The Cintron Firm, LLC Blog

Immediate Concerns after a Slip-and-Fall in New Jersey

March 17, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

When Must You Take Legal Action? What If You Were Partially to Blame for the Accident?

In New Jersey, as in other states, property owners and managers have a duty to anyone legally on the premises to monitor and maintain the building and grounds so as to minimize the risk of accident and injury. If you’ve been hurt in a slip-and-fall on wet floors, icy pavement, broken steps, or other unsafe property condition, you may have a legitimate claim for damages. There are, however, a couple of issues you need to consider first.

You Must File Your Legal Claim in a Timely Manner

There’s a window within which any claim for damages must be filed with the court. It’s governed by a law known as the “statute of limitations.” In New Jersey, unless the defendant is a government entity, you must file your lawsuit within two years of the date of the injury. If the slip-and-fall happened on state or local property, you must file your claim within 90 days of the accident. There are limited situations where the statute of limitations may be suspended, such as when the nature of an injury makes it impossible to discover for some period of time.

You Must Determine the Extent to Which You Caused the Slip-and-Fall

It’s not uncommon for both parties to have some degree of responsibility for causing an accident. You might slip on a wet floor while running in an enclosed space when there are signs advising against such conduct. In New Jersey, courts follow the principle of “modified comparative negligence.” The court will determine the degree to which both parties are responsible. If the plaintiff (the injured party) is more than 50% liable, there will be no recovery. If the plaintiff is less than 50% liable, his or her damage award is reduced by the determined degree of liability.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing, and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Residential Eviction in New Jersey

February 13, 2020 by The Cintron Firm

The Notice Required to Terminate a Lease and Remove a Tenant

If you’re a landlord, a great concern is that you’ll need to evict a tenant for some reason. There’s good news and bad news. The good news—eviction rates tend to be pretty low. One study found that roughly one of every 20 tenants engages in actions that warrant eviction. The bad news—when you have to do it, it’s almost always messy.

In New Jersey, you must have a legal reason to initiate eviction proceedings against a residential tenant. Of course, if the lease has expired and you’ve given the tenant notice to vacate, that’s a legal reason. If, however, you seek to terminate the lease before its stated end date, you must have cause.

Common reasons for eviction include these:

Non-payment of rent
Participation in or commission of an illegal act on the premises
Violation of the terms of the lease

Is Notice Required to Initiate an Eviction Proceeding?

Notice generally is required to instigate an eviction action in New Jersey, with one notable exception—if the tenant fails to pay rent in a timely manner, no notice is required. If the rent is late, the landlord may simply file the eviction action in court, effectively terminating the lease. However, the landlord must not have established a past pattern of consistently accepting late payments.

In some situations, the landlord needs to give the tenant only three days’ notice to vacate the premises. Typically, this occurs when there has been destruction of or damage to the leased property, assaults or threats to the landlord, disorderly conduct, or illegal drug activity in the apartment. The three-day notice does not include an opportunity for the tenant to remedy the situation. It merely notifies the tenant that the lease will be terminated and gives the tenant three days to clean out and vacate the apartment.

In other situations, a landlord must give a tenant 30 days’ notice to quit. This typically is used when rent payments are consistently late, or when the tenant has repeatedly violated the terms of the lease.

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintron has worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Happy New Year 2020

December 23, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

To a joyful present and a well-remembered past. Best wishes for happy holidays and a magnificent new year.

Understanding Equitable Distribution in New Jersey

December 5, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

How the Courts Divide Marital Debts and Assets in Divorce

Determining who will receive what property in a divorce, and who will be saddled with marital debt, is rarely an easy process. Courts consider numerous factors, including whether there was any financial wrong doing (one of the leading causes of divorce), whether the parties have become used to living a certain way, and whether one party made sacrifices to allow the other party to pursue his or her dreams.

In New Jersey, as in the majority of states, courts apply the legal principle of “equitable distribution” to property settlements in divorce. It’s important, though, to understand that a court will get involved only if the parties cannot reach a mutual agreement on their own; however, courts may look at privately agreed-upon settlements to ensure there was no duress or coercion.

