticeship, (and) to cooperate with State agencies engaged in the formulation and promotion of standards of apprenticeship, ….” (29 U.S.C. 50a). [read more]
Goodbye Quantum Meruit
July 2, 2019
by Bob Incollingo
First and foremost, a lawsuit for breach of contract requires the existence of a contract, which here means an agreement the courts will enforce. If you have a written contract signed by the other party, then you’re on your way. In most instances, an oral agreement will also support a breach of contract claim, but you risk typical proof problems regarding terms. [read more]
The Lien Fund for Recovery
June 18, 2019
by Bob Incollingo
In the abstract, it’s hard to imagine anything less compelling than a disagreement over construction. Forgive the pun, but in concrete terms that view would be mistaken. Outrage over feeling ripped off is dyed in the bone of construction disputes. Owners and contractors anchor to outcomes, personally vested beyond proportion to the dollars involved. [read more]
Hard Question for the Handyman
June 06, 2019
By Bob Incollingo
I called my friend to help me hang a pegboard for my tools. He had hung his own pegboard, and I had admired it for a long while. My friend’s pegboard is an organized thing of beauty. He came over to help, and now my new pegboard is an organized thing of beauty, too. [read more]
Commercial Contractor Limitation of Actions
May 18, 2019
By Bob Incollingo
In my standard form of attorney-client agreement I include this paragraph:
“A disturbing recent trend in business is the use of contract terms which drastically shorten the time periods for bringing claims against the breaching party. [read more]
