Peter J. Smith's practice is
primarily devoted to litigation and
arbitration of construction
disputes. He became a partner of the
firm in 1989.
Mr. Smith has repeatedly been named
one of the New York area’s top
lawyers in the field of Construction
Law, most recently in 2009 by the
Best Lawyers in America and
Super Lawyer ratings.
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.
