In the summer of 2017, Becker secured a landmark $9 million-plus jury verdict against the subsidiary of a national developer on behalf of a condominium association located along the Hudson River. The award included punitive (treble) damages for violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, which also entitled the association to seek attorney’s fees, costs, and prejudgment interest. Recently, defendant K. Hovnanian at Port Imperial Urban Renewal II, LLC (“Hovnanian”), appealed the denial of a post-trial motion seeking indemnity from its architect, RTKL New Jersey Architects P.A. (“Architects”), for the jury verdict against Hovnanian. The Appellate Division found that the parties did not contract for Architects to indemnify Hovnanian for Hovnanian’s own conduct and because the jury assigned damages, it found they were based “singularly on Hovnanian’s own fault,” affirmed the trial Court’s opinion. Developer Not Entitled to Indemnity for Own “Broken Promises”
In the summer of 2017, Becker secured a landmark $9 million-plus jury verdict against the subsidiary of a national developer on behalf of a condominium association located along the Hudson River. The award included punitive (treble) damages for violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, which also entitled the association to seek attorney’s fees, costs, and prejudgment interest. Recently, defendant K. Hovnanian at Port Imperial Urban Renewal II, LLC (“Hovnanian”), appealed the denial of a post-trial motion seeking indemnity from its architect, RTKL New Jersey Architects P.A. (“Architects”), for the jury verdict against Hovnanian. The Appellate Division found that the parties did not contract for Architects to indemnify Hovnanian for Hovnanian’s own conduct and because the jury assigned damages, it found they were based “singularly on Hovnanian’s own fault,” affirmed the trial Court’s opinion.