AGA’s Community Association Group at CAI-NJ Expo

Visit Ansell Grimm & Aaron’s Community Association Practice Group at the 2016 CAI-NJ Annual Conference & Expo, booth # 309 on Wednesday, October 26, 2016 at the Garden State Exhibit Center, Somerset. Attorneys from AGA will be on hand to answer questions regarding the Group’s legal services for homeowners associations, condominiums and cooperatives. If you wish to schedule a meeting, please contact David Byrne, Esq., Practice Group Chair at 609.557.1031 or [email protected]. To learn more about the event visit https://cainj.wildapricot.org/widget/event-2141216

Patterson leads Community Associations Institute – Hudson Valley Roundtable Discussion

Stacey Patterson, an attorney in AGA’s Community Association Practice Group led a roundtable discussion on behalf of Community Associations Institute (“CAI”) – Hudson Valley which took place in Hillburn, New York on September 15th.

The discussion was attended by various professionals in the Hudson Valley community association industry and board members from New York condominium associations and HOAs. Board members and managers had the opportunity to ask Ms. Patterson legal questions including questions surrounding ADA compliance, unit owner access to community documents, common element maintenance and modifications and governing document interpretation.

Ms. Patterson is located in AGA’s Woodland Park, NJ and White Plains, NY offices.   To discuss your legal needs, you may contact her at 973-925-7343 or [email protected].

MARE Journal covers antitrust suit on Eatontown Gas Stations

The Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal reported on Fidelity Eatontown, LLC and Quickchek Corp.’s antitrust lawsuit against Excellency Enterprise, LLC, Kennedy Auto Service, Inc., Gas of Eatontown, Inc. in its Aug. 26 issue. AGA partner Josh Bauchner is representing Fidelity Eatontown, LLC and Quickchek Corp. in the suit, relying on the recent United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decision in Hanover 3201 Realty, LLC v. Village Supermarkets, Inc. Bauchner has represented Fidelity Eatontown, LLC and Quickchek Corp. before the Eatontown Planning Board and other government entities and the suit alleges that the defendants engaged in sham litigations and frivolous pretextual appeals to preserve their monopoly position in the borough.

The Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal provides comprehensive coverage of the commercial real estate industry in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C.

For the full story visit the MARE Journal’s Aug. 26 publication.

Seminar to provide overview of dispute resolution process

In New Jersey, community associations are required to formally offer Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to resolve housing related disputes among members (home owners) and/or the association itself. Ansell Grimm & Aaron PC’s Community Association Practice Group partner Richard B. Linderman, will present an educational program on ADR on Wednesday, Sept. 14from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. at Tir Na Nog, Cherry Hill.

The program, which will provide an overview of what mediation is and how it works in the ADR process, is sponsored by the Pennsylvania and Delaware Valley Chapter of Community Association Institute’s New Jersey Regional Council. Community association managers will receive two continuing education credits for taking part in the event which is being presented in conjunction with three Business Partner Roundtables.

For more information, or to register for the ADR seminar or the roundtables, please visit CAI’s New Jersey Regional Council page.

 

For more information on AGA’s Community Association Practice Group, contact, Richard B. Linderman, at 609-557-1032 or via email at [email protected].

 

Zolotorofe examines controlling interest transfer taxes for MARE Journal

AGA Attorney Jessica Zolotorofe looks at the different ways states treat the “Controlling Interest Tax” in her latest column in the Aug 26 issue of the Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal. Most states don’t have a version of the tax, first imposed by New York in 1986, which is intended to ensure that the state receives the appropriate tax revenue when a property changes hands. The full article can be found here: Controlling Interest Transfer Tax.

