Peter J. Smith's practice is
primarily devoted to litigation and
arbitration of construction disputes
in New Jersey and New York. He
became a partner of the firm in
1989.
Mr. Smith has consistently been
named one of the New York area’s top
lawyers in the field of Construction
Law. He is listed in the Best
Lawyers in America and Super
Lawyers directories from
2007-2011.
Mr. Smith has been a member of the
American Arbitration Association’s
Construction Industry Panel of
Arbitrators since 1995. In 1999, Mr.
Smith was selected by the American
Arbitration Association to serve on
its New Jersey Public Sector Panel
of Mediators and Arbitrators. He has
served on a variety of construction
industry arbitration panels,
deciding claims involving major
public and quasi-public construction
projects and surety matters. Mr.
Smith was appointed to the New
Jersey Construction Advisory Council
of the American Arbitration
Association in 2006.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey,
Board on Trial Attorney
Certification, has designated Mr.
Smith a Certified Civil Trial
Attorney. He was recertified by the
Board in 2007.
Author, New Jersey Construction
Law chapter of the USLAW Network "State
by State 2009 Construction Compendium of
Law."
•
Contributing Author, "Winning Legal
Strategies for Arbitration and
Mediation,"
Aspatore
Publishing, 2007
•
Co-Author, “Representing
the Contractor in Defense of Owner
Claims,” in Construction
Litigation: Representing the Contractor, Wiley
Law, Second Edition (1992)
Represented a large state university in
defense of contractor claims for
additional compensation for
unanticipated subsurface conditions in
the installation of a campus wide system
of underground utilities;
•
Represented a general contractor which
recovered claims for delay damages in
excess of $1 million arising from the
major expansion of a publicly owned
hospital;
•
Represented several publicly traded real
estate investment trusts in recovery of
claims in multiple lawsuits for
defective construction from contractors,
design professionals, and others on
large high-rise residential and shopping
center projects;
•
Represented a state authority in action
to recover damages from contractors and
designers in connection with the
premature failure of irregular concrete
surfaces and PVC piping in a water feature
park;
•
Represented an architectural firm in the
defense of claims of professional
negligence resulting from the
specification of masonry flashing and
water penetration through exterior
masonry walls of a large public
facility;
•
Represented a general contractor in
defense of claims resulting from the
weekend collapse of a YMCA natatorium
ceiling;
•
Represented an architect reviewing
construction progress for a lender in a
high-rise residential condominium on the
Hudson River in defense of claims of
defective construction by a condominium
association;
•
Represented
a local school board asserting claims of
professional negligence against its
architect in a multiple school expansion
and new construction project;
•
Represented subcontractors including an
electrical contractor, roofer, and
mechanical contractor in managing claims
and account receivables;
•
Represented a construction manager in
claims arising from the $100 million
expansion of a casino hotel in Atlantic
City.
