Blake C. Width represents business owners and individuals in litigation to resolve disputes and recover debts.
Having 20 years of experience in the legal industry, Blake has focused his practice in the areas of contract litigation, creditors' rights litigation, land use, labor law and insurance defense. It isn't uncommon for Blake to provide comprehensive business and litigation services to small business owners who find themselves in need of an attorney who handles everything from collecting accounts receivable to counseling on the obligations of debtors involved in complex bankruptcy proceedings.
Blake has appeared before and advised land use boards in municipalities throughout Hunterdon, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, and Union Counties in connection with subdivisions, site plan reviews, use, bulk and conditional use variance applications, including procedural requirements and substantive issues based on the analysis of state and federal law, local zoning codes, and their permitted uses. He is the current attorney for the Milford Borough Joint Land Use Board, and previously represented the Holland Township Board of Adjustment, Kingwood Township Board of Adjustment, and Borough of Spring Lake.
As creditor counsel, he has served both large and small unsecured business creditors from a variety of industries, in addition to trustees and secured creditors including credit unions, banks, inventory suppliers, financial institutions, and community associations. Blake's creditor practice has involved litigation before the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey under Chapters 7, 11, and 13, as well as the before Superior Court of New Jersey.
Blake also has substantial experience in the areas of community associations, public safety, municipal, construction, and general commercial litigation. As well as providing insurance defense litigation services, he has pursued cases on behalf of insurance industry clients in subrogation, and acted as coverage counsel. Blake has litigated cases before New Jersey courts ranging from the municipal level to the New Jersey Appellate Division, New Jersey Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court of the United States, in addition to having been admitted pro hac vice in various over jurisdictions.
Prior to joining Lindabury, Blake was employed by a Newark based regional law firm, and while in law school, Blake served as a judicial intern to the Honorable Frederick P. DeVesa, New Jersey Superior Court.
Representative Matters:
- Obtained award for homeowners in excess of $100,000 including treble damages and attorney's fees, in connection with New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act claims against residential contractor.
- Successfully defended a contractor faced with substantial liability under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, before the trail court and appeals eventually leading to the New Jersey Supreme Court.
- Recovered small business owner debt in excess of $100,000 through litigation in less than four months despite pandemic-era litigation delays.
- Represented homeowner in mortgage discharge action to recover funds in excess of $1,500,000 through contested litigation.
- Successfully represented New Jersey municipality in constitutional challenge to local ordinance through each level of appeal continuing to the Supreme Court of the United States.
- Representation of small businesses from creation of entity through purchase of facility for operating business and resolution of employment issues.
Noteworthy Decisions:
Holt v. Laube, 2011 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2994, 2011 WL 6141466 (App.Div. Dec. 12, 2011), certif. denied, 210 N.J. 108 (2012)
State v. Feeley, 2011 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2402, 2011 WL 4056057 (App.Div. Sept. 14, 2011), certif. denied, 212 N.J. 287 (2012), cert. denied, 134 S.Ct. 472 (2013)