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Are there any forms of exceptions made if a deadline is missed for submitting arbitration letter?

New Jersey

We have a customer who we cannot speak with we are only able to get in touch with the daughter who had made everything delayed and will not let us speak with her mother. Nicole Abrams would not pay us because she claimed State Farm would be paying us. I confirmed with State Farm on multiple occasions the claim had been paid everything they were allowing for and it was closed and would not be reopened. After multiple attempts to collect from the customer we went to arbitration and were transmitted the executed award to place the lien. The letter from the AAA was completed and sent on February 12th, 2020. Very unfortunately, our Office Manager, who was the manager of our files passed away on February 14th, 2020. With our office managers passing the letter from the AAA was not uploaded within the 10 day time frame as our office tried to handle the situation. Is it possible we can still upload the letter at this time to move forward with placing the lien.

3 replies

Jun 17, 2020
Liens are interpreted very strictly and NJ law specifically requires arbitration through AAA for any residential project. The short answer is that a lien may not be your best option at this point. However, not being able to lien a property, does not necessarily negate your ability to pursue payment through other routes.
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Jun 18, 2020
Colin, is there anything other than sending to a collections agency you may suggest?
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Jun 18, 2020
NJ business entities cannot represent themselves in Court, but, if the contractor has a valid enforceable contract which it can show was fully performed, the contractor should be able to sue to force payment. If it less than $15,000, the contractor can sue in Special Civil Part for more affordable fast-track litigation. You should consult a qualified construction attorney who thoroughly understands the NJ Consumer Fraud Act to ensure that your claim is sound and contract are enforceable.
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