An attorney evaluates your claim

We strive to provide our clients with a personalized level of service. Before we begin handling your case, we are willing to meet with you in person. Mr. DePetris personally evaluates all claims handled by his office. When you ask for a free initial evaluation, Mr. DePetris will speak to you personally about your claim and you shall not have your claim evaluated by a secretary or paralegal. While no law firm can guarantee legal results, if Mr. DePetris doesn’t think that his firm can be of help, then the firm won’t want to waste your time.

We Have Experience Handling New Jersey Lemon Law, New Jersey Warranty, New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, New Jersey Home Repair Fraud, New Jersey Consumer Contract, New Jersey Business Contract  And New Jersey Debt Collection Cases

• Mr. DePetris is the Author of the book New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act & Forms published by New Jersey Law Journal Books. Mr. DePetris has also lectured before other attorneys on the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. To learn more about that book or to order a copy from its publisher, click HERE.
• Mr. DePetris has personally worked on cases and claims against most of the major automotive manufacturers, including Audi, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar, KIA, Mercedez-Benz, Porsche, Saab, Suzuki, Toyota and Volkswagen. In addition, Mr. DePetris has handled cases against New Jersey automotive dealerships located all over New Jersey.
• Mr. DePetris has helped consumers and businesses recover hundreds of thousand of dollars. Mr. DePetris has assisted dozens of consumers to get replacement vehicles, refunds and money damages.
• Mr. DePetris has defended automotive finance lenders, car dealerships and repair shops in lemon law, warranty and fraud cases.
• Mr. DePetris has represented homeowners in disputes involving New Jersey home improvement fraud, New Jersey home repair fraud  and the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
• Mr. DePetris has defended home repair contractors and home improvement contractors and written home improvement contracts
• Mr. DePetris has defended home purchasers in home sale cases involving the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
• Mr. DePetris has defended home sellers and real estate brokers and agents in home sale cases involving the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.
• Mr. DePetris has handled warranty and fraud cases in North, Central and Southern New Jersey, appeared before the Superior Court of New Jersey in almost all of the State’s 21 counties and handled United States (Federal) Court proceedings in Newark, Trenton and Camden, New Jersey. He has handled depositions, mediations, arbitrations, settlement conferences and trials in New Jersey court cases statewide.
• Mr. DePetris has handled warranty and fraud claims involving home sales, home repairs and home improvements, home inspections, real estate sales, watercraft, appliances and furniture.
• Mr. DePetris has defended and handled claims against real estate brokers, real estate agents, home inspectors and termite inspectors in warranty and fraud cases.
• Mr. DePetris interned for a United States Magistrate Judge and served as a mediator for the Superior Court of New Jersey.
• The firm’s offices are located in New Jersey only and the firm concentrates on handling claims in New Jersey’s courts. Mr. DePetris has experience arguing cases before New Jersey Judges in most of the State’s counties as well as experience working on matters before New Jersey’s Appellate Division. Mr. DePetris has worked on hundreds of consumer and commercial litigation files involving New Jersey law.

Mr. DePetris has appeared before the Superior Court of New Jersey in the following counties:

Mr. DePetris has also appeared in federal courts - the District of New Jersey in Camden, Trenton and Newark and in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

We keep you updated on your claim

• Once we begin handling your case, we send you copies of most of the letters and other documents that we send to the dealers, manufacturers and defense attorneys. This way, you keep informed of what is happening with your case and you get to see what we are doing for you.
• We return client phone calls and provide clients letters explaining the status of their case.

You decide whether to accept settlement offers

• You are never forced to settle your case. You have the final say on whether your case settles.
• We won’t accept a settlement for you unless we get your approval first.
• If a settlement offer is made in your case, we let you know the total amount that you are being offered to settle your case, including any attorney’s fees offered.

The choice of an attorney is an important decision

• Mr. DePetris does not promise or guarantee results. Do not hire an attorney who guarantees that you shall receive a refund, recover money or get a new vehicle or product in exchange for your defective one. No New Jersey attorney is ethically permitted to promise or guarantee results.
• Be careful about promises that you are being represented “free of charge” since most private law firms are businesses that (like all businesses) must usually make money to remain in business and the lawsuits they handle generally cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars to pursue. Many attorneys who claim that they “never charge a fee” actually earn fees in many of the cases they handle. Often these fees are quite substantial and they could be much more than what you ultimately recover and this information should be properly disclosed to you. While they may never “charge” you anything directly, they may in fact take a large portion of the settlement money they recover for you to pay their own fees and costs. While they may not be ethically permitted to do so, an attorney may settle your claim and tell you they are charging you “no fees” but deduct the fees and costs from your total recovery without telling you they are doing so. Always ask to see a written fee agreement before agreeing to be represented by an attorney and don’t be afraid to ask questions about it.
• Before hiring a law firm, ask to have an attorney of the firm personally speak with you about your claim.  Accept nothing less than an evaluation by a New Jersey attorney.  Only a lawyer admitted to the bar of the State of New Jersey is permitted to provide you legal advice about claims that should be heard by New Jersey Courts.
• If you have a problem involving New Jersey Law, before selecting your attorney, ask them if they: (1) are admitted to the New Jersey bar; (2) frequently (or ever) set foot in a New Jersey Courthouse and arbitrated and tried cases in New Jersey courts; (3) were ever sued by their clients.

