Contracts for builders are important in New Jersey because they help to define what is expected of the builder by building’s owner. A contract helps to define everyone’s responsibility during the project and the remedies if people do not uphold their end of the bargain. Once a contract has been signed, people on both sides rely on the promises made in the contract. If those promises are broken, it is possible that a breach of contract has occurred and a lawsuit may be brought. These types of contract disputes can be complex and time consuming for contractors and businesses alike.
Recently, Triple Five Inc. has sued the owners of the New York Jets and the New York Giants in Bergen County Superior Court over the American Dream Meadowlands project claiming breach of contract. The American Dream Meadowlands project is plan to create a $3.7 billion retail and entertainment complex near the Giant’s and Jet’s current stadium. The plan includes plans for a theme park and a water park on the site which has sat vacant since 2009.
The teams — who have filed suit to stop the plan — claim that this facility will create parking and traffic concerns during home games. Triple Five has asked that this suit be thrown out.
Triple Five, on the other hand, claims that the teams are violating a “cooperation agreement” that they had signed with the site’s previous developers. According to Triple Five, under this cooperation agreement, the teams were supposed to work with the developers to help complete the Meadowlands project in exchange for a $15 million lump sum payment. Now, Triple Five is claiming that the teams are violating this agreement since construction is still stalled.
In this case, as with many contract disputes, multiple issues are at play. Each team, the developers and the state all have an interest in how this dispute is resolved. In cases like these, court intervention is often necessary to make sure everyone’s interests are considered and the issues are resolved.
Source: NJ.com, “American Dream developers file suit against New York Jets and Giants in fight over expansion,” S.P. Sullivan, July 9, 2013
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