When a court is asked to step in
Requests to stop or shape construction tend to come from a few directions: an adjoining owner worried about damage, a tenant whose building is being altered around them, or a party to the construction contract trying to prevent the other side from walking off or locking them out. In New York there is also a court process that lets a builder ask for access to a neighbor's property when the neighbor refuses, often with conditions such as insurance and payment for the inconvenience. Courts treat an order that halts work as a serious step, because it can impose large costs on the party being stopped. They look closely at how strong the underlying claim appears and at the harm that would follow if they did nothing.
Papers that move a judge
Injunction requests are decided largely on written submissions, so the evidence has to be organized quickly. Dated photos and video of cracks, vibration damage, or encroachment are valuable, as are reports from an engineer who has looked at the structure. Copies of permits, approved plans, and any stop-work order or violation issued by the Department of Buildings help show what the work was supposed to look like. Correspondence showing that you raised the problem and what the other side said in response is also useful. Avoid going onto the other property or confronting the crew yourself; let the record speak.
Timing, bonds, and alternatives
Delay works against a party asking for emergency relief, because a court may ask why, if the harm was urgent, nothing was filed sooner. In New