Case Law Summaries

Island Venture Associates v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

DEEDS; RECORDATION; RESTRICTIONS—A state agency that requires a deed to contain a restrictive covenant as a condition for a property’s development has the responsibility to see that the deed contains the restriction; otherwise a buyer without knowledge of the restriction is entitled to rely on the record.

• Opinion Date: April 11, 2003
• Real Property Law

Wright v. Sunwoo

CONTRACTS; TIME OF THE ESSENCE—Failure of a party to a sales contract to promptly respond to inquiries about the status of a title defect constitutes acting unreasonably, and the unresponsive party will not be excused from appearing at an otherwise properly made time of the essence closing.

• Opinion Date: September 26, 2003
• Real Property Law

Lobiondo v. O’Callaghan

CONTRACTS; STATUTE OF FRAUDS; AGENCY—One must prove that a party agreed to the terms of a contract through the apparent authority of an agent through clear and convincing evidence, not by a preponderance of the evidence.

• Opinion Date: February 19, 2003
• Real Property Law

Adams v. Barrera

CONTRACTS; REMEDIES; SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE—A buyer may be denied the remedy of specific performance on equitable grounds if the seller reasonably believed that he or she was represented by the seller’s attorney as well, but if specific performance is granted, the associated monetary damages should not include expenses that the buyer would have incurred anyway.

• Opinion Date: December 1, 2003
• Real Property Law

Accredited Laboratories, Inc. v. Amax Cooper, Inc.

CONTRACTS; REASONABLE EFFORTS—Engaging experienced and competent counsel and expending time and money in an attempt to satisfy a contractual obligation satisfies a requirement that a seller use reasonable efforts to obtain subdivision approval.

• Opinion Date: January 16, 2003
• Real Property Law

South Shore Housing Associates v. Amboy National Bank

CONTRACTS; MORTGAGEES—A seller’s mortgagee does not have a duty to a contract-buyer to preserve the property being sold or its value.

• Opinion Date: April 14, 2003
• Real Property Law

Sovereign Bank v. United National Bank

UCC; CHECKS—A depository bank that pays on a check made out to joint payees, but endorsed by fewer than all, is strictly liable for losses and assumes the burden of collecting from the person to whom it gave the money. The defrauded co-payee does not necessarily have an obligation to mitigate its damages.

• Opinion Date: March 18, 2003
• Business Law

Triffin v. Millburn Professional Group, PA

UCC; CHECKS—A drawer of a negotiable instrument on which payment has been stopped remains liable to an innocent third party who has cashed the drawer’s check.

• Opinion Date: March 19, 2003
• Business Law

New Jersey Lawyers’ Fund for Client Protection v. PNC Bank, N.A.

UCC; CHECKS—In the case of a check paid despite a forged payee’s signature, if the proper payee joins the maker and all banks in the chain of collection in a single action, the drawee bank is strictly liable for damages.

• Opinion Date: June 4, 2003
• Business Law

Lee v. Director, Division of Taxation

TAXATION; STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS—Where no tax return has been filed, the statute of limitations does not begin to run and submitting information during an audit or during litigation over unpaid taxes does not qualify as filing a return.

• Opinion Date: May 15, 2003
• Business Law