Appellate Division Rules Against Finch Landscaping, LLC

The New Jersey Appellate .Division, in Murnane v. Finch Landscaping, LLC, decided on July 1, 2011, that a home improvement contractor is subject to the Consumer Fraud Act even when the homeowner acts as the general contractor.

The issue presented by this appeal was whether a homeowner who contracts directly with a building contractor to perform a home improvement, without engaging the services of a general contractor, may assert a claim against that contractor under the Consumer Fraud Act (CFA), N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -20, and the Contractor's Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-136 to -152. The Appellate Division concluded that such a contract is a home improvement contract subject to the CFA, the Contractor's Registration Act and the Home Improvement Practices regulations adopted by the Division of Consumer Affairs to implement these statutory provisions. N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.1 to -16.2. Therefore, the Court reversed the order of the trial court dismissing plaintiff's CFA claim and remanded the case for a new trial.  

View the Appellate Division's decision HERE.

Please feel free to contact us to learn about what the Court's decision means for you and how to avoid violations of the Consumer Fraud Act.