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John Randy Sawyer

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John Randy Sawyer is a Shareholder and member of the firm’s Construction Litigation Group. Mr. Sawyer has been practicing for fifteen years and has developed during that time extensive experience litigating in state and federal courts in New York and New Jersey. Mr. Sawyer concentrates his practice in construction litigation, including defective workmanship claims, design errors and omissions, product liability, breach of contract, insurance coverage litigation and appellate practice. Mr. Sawyer has represented developers, general contractors, subcontractors, condominium associations and homeowners in cases involving a wide variety of structures, ranging from single family homes to twenty-plus story high rises. Mr. Sawyer is the co-founder of www.ConstructionLitigationLawBlog.com.

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The economic situation for small businesses in America is dire. Following the widespread social distancing and stay-at-home orders, 7.5 million small businesses are now at risk of closing their doors permanently within the next several months if the coronavirus pandemic restrictions continue.

The situation has business owners searching for ways to keep their operations afloat. The CARES Act, for example, promises more small business support in its new aid package. This relief, however, has been slow to make its way to business owners.…

Continue Reading Business, Interrupted

It has been several months since the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Cypress Point Condo Ass’n v. Adria Towers, LLC.

The issue in Cypress Point was whether rain water damage caused by a subcontractor’s faulty workmanship constituted “property damage” caused by an “occurrence” to trigger coverage under a condominium developer’s commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy. Cypress Point, a condominium association, filed claims against Adria Towers, the developer, and its insurers, as well as various subcontractors. Adria Towers was also the general contractor on the condominium project and hired the subcontractors who performed the construction work. The Association alleged faulty workmanship during construction and claimed consequential damages.…

Continue Reading What Should Condominium Associations Do After Cypress Point?

In a Per Curiam decision, the Appellate Division recently reversed a Trial Judge’s order dismissing several Consumer Fraud Act (“CFA”) claims against the developer of a condominium development and the general contractor for allegedly having filed false affidavits of title in the course of selling several units.
Continue Reading Appellate Division Reverses Trial Judge’s Order in Consumer Fraud Act Claims

The construction industry appears to be the latest victim of the stream of defectively manufactured goods from China that have poured into our country over the last few years. As if the construction market has not experienced enough hardship in these trying economic times, reports have recently surfaced of defective drywall products that were imported from China as the likely cause of putrid sulfur odor emissions being experienced in newly constructed homes and failure of metal devices typically installed behind sheetrocked walls, such as HVAC systems and metallic wiring.
Continue Reading Drywall Imported From China Causing Construction Problems

In a recent unpublished decision under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act, the Appellate Division in D. Wyatt Stone and Stone Foundation, LLC v. Kahr Properties, LLC, December 2008 App. Div. 09-2-2471), decided the appeal of a judgment in the Plaintiff’s favor for damages, attorneys’ fees and costs arising from a home improvement project. The…

Every builder operating in New Jersey is most likely aware that our state has plaintiff-friendly laws in the context of construction defect litigation. Even so, the gravity of claims made against builders for alleged defects typically has a direct correlation to relatively known and controllable factors, i.e. their contract performance and quality of product. However, there is another category of claims being made with increasing success in defect cases made under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act (CFA).
Continue Reading What every builder should know about the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act

Judge Louis Locascio of the New Jersey Superior Court recently ruled in the matter of Matera et. al. v. M.G.C.C. Group, Inc. et. al., Docket No. L-1812-04, that a cause of action under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act exists where there is no direct contact between the parties but there is a connection between the defendants’ “alleged violation of the Consumer Fraud Act and plaintiff’s ascertainable loss.”…
Continue Reading Claims may exist under Consumer Fraud Act whether or not direct contact occurred between consumer and violator of Act

The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled this month in two companion cases, New Jersey Shore Builders Association v. Township of Jackson, A-5805-06 (June 23, 2008) and Builders’ League of South Jersey v. Egg Harbor Township, A-1563-07 (June 23, 2008), that municipalities cannot require as a condition of approval that builders and developers provide on-site recreation areas or facilities, or common open space, outside the context of planned unit developments.
Continue Reading Municipalities Cannot Require Builders to Provide Common Open Spaces