On August 31, 2026, Joel Wertman, a partner in Winget, Spadafora & Schwartzberg, LLP’s Philadelphia, Pennsylvania office, with briefing assistance from Jhamaal Sykes (Philadelphia), secured summary judgment on the eve of trial in favor of their client, a real estate brokerage, in the matter of Harrison v. Bloom Realty & Insurance, et al., before the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division of Atlantic County. The Court’s decision is an important adjudication as to the scope of duties and responsibilities for brokers and real estate agents operating in New Jersey.
The plaintiff, professing an unrecognized interest in a residential property in Ventnor, New Jersey, sought $1.5 million in damages arising from its sale and asserted various fraud-based counts while seeking to recover supposed lost economic opportunities and punitive damages. In dismissing the plaintiff’s claims, the Court agreed with WSS’s argument that a real estate broker facilitating the sale of real property on behalf of a seller holding Letters of Administration owes no duty to third parties seeking to interfere with the sale. The Court noted in its Order that WSS “meticulously address[ed] each of Plaintiff’s seven causes of action,” and that as a result, “the evidence is so one-sided that Defendants were entitled to judgment as a matter of law.”
Joel Wertman, a partner with WSS’s Philadelphia office, was lead counsel and handled oral argument. Jhamaal Sykes, an associate in WSS’s Philadelphia office, was responsible for the briefing.
