Commercial Litigation Litigation - Real Estate
Barry S. Goodman
Recognized in Best Lawyers since 2012 Awarded Practice Areas
Biography
Mr. Goodman focuses his practice in commercial litigation, with a particular concentration in real estate and real estate brokerage issues. His experience also encompasses municipal law, antitrust suits, and corporate shareholder and partnership disputes. Throughout his career, a number of Mr. Goodman’s cases have resulted in published opinions that set precedents in New Jersey.
Mr. Goodman is approved by the State of New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance Real Estate Commission as a New Jersey Real Estate Continuing Education Instructor. He lectures frequently to the real estate brokerage community and other industry organizations throughout the state, and has written extensively on topics related to real estate brokerage law.
Overview
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, B.A., cum laude, graduated 1973
- Rutgers University–Newark, J.D., graduated 1977
- New Jersey, NJ - 1978
- Rutgers Law School Newark-Alumni Association - Past President
- American Bar Association - Member, Litigation Section, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
- Hunterdon Healthcare System - Former Trustee; Former Trustee; Executive Committee, former member; Committee on Trustees, former member; Strategic Planning Committee, past Chair; Quality Committee, past Chair
- Hunterdon Medical Center - Former Trustee
- Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Fund of the Bar of New Jersey - Former Chair
- New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys - Member
- New Jersey REALTORS® - Special Counsel
- New Jersey State Bar Association - Member, Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section, Civil Trial Bar Section, Antitrust Law Special Committee
- Trial Attorneys of New Jersey - Former Trustee
- United Way of Hunterdon County - Former General Counsel and past President
- New Jersey, NJ - 1978
- Rutgers Law School Newark-Alumni Association - Past President
- American Bar Association - Member, Litigation Section, Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section
- Hunterdon Healthcare System - Former Trustee; Former Trustee; Executive Committee, former member; Committee on Trustees, former member; Strategic Planning Committee, past Chair; Quality Committee, past Chair
- Hunterdon Medical Center - Former Trustee
- Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Fund of the Bar of New Jersey - Former Chair
- New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys - Member
- New Jersey REALTORS® - Special Counsel
- New Jersey State Bar Association - Member, Real Property Trust and Estate Law Section, Civil Trial Bar Section, Antitrust Law Special Committee
- Trial Attorneys of New Jersey - Former Trustee
- United Way of Hunterdon County - Former General Counsel and past President
- Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, B.A., cum laude, graduated 1973
- Rutgers University–Newark, J.D., graduated 1977
Client Testimonials
Awards & Focus
Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers® for:
- Litigation - Real Estate, Woodbridge (2024)
- Litigation - Real Estate, Woodbridge (2016)
Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® 2026 for work in:
- Commercial Litigation
- Litigation - Real Estate
Additional Areas of Practice:
- Appellate Practice
- Real Estate Law
Awards:
- Listed in Benchmark Litigation (published by Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC) as a Local Litigation Star - New Jersey in the Antitrust, General Commercial and Securities practice areas (2013 – present)
- Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rated AV® Preeminent (a trademark of Internet Brands, Inc.) (1988 – present)
- Listed in New Jersey Super Lawyers (a Thomson Reuters business) in the Real Estate, Appellate and Business Litigation practice areas (2011 – present)
- Recipient of the Middlesex County Bar Association Lawyer Achievement Award (2010)
- Recipient of the Rutgers University Alumni Meritorious Service Award (2006)
News & Media
Case History
Cases
- Zaman v. Felton (2014)
The New Jersey Supreme Court held that, where a real estate licensee purchases a house that is in foreclosure with the seller having the right to buy back the property and continue to live there through a lease, the transaction may create an equitable mortgage but it is not subject to In re: Opinion 26 or the Consumer Fraud Act
- In re: Opinion 26 (1995)
The New Jersey Supreme Court held that buyers and sellers of residential real estate can receive assistance from real estate and title agents during the closing process, as has been the practice in South Jersey, and do not have to retain a lawyer as has typically been done in North Jersey
- RE/MAX v. Wassau (2000)
The New Jersey Supreme Court held that real estate salespeople are employees for purposes of workers’ compensation
- H.I.P. v. K. Hovnanian(1996)
Mr. Goodman successfully represented a developer regarding an advocacy group’s claims that a development did not comply with the Fair Housing Act
- Mortgage Bankers Association of NJ v. NJ Real Estate Commission (1995)
Mr. Goodman served as lead counsel. Following a 12-year court battle, the Appellate Division ultimately held that real estate licensees can receive a fee for providing mortgage-related services
- Exit A Plus Realty v. Zuniga (2007)
The Appellate Division held that real estate listing agreements are not automatically void, but are only voidable based upon the equities of the case if a real estate licensee violates the Real Estate Licensing Act
- CBTR v. Twin Rivers Homeowners’ Association (2007)
The New Jersey Supreme Court held that homeowners’ associations’ policies regarding expressional activities will be upheld if they are reasonable but may be subject to constitutional scrutiny if they are unreasonable
- Danvers Motor Co. v. Ford Motor Co. (2005)
In class action antitrust suit, the United States Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that dealers challenging Ford’s nationwide incentive and satisfaction program stated particularized harm by alleging payments against their will and relinquishing control of dealership operations to satisfy constitutional standing requirements
- New Jersey Association of REALTORS® v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (2004)
The Appellate Division held that a regulation requiring deed notices concerning environmentally contaminated sites be sent to the Association for distribution by its members to the public was void ab initio because it violated the New Residential Off-Site Conditions Disclosure Act
- Gordon Development Group v. Bradley (2003)
The Appellate Division held that there only is one attorney-review period for both the buyer and the seller in a residential real estate transaction in New Jersey that begins when the fully executed contract has been delivered to both the buyer and the seller
- Inter-City Tire and Auto Center v. Uniroyal (1988)
Mr. Goodman successfully defended a distributor in an antitrust suit who allegedly had conspired to monopolize a certain market and fix prices
- G&W v. Borough of East Rutherford (1995)
Mr. Goodman prevailed before the Appellate Court in an antitrust action precluding his client from competing for business in a certain municipality
- Liberty Lincoln Mercury, Inc. v. Ford Marketing Corp. (1993)
The United States District Court held that an automobile dealers association can participate in case as amicus curiae if the individual dealership that was a party in the lawsuit was not adequately represented by counsel and the association will not be an advocate for one of the parties
- Reyes v. Egner (2010)
The Appellate Division held that a broker for a short-term summer rental is not liable to a tenant who was in the unit for nine days and then fell where a step was higher than the construction code permitted and there was no required handrail on the steps, and the broker therefore is not subject to the same duty to warn visitors as a broker in an open house situation
- Danvers Motor Co. v. Ford Motor Co. (2002)
The United States District Court held that class action antitrust plaintiffs must have particularized injuries to have Article III standing under the United States Constitution
- New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985)
The United States Supreme Court rendered a landmark decision circumscribing the scope of searches and seizures in public schools
- The Hospital Center at Orange v. Cook (1981)
The Appellate Division held that a hospital is barred from suing indigent patient for fees where the hospital failed to advise a patient she was eligible to apply for free medical care under a federal program for which the hospital already had received funding
- State v. Arace Brothers (1989)
Mr. Goodman represented a trade association and certain individual defendants against allegations by the Attorney General that over the course of 25 years, the defendants had allocated public contracts among themselves in violation of the Antitrust Act
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