Ms. Zolotorofe is based in AGA’s Woodland Park office. Her practice is devoted to the areas of real estate transactions, including buying, selling, leasing, and financing commercial properties, as well as civil litigation matters. Ms. Zolotorofe can be reached at 732-643-5256 or at [email protected]

CAP Group to exhibit at CAI-NJ’s Legislative Breakfast Sept. 14

David J. Byrne and Ansell Grimm & Aaron’s Community Association Practice Group, will exhibit at Community Association Institute of New Jersey’s Legislative Breakfast on Wednesday, Sept. 14 at Forsgate Country Club, Monroe. Key New Jersey opinion leaders and lawmakers, including state Department of Community Affairs Director Charles A. Richman, will discuss pending state legislative issues regarding New Jersey’s common interest communities. For additional information about the event, or CAI-NJ, visit their website  or contact them via email at [email protected] or by phone at 609.588.0030.

For more information about AGA’s CAP group, or to discuss legal needs for your homeowners association, condominium or cooperative, please contact David J. Byrne at 609.557.1031 or [email protected].

The Honorable Anthony J. Mellaci Jr. joins AGA

 Following a distinguished career on the bench as a New Jersey Superior Court Judge, and before that in the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, The Honorable Anthony J. Mellaci Jr. has joined Ansell Grimm & Aaron PC. You can find out more in the Asbury Park Press at:
https://lnkd.in/eY_6SNf

Anthony J. D’Artiglio joins Ansell Grimm & Aaron, PC

Anthony J. D’Artiglio, Esq., has joined Ansell, Grimm & Aaron, PC’s Litigation Department as an associate attorney.

Mr. D’Artiglio and the firm’s litigation practice group offer extensive legal acumen as well as an in-depth understanding of commercial operations in banking, energy, apparel, media, food, health, and real estate. The firm’s litigation practice group engages at the trial and appellate levels in both State and Federal courts, as well as in arbitration and mediation proceedings.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. D’Artiglio worked as a litigation associate at a Manhattan law firm and served as a law clerk to the Honorable Anthony M. Massi, J.S.C., in the Civil Division of the New Jersey Superior Court, Mercer County. He is admitted to the New Jersey and New York Bars and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Boston College Law School.

“We are thrilled to have Anthony join our growing litigation team at AGA,” stated Joshua Bauchner, Co-Chair of AGA’s Litigation Practice Group.  “Anthony brings us solid legal skills to support the full spectrum of our litigation efforts in both New York and New Jersey, in both state and federal courts.”

Mr. D’Artiglio added, “I am excited about this opportunity to work with a strong group of litigators at AGA and in support of their diverse client base.”

In its more than 85 years AGA, has grown to represent clients throughout the tristate area via offices in Ocean, NJ, Woodland Park, NJ, White Plains, NY, Princeton, NJ and Newtown, Pa. AGA attorneys are dedicated to providing excellent legal representation by providing zealous advocacy and skilled legal advise to our diverse clientele. AGA attorneys all practice with a common philosophy, Commitment to Excellence and Commitment to People.

For more information on AGA’s litigation practice Group, contact Josh Bauchner, at 973.925.7341 or via email at [email protected] or Larry Shapiro at 732.643.5257 or via email at [email protected] . To contact Anthony J. D’Artiglio. 973.247.9000 or via email at [email protected]

Groundbreaking AGA Victory establishes that Insurance Carriers
Cover Subcontractor’s Defective Workmanship

Today Ansell Grimm & Aaron, P.C. (“AGA”) obtained not only a victory for their client, Cypress Point Condominium Association, but a clear victory for all condominium and homeowners associations in New Jersey. In a groundbreaking decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court (the “Court”) has confirmed that insurance policies held by developers and general contractors cover the faulty workmanship of subcontractors they hire. Specifically, the Court found that defective workmanship is an “occurrence” under commercial general liability policies, and that those policies specifically and unequivocally cover property damage caused by the faulty work of the subcontractors hired to actually perform the construction of the buildings.

