The Law Offices of Paul H. Appel – Your Trusted Business Law Partner in New Jersey
Ocean County · New Jersey
When most of the year's revenue arrives between Memorial Day and Labor Day, a weak lease or a misclassified crew can cost an entire season. Paul H. Appel advises Seaside Heights operators on the legal set-up that has to be in place before the boardwalk fills.
A boardwalk economy
Seaside Heights is a barrier-island borough on the Barnegat Peninsula, between Barnegat Bay and the ocean, known for its boardwalk, amusements, arcades, food stands, bars and summer rentals.
Businesses here run on compressed timelines. Many open for a few months, rent their space by the season, staff up with students and returning workers, and close or scale back after Labor Day. Problems that a year-round business could absorb — a landlord dispute in July, a key employee walking out, a supplier missing deliveries on a holiday weekend — land at the worst possible moment.
That is why most of the firm's work for Seaside Heights owners happens in the off-season. Clients deal with Paul by phone or video, or meet him at the Freehold office by appointment; the firm has no office on the island.
Off-season to-do list
Working through this list between January and April avoids most of the emergencies owners call about in mid-summer.
Many of these points come up again in the firm's article on legal tips for shore and seasonal businesses.
Services in use
Leases
A concession lease should cover the operating season, permitted products, signage, hours, utilities, storm damage and whether rent abates if the boardwalk or building is closed. Assignment rights matter if you may sell the business. See the firm's commercial lease agreements page.
Staffing
New Jersey applies the ABC test to decide whether a worker is an employee for wage and unemployment purposes. Ride operators, cooks and counter staff who work your hours on your premises will usually be employees, and misclassification penalties have grown.
Structure
Owners with a stand, a rental property and a bar often hold each in a separate entity so that a problem in one does not reach the others. That only works if each entity keeps its own accounts, contracts and records.
Disputes
A dispute with a landlord, partner or vendor during the season usually needs a fast negotiated answer rather than a lawsuit. The firm handles negotiation and mediation aimed at keeping the business open.
Partnerships
A common Seaside Heights arrangement is two or three people pooling money for a stand or a bar, agreeing verbally to split everything evenly. It works in a good summer. In a rainy one, or when one partner works every shift and the other does not, the unwritten deal stops working.
A short operating agreement prepared before opening should address capital contributions, who works and whether they are paid for it, how off-season expenses are covered, and how a partner can be bought out. The Ocean County business law hub describes the firm's wider work for shore businesses.
Questions
The season and operating hours, exactly what you may sell, who pays utilities and repairs, insurance requirements, what happens if storm damage or a closure stops you operating, renewal options and whether you can assign the lease to a buyer. Rent abatement during a closure is often the most valuable clause and the one most often missing.
Usually not. Under New Jersey's ABC test, a worker is presumed to be an employee unless the business can show all three parts of the test, including that the work is outside its usual course of business or places. Most boardwalk staff do work at the heart of the business, so treating them as contractors carries real risk.
If the venture involves a lease, staff or significant equipment, a separate LLC is often worthwhile because it keeps that venture's obligations away from your other assets, provided you keep finances and contracts separate. A short consultation can confirm whether a new entity or your existing one is the better fit, ideally well before the lease is signed.
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Your attorney
Every matter at the firm is handled personally by Paul — the same attorney reads the documents, gives the advice and negotiates on your behalf.
Contact
Describe what the business is dealing with — a contract on your desk, a deal in progress, a dispute or a company you are about to form. You will hear back from the attorney who handles the work.
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