Investigation Finds Fraud and Abuse in New-Home Construction
Earlier this year I accompanied one of my clients while they testified before the New Jersey State Commission on Investigation ("SCI"). The SCI was reviewing the current state of affairs in the new-home construction industry, and my client had recently purchased a newly constructed home in Newark which was falling apart. I am happy to say that the SCI has just released its long awaited report.
Following a year-long examination into industry practices, the report confirmed what some attorneys and others committed to protecting the rights of new homeowners have long claimed: poor construction practices, weak government oversight and inadequate disclosure-related obligations routinely plunge unsuspecting new-home purchasers across New Jersey into the worst sort of buyer-beware nightmare.
This report follows the convictions of various municipal construction officials for accepting money or other items of value from builders. The SCI report recommends more extensive disclosure-related regulations, licensing of various types of contractors and increased State oversight.
You can read the SCI's press release here and a New York Times article (registration required) regarding the Commission's findings here.
If you are a homeowner in a situation similar to those in the New York Times article, or if you would like more information on the implications that the SCI report will have on new-home construction in New Jersey, feel free to contact either myself or Donald Brenner, Chair of the Firm's Construction Litigation Group.
