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ADVOCATING FOR PROPERTY TAXPAYERS---IT DOESN'T STOP WITH THE ASSESSMENT

Let's begin with a simple and obvious reality-the vast majority of taxpayers who seek the advice of real estate tax professionals do so because they are unhappy with the assessed value of their property, the tax burden levied on the property, or both. However, lately, a new concern is becoming more and more prevalent among taxpayers and in particular, those who own investment-class properties. This concern is New Jersey's so-called "Mansion Tax". ...More

Etelson v. Shore Club South Urban Renewal, L.L.C.

In a recent unreported case entitled Etelson v. Shore Club Sourth Urban Renewal, L.L.C., (Docket No. A-0570-11T4 - Decided March 10, 2014), the Appellate Division ruled on issues involving the state Consumer Fraud Act ("CFA") and the state Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act ("PREDFDA"). PREDFDA is the statute which requires the developer of most condominium developments to register with the Department of Community Affairs ("DCA") and to provide extensive disclosure to prospective purchasers in the form of a Public Offering Statement ("POS"). ...More

Lubik v. Harleysville Insurance:Breaching an Insured's Reasonable Expectations of Coverage

Lubik v. Harleysville Ins. Co. of N.J., A-1120-12T2, 2014 WL 740087 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div.) The New Jersey Appellate Division recently affirmed a trial court's denial of water damage claim under a condominium unit-owner's dwelling policy that expressly included water damage coverage, through a misinterpretation of an exclusionary subsection of the policy, negating one of the essential insured considerations - coverage of water damages. ...More

The Role of Amicus Curiae in Insurance Coverage Matters

There's a curious subtext to the recent New Jersey Supreme Court insurance coverage opinion in Farmers Mut. Fire Ins. Co. of Salem v. N.J. Property-Liability Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 215 N.J. 522 (2013), decided September 24, 2013, related to the presence of several amicus curiae that seem to be the real parties in interest. ...More

THE N.J. SUPREME COURT'S OWENS-ILLINOIS ENVIRONMENTAL COVERAGE ALLOCATION FORMULA - INTENDED TO FAIRLY MARSHAL COVERAGE FOR AN INSURED - SURVIVES YET ANOTHER INSURER ATTEMPT TO TRANSPOSE INSURANCE POLICY ALLOCATION INTO AN INSURANCE COVERAGE REDUCTION FORMULA

Insurance law usually arises out of litigation between insureds and their insurance carriers, but twice within the space of a few weeks this past term, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued insurance coverage opinions that have significant impacts on insureds, in a case without an insured's participation. Farmers Mutual, the latest N.J. Supreme Court insurance coverage case without an insured party, resolves the question of whether, or when, the insurance allocation "shares" of an insolvent carrier may be assigned to the State's Guaranty Fund under the Supreme Court's Owens-Illinois/Carter-Wallace insurance policy allocation methodologies developed in prior cases of those names. ...More

Foreclosure Alert

Residential mortgagees state-wide could be heard to breathe a sigh of relief upon the announcement of the Appellate Division's decision in Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. v. Russo 429 N.J. Super. 91 (App.Div. 2012). ...More

Complicated & Convoluted: New Jersey's Pay-to-Play Laws

The State, County and municipal governments are hardly on the same page when it comes to their pay-to-play regulations. They do agree that a "business entity" should be precluded from obtaining a government contract if that entity has given a contribution to a candidate for elective-office or elective-office holder within a certain time period in certain instances. ...More

UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST COVERAGE

Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage is one of the most important types of coverage in an auto policy. Besides basic coverage, all auto policies are required by New Jersey law to have underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage in the minimum amount of $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident. ...More

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