If the parties cannot agree on the distribution of marital debts and assets, the court will apply the principle of equitable distribution. Equitable, as used here, means “fair,” but not necessarily equal. The court will consider a wide range of factors to come up with a fair arrangement:

The duration of the marriage
The physical and emotional health of the parties
The age of the parties
The standard of living established during the marriage
The income or property brought to the marriage by each party
Any written agreement made by the parties, either before or during marriage, concerning property distribution
The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property becomes effective
The income and earning capacity of each party, including educational background, training, employment skills, work experience, length of absence from the job market, custodial responsibilities for children, and the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party to become self-supporting at a standard of living reasonably comparable to that enjoyed during the marriage
The contribution by each party to the education, training or earning power of the other
The contribution of each party to the acquisition, dissipation, preservation, depreciation, or appreciation in the amount or value of the marital property, as well as the contribution of a party as a homemaker
The tax consequences of the proposed distribution to each party
The present value of the property
The needs of a parent with physical custody of a child to own or occupy the marital residence and use or own the household effects
The debts and liabilities of both parties
The need to create, now or in the future, a trust fund to secure reasonably foreseeable medical or educational costs for a spouse or child
The extent to which a party deferred achieving his or her career goals to maintain the home
Any other factors the court deems relevant

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we bring more than 14 years’ experience to men and women in all matters related to family law and divorce. To set up an appointment, contact our office at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695, or send us an e-mail.

Happy Thanksgiving 2019

November 27, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

“Let me encourage you to get up every day and focus on what you do have in life. Be thankful for the blessings of the little things, even when you don’t get what you expect.” – Victoria Osteen

The Impact of Domestic Violence Charges on Custody and Visitation in New Jersey

November 18, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

How Domestic Abuse Affects Your Custody Rights

Your relationship with your children can be difficult and emotional, particularly when they are in their formative years. Tempers often can fly, with devastating consequences. When there’s a history of domestic violence or abuse, courts take great care to ensure minor children are safe as possible. Such measures often have a direct impact on custody arrangements.

The Determination of Child Custody

In New Jersey, as in all states, the primary goal in determining custody and visitation is the best interest of the child. A court will look at various factors when making that assessment, including any history of domestic violence and the safety of all parties. These considerations are not optional—they are mandatory. Accordingly, if there have been allegations or documented instances of domestic violence or abuse, the court must pay heed to them.

There are two types of custody rights relating to minor children in New Jersey: legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody refers to the right to participate in decisions regarding the child’s welfare, including educational, health, religious, and special needs decisions. Physical custody refers to the child’s primary residence. As a general rule, a domestic violence allegation or charge is far more likely to have an impact on physical custody than legal custody. Because the court is tasked with protecting the best interests of the child, a parent with a history of domestic violence is less likely to get physical custody than a parent with no such history.

The Determination of Visitation

A court will award visitation based on the same guiding principle—the best interests of the child. When it comes to visitation, the court may address its concerns about prior instances of domestic violence in a number of ways:

Disallowing overnight visitation,
Ordering supervised visitation only, or
Denying visitation entirely.

Often, when a court denies visitation, it will condition reinstitution of visitation on the perpetrator of domestic violence participating in anger management or other counseling.

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of hands-on legal experience to people across New Jersey. Send us an e-mail, or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Happy Veterans Day 2019

November 8, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

“Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day.” – Charles B. Rangel

Custodial Parent Relocation in New Jersey

October 24, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

Factors Considered by the Courts When Evaluating a Potential Move

In today’s highly mobile society, it’s far more common for parents who have divorced to gravitate to different parts of the state or the country. Though New Jersey mandates that the courts consider the “best interests of the child” when ruling on matters of custody and visitation,that doesn’t mean the courts won’t allow a custodial parent to move away from the non-custodial parent. In many situations, a custodial parent may not relocate without obtaining the approval of the court. In addition, there are fairly specific factors the court will consider before granting such a request:

The reason for the move—Is the reason one that will ultimately benefit the child? The courts have consistently held that there must be a good faith reason for the move, and that the move must not be contrary to the best interests of the child
The non-custodial parent’s motivation for objecting to the move—Likewise, will denying the move be best interests of the child
The wishes of the child, if the child is determined to be old enough to make an informed decision
Whether the child has any special needs or talents that will be accommodated in the new location
Whether the relocation will still allow the non-custodial parent to have a full and continuous relationship with the child
The perceived likelihood that the custodial parent will promote and encourage a positive relationship between the child and the non-custodial parent if the move is allowed
The child’s educational level—the court typically frowns on relocations before a child’s senior year in high school
The impact the move will have on the child’s relationships and access to extended family members, such as grandparents

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we bring more than 14 years of experience men and women in all matters related to family law and divorce. To set up an appointment, contact our office at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 or send us an e-mail.