What if a dealer, manufacturer, home repair contractor, home improvement contractor or merchant says I don't have a case?

·         Ignore them and seek competent legal advice. Only attorneys licensed in New Jersey to practice law are permitted to give legal advice and only they are able to evaluate if you have a valid claim. Until you speak with an attorney who is knowledgeable about this area of the law, do not draw any conclusions, regardless of what you heard from non-attorneys or read on the web.

Should I try to handle my case without a lawyer?

·         Since legal proceedings can be very complex, since many manufacturers, dealers and contractors use attorneys to defend claims made against them and since New Jersey consumer laws frequently permit successful claimants to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs from the wrongdoer, there is little benefit to a consumer trying to handle a consumer case without being represented by an attorney. Indeed, it is often quite easy for the wrongdoer’s attorneys to defeat consumers who try to handle their own cases without an attorney. Also, if you try to represent yourself, you may fail to take an important step (miss a deadline, fail to complete crucial paperwork, etc.) and jeopardize your case.

Can I Handle A Case Myself?

Some people can and do successfully handle cases themselves, from filing the first paperwork to the court’s final decision on the appeal.  The court normally has forms available on the worldwide web.  However, neither court forms, websites nor advice from court personnel are good substitutes for a competent attorney’s legal services.  Each case has its own particular legal issues and therefore, its own challenges.   If you can afford an attorney, it is best to have the attorney perform the steps necessary to take an appeal.  Cases require those involved in the appeal (or their attorneys, if they are represented) to file strict deadlines and rules and failure to do so could result in fines or having the appeal dismissed temporarily or forever.  The following are additional reasons to use an attorney to handle part or all of your case:

·         court fees often change

·         court rules often change

·         court employees cannot give you “free” legal advice and a judge may refuse to let you claim that you were right in taking an action (or in deciding not to take action) because you relied on advice from such employees

·         court forms available on websites may not cover every situation you may face in court

·         each case has its own particular legal issues and therefore, its own challenges

·         it is very common for people to file inadequate or incorrect complaints that result in the complaints or answers to complaints being rejected by the court or being dismissed by the court after filing and before or after trial because of procedural deficiencies  

·         it is not uncommon for judges to get very frustrated by an unrepresented party’s lack of preparation or ignorance of the facts or law of the case. 

·         a court has the power to punish unprepared parties or parties who make mistakes, such as by throwing their case out of court or limiting what they can present at trial. 

·         New Jersey has many published cases, laws, regulations, court rules and rules of evidence that are very tricky and that can be used to prevent you from doing much of what you want to do at trial. 

·         it is very common for courts to refuse to allow a party to use or refer to documents or items at trial that the person themselves never prepared.  Often parties stumble into court with a video, photograph, bill or affidavit or other form of written statement, thinking they are going to use it as proof that they lost money or that they are not responsible for someone else’s damages, only to have a judge tell the parties that it is not going to even consider such items or documents. 

·         without the proper preparation, items and documents may never be considered by the court.  Also, if there are any legal issues to be dealt with at trial, you must be prepared to argue them, which may require you to refer to court rules, evidence rules, laws, regulations or published cases. 

·         you cannot show up at court expecting the judge hearing your case to explain court rules, evidence rules, court procedure or the details of the law that applies to your case.  The judge hearing your case is not permitted to give you legal advice.

It is important to remember that even if you have an attorney, you could lose your case.  Hiring an attorney to handle part or all of your case does not guarantee your success.  However, it may provide the assistance you need to win your case, to settle your case or to avoid certain mistakes.

Does The Law Office Of Paul Depetris Have Experience Handling Civil Cases?

Yes.  Paul DePetris has performed the following tasks:

·         represented both plaintiffs and defendants in civil cases across New Jersey, from Bergen County to Cumberland County, including representations of individuals, small businesses and large corporations, including banks and credit card companies.

·         prepared and filed many collection complaints

·         tried nonjury trials in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part

·         tried jury trials in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part and Law Division, Civil Part

·         mediated civil cases

·         served as a voluntary court mediator for the Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part, Burlington County, where he successfully assisted parties to lawsuits to settle their cases before they went to trial

·         argued motions in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part and Law Division, Civil Part

·         handled Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part proof hearings and Law Division, Civil Part proof hearings

·         handled default judgment motions and motions to vacate default judgments in Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part proof hearings and Law Division, Civil Part

·         handled Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part and and Law Division, Civil Part post judgment collection proceedings

·         prepared served information subpoenas.

·         prepared and argued motions to enforce litigant’s rights.

·         prepared and argued motions to turnover funds levied.

·         argued motions for wage executions.

What If I Don’t Have Enough Money To Hire An Attorney To Handle My Case From Beginning To End?

In many situations, the Law Office of Paul DePetris offers alternatives to handling civil cases for an hourly fee, such as by offering to prepare the court paperwork for you or helping you handle your claim by yourself.  Such flexible methods may allow you to keep the amount legal fees you spend on your case to a fixed sum, while providing you the help you need to handle your case.  For a no cost phone consultation about what the Firm might be able to do for you, call or write an email to Mr. DePetris at consumerlaw@newjerseylemon.com.