RayV wrote:
See my post from earlier today, it shows that inspectors in NJ are
required to report in writing the presence of aluminum wiring in a
house.
http://groups.google.com/group/alt.h...6aa7ebdb2efa94

Small claims might not work because *malpractice* is not eligible for
small claims in NJ. Also the inspector is required to have insurance
so any claim I file will put me up against an attorney from the
insurance company who would bury me in legaleze.


Just checked the rules for small claims in NJ and I think you are
right. Malpractice suits are prohibited, so I think that route is out.
If you could get it into small claims, I wouldn't worry about the
insurance company sending a lawyer for a possible $3000 case, as it's
not worth their time. More likely they would offer to settle Even if
they did send a lawyer, the judge knows small claims is to give the
little guy a fair shot, so I doubt he'd let a lawyer bury you in
legaleze. But if small claims is out, I don't see any alternative that
makes any sense.

Another possible data point occurred to me. I believe the max you can
hope to recover in any case would be the inspector's fee, plus whatever
a judge would determine is the difference in worth of a house with
copper clad alum vs a house with copper wiring. If you know a real
estate agent, you could see if they have any actual experience in sales
where the inspection uncovered that type wiring, or even full alum
wiring. They could tell you what happened and how much difference it
made in selling price. Even that is probably very hard to determine,
because other factors can be involved. But if you were to pursue this
in any court, that would be evidence you would need to prove damages.
If a realtor tells you it can't be determined or made little
difference, then you know you are gonna have a hard time proving
damages.

I would also check the NJ sellers disclosure law rules at the DCA,
which are pretty strict and what the requirements are for disclosing
alum wiring. You might have a legitimate claim against the seller, if
for example it is required to be disclosed, you can show they knew it
and didn't disclose it. But of course that comes with it's own
problems. You could check with the town for records of electrical
permits pulled and what they show.