The Implied Warranty of Habitability in New Jersey

October 17, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

A Landlord’s Responsibility to Tenants

In landlord-tenant situations, there’s a tendency to focus on the obligations of the tenant to the property owner—the duty to pay rent, the duty not to damage the premises, and the duty not to use the premises for illegal purposes, among other obligations. But landlords have legal duties, too. One of the most important is what is known under the law as the “implied warranty of habitability.

The Implied Warranty of Habitability

For hundreds of years, the doctrine of caveat emptor (“let the buyer beware”) applied to residential and commercial leases. That meant that a tenant took the premises as delivered. Such an agreement was typically, but not always, based on a pre-lease inspection. The assumption was that the tenant would be responsible for all repairs required to the premises. That rule no longer applies.

The parties to a lease can still agree that the premises are taken “as is.” Absent such a provision, all lease agreements carry an “implied warranty of habitability.” Because the warranty is implied, there’s no requirement that it be in writing, or that it be orally discussed and agreed upon by the parties.

In essence, an implied warranty of habitability mandates that landlords provide tenants with a safe and livable leasehold. In today’s world, that is typically interpreted to mean that the premises must have:

A functional roof that protects the tenant from rain and snow
Heating and cooling systems appropriate to the location and climate
Access to hot and cold water
Structurally sound walls and floors, so that there’s no danger of collapse
Windows and doors that can provide adequate security and protection from the elements

In addition, the leasehold must be free from mold and other substances that pose a health hazard.

There are typically a number of remedies, should you encounter a situation where the leasehold is not habitable:

You can refuse to pay rent
You can make necessary and reasonable repairs yourself and withhold the cost from yourrent
You may be able to terminate the lease early without liability for future rents

Contact the Cintron Firm

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of experience to people in New Jersey facing a broad array of legal challenges. Attorney Mark Cintronhas worked as a prosecutor and has extensive courtroom experience, so he’s always ready, willing and able to protect your interests before a judge or jury. Contact our office online or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.

Beware of the “Yoyo” Financing Ploy When You Buy a Car

October 10, 2019 by The Cintron Firm

Don’t Take the Car Unless You’ve Signed All the Paperwork

When you need a car, it can seem like a Godsend when the dealer lets you take the car, even though the financing may not be final. You may be shopping in the evening or on a weekend, when the lenders are closed. The dealer may quote a rate and a payment, telling you that the paperwork will all come through in the next day or two. The clear impression is that your payments and your financing are a done deal.

Here’s what happens next, though, in many situations. The dealer calls you and tells you there’s been a “problem” with the financing and that you’ll need to come in and sign some additional documents. When you get to the dealership, you get a high pressure sales pitch to commit to a much higher interest rate, a longer term, or both. According to industry watchdogs, the average interest rate bump in one of these scams is 5%.

How can you protect yourself? Here are some of the warning signs:

The dealer or salesperson asks you to sign a document where you don’t fill in one or more of the fields
The dealer lets you take the car home without signing a sales agreement
The dealer/salesperson cannot commit to an interest rate in writing
The sales agreement uses the word “conditional” anywhere in the verbiage

That being said, you should never sign any document at a dealership if you don’t understand all of its terms. If you are unfamiliar with the legal terminology or find it confusing in any way, ask to take the document with you and have it reviewed by an attorney. If you do sign an agreement, make certain all fields are completed and ask for a copy of the finalized agreement. Never take a car home without signing a written agreement that states a specific interest rate

Contact Our Office

At the Cintron Firm, LLC, we offer more than 14 years of hands-on legal experience to people across New Jersey. Send us an e-mail or call us at 201-791-1333 or 917-494-5695 to set up an appointment.