Do you own a dog?  According to wiki.answers.com, "exactly 17,561" people own dogs in New Jersey.  Has your dog ever bitten someone?  There are numerous reported and unreported court decisions involving dog bite claims.  According to nolo.com, the average payout on such claim is $26,000.  This article will discuss potential owner liability for dogs that bite. 

Most recently, my long-time and beloved next-door neighbors shared with me their opinion that my articles should "speak to the people, not the lawyers."  Thus, this article will deal with a subject many of "the people" (including lawyers) have been, or will become, involved in -- the sale of a home.  To keep you and my neighbors reading, I have strived to provide only a "bare-bones" description of a typical home sale transaction leading up to a closing.  While every deal is unique, the following applies to most.

How to Make It to the Sweet Sixteen.

Starting your own business is both exciting and nerve-racking.  The prospect of working for yourself inspires dreams of flexible hours, limitless possibilities and great prosperity.  The "great idea" or "must have service" entrepreneurs pursue and offer are the backbone of this great country and their efforts are encouraged and applauded by virtually every segment of our society.  Unfortunately, the majority of new businesses do not survive very long.... 

There are times when a client will walk into an attorney's office with a case so obviously strong that the question of victory seems to be a foregone conclusion. These cases usually involve some type of obvious injury to the client through no fault of his own, and the potential defendant(s) has little to no defense and lots of insurance. I believe the Latin term used in law school for this situation is the "slammus dunkus."

In order to get around the stringent requirements of New Jersey's Construction Lien Law, many contractors/vendors resort to ill-advised tactics in an effort to stretch their lien rights. Some examples are:

Intentionally holding back on insignificant items at the end of the job to extend that "last date" on which good and services were provided to the job;

The housing crisis is crushing the American Dream of home ownership. Legislation that burdens the American taxpayer has not materially alleviated the problem because, thus far, efforts have been focused solely on one segment of the marketplace – underwater homeowners. There is a fresh solution and it is relatively simple to implement – shrink the current glut of housing inventory by making it more accessible to all interested home sellers and home buyers.

Far too often, when their invoices go unpaid, contractors and vendors make the mistake of filing lien claims against real property, to which they provided the unpaid for goods or services, using improper standardized forms obtained from "big box" stationery stores. Unfortunately, through the mere filing of these often improper lien claim forms with the County Clerk, the contractor/vendor is, in many instances, actually forfeiting its strongest assurance of getting paid for the goods and/or services it provided for the "improvement" of such property.

A. Dot your i's and cross your t's:
This forfeiture of lien rights is primarily because New Jersey's Construction Lien Law (N.J.S.A. 2A:44A-1, et seq.) contains very specific requirements that must be satisfied prior to obtaining an enforceable lien claim. Failure to comply with these requirements prior to filing a lien claim not only renders the lien claim invalid, but also subjects the contractor/vendor who filed the improper lien claim to liability for all of the costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, incurred by a property owner in defending or discharging the invalid lien claim.