Case Law Summaries

Reed v. Billybob Partners

EASEMENTS — Where an easement is not one of necessity, but is the result of an express grant in a deed, continuing necessity of access is not a factor in determining the easement’s validity.

• Opinion Date: January 14, 2010
• Real Property Law

Princeton Alliance Church v. Mount Olive Township

TAXATION; EXEMPTIONS; APPEALS — The real property tax appeal statute envisions that a taxpayer will present proofs related to the valuation of its property, but the tax appeal does not concern valuation, but only concerns an exemption or partial exemption from real property taxation, the taxpayer need not present any witnesses at all and may merely present its legal arguments.

• Opinion Date: January 6, 2010
• Real Property Law

Fewer v. Zoning Board of Adjustment of the Township of Colts Neck

ZONING; VARIANCES — Where municipal ordinances limiting a building’s footprint and floor area meet statutory and case law criteria and where an applicant cannot show that the requested variances promote the general welfare, a statutory purpose, a land use board may properly deny the variance request.

• Opinion Date: January 6, 2010
• Real Property Law

Payan v. Greenpoint Mortgage Funding, Inc.

TRUTH-IN-LENDING ACT — In the Truth-in-Lending Act, certain fees need not be disclosed unless such fees are unreasonable and are not bona fide and the failure to disclose a yield spread pre-payment premium is not a violation of the Act because it is not a material disclosure and also is not an item required to be included as part of the finance charge disclosure requirements.

• Opinion Date: January 6, 2010
• Real Property Law

Hi-Tech Steel Erectors, Inc. v. TLC Drywall Construction

NEW JERSEY BOND ACT — The New Jersey Bond Act distinguishes between “first-tier” subcontractors, who have direct contracts with the general contractor for the work in question, and “second-tier” contractors, who lack a direct contract with the general contract pertaining to the subject work.

• Opinion Date: January 5, 2010
• Real Property Law

Tai v. Crown View Manor I Condominium Association

CONDOMINIUMS —A condominium association might not be able to require unit owners to explain the reasons behind a document requests.

• Opinion Date: January 11, 2010
• Real Property Law

Brock Farms, Inc. v. Marrazzo

CORPORATIONS; SHAREHOLDERS; PERSONAL LIABILITY — When a contract states that one party is an individual trading as a company, but there is no sign that the company is a corporation, and no subsequent documents delivered to the other party indicate that the company is a corporation, the individual trading as such a company may be personally liable for the debts incurred in connection with the contract.

• Opinion Date: January 13, 2010
• Business Law

Sills Cummis & Gross, P.C. v. Matrix One Riverfront Plaza, L.L.C.

LEASES; INTERPRETATION — Parties to a lease are free to set their own definition for what would otherwise be commonly understood terms and if they define “fair market rental” to mean the value of the property as if it were vacant and unencumbered by their lease, this means that the parties have agreed to turn back the hands of time and treat the new or extended lease as if the past had not existed.

• Opinion Date: December 3, 2009
• Real Property Law

Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. v. Kim

FORECLOSURES; PRIORITY — Even if a judgment of foreclosure and a sheriff’s deed erroneously call for payment to a lien holder with lesser priority than one who is entitled to the payment, if the skipped-over lien holder does not file an action within the one year limitation period and there are no truly exceptional circumstances to excuse such delay, the lower priority lien holder, though not entitled to any surplus funds, may keep the money.

• Opinion Date: December 31, 2009
• Real Property Law

1099, L.L.C. v. Recreational Health Care Concepts, Inc.

MORTGAGES; JUDGMENT CREDITORS —If a mortgagee’s assignment of rents is recorded after a judgment creditor has levied on rents being paid by a tenant of the mortgaged property, the judgment creditor is entitled to garnish those rents ahead of the assignee and to collect the money so received.

• Opinion Date: December 30, 2009
• Real Property Law