AGA Community Association Group Partner Mark Wiechnik, appeared before the New Jersey Supreme Court in April 2016 to argue the case after the developer/general contractor’s insurers appealed a July 2015 decision by the New Jersey Appellate Division. At the Appellate level Wiechnik, and AGA Community Association Group Attorney Breanne DeRaps, successfully argued that, under a plain reading of the insurance policy in question, consequential damages to the common areas of the condominium complex and unit owners’ property caused by subcontractors’ defective work are “property damage” and an “occurrence” and that the trial court had erred in granting summary judgement in favor of the insurers.

This ruling gives New Jersey condominium associations and homeowners the means to recover damages from the sponsor, developer and/or general contractor, who typically have no assets to satisfy a judgment. For years, insurers have taken the position that exclusions in the policy for “your work” meant that the entire building, i.e. the “work” of the general contractor, was exempt from coverage. Carriers often refused to pay any damages even to associations and homeowners who were experiencing catastrophic leaks into their homes. That ends today.

If you have questions about the case, please contact Mark Weichnik at 609-228-5593 or [email protected].

 

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 For more than 85 years, ANSELL GRIMM & AARON, PC has been dedicated to providing excellent legal representation. In providing zealous advocacy and skilled legal advice to our diverse clientele, our attorneys all practice with a common philosophy… commitment to excellence and commitment to people.

AGA Obtains Dismissal of Class Action Suit Relying on
U.S. Supreme Court’s Recent Spokeo Decision

ANSELL GRIMM & AARON, PC recently secured the dismissal, with prejudice, of a federal class action complaint alleging violations of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, 47 U.S.C. § 227 et seq. (“TCPA”), in accord with recent United States Supreme Court precedent embodied in the seminal case of Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 136 S. Ct. 1540 (2016). This marked a significant victory for our client in one of the first cases in the nation to apply Spokeo to dismiss a putative class action for lack of standing.

Specifically, Plaintiff in Susinno v. Work Out World, No. 3:15-civ-05881(PGS)(TJB), alleged that our client made a single, unanswered, auto-dialed call which went to voicemail. Plaintiff further alleged that the call violated the TCPA because it was made without her express, written consent. In granting our motion to dismiss, the Court primarily relied on the Supreme Court’s Spokeo decision.

In Spokeo, the plaintiff alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act whereby defendant Spokeo allegedly disseminated mistaken personal information about him. The Court found that while there may have been procedural violations of the statute, it was unclear whether the plaintiff suffered an “injury in fact” — requiring both “particularized” harm specific to him and a “concrete” injury that actually exists. Specifically, the Court found that while the lower court considered the particularized requirement, it failed to consider concreteness. At its core, the ruling considered whether bare, procedural violations of a statute alone “entail a degree of risk sufficient to meet the concreteness requirement” establishing an actual injury.

Applying the Spokeo Court’s reasoning, The Honorable Peter G. Sheridan held that the purpose of the TCPA was to prevent repeated, annoying, and harassing calls to consumers. The Court concluded that a single, unanswered voicemail did not satisfy this standard. The Court further held that in the absence of any annoyance or related harm to Plaintiff resulting from the single call, she did not suffer a “concrete” injury sufficient to satisfy the elements of an “injury in fact” foreclosing her standing to assert the claims. As a result, dismissal was warranted.

Plaintiffs class action attorneys file TCPA complaints because the statute provides for damages of $500 per call ($1,500 for willful violations) plus attorneys’ fees and costs. Since the TCPA was amended, effective October 16, 2013, making it more onerous for businesses, class action litigation based on the statute increased more than 1000% nationwide.

ANSELL GRIMM & AARON, PC is aware that many of our clients rely on various forms of communication to connect with consumers toward generating business. Services providing auto-dialed, “robo-calls” can contact thousands of consumers in a single day. However, the risks of dong so are manifold as it is critical that business carefully adhere to the provisions of the TCPA to avoid exposure to significant statutory liability. Oftentimes, this simply may be achieved by including particular contractual language.

If you have questions about the case, or the TCPA in general, please contact Joshua S. Bauchner, Esq. at (973) 247-9000 or [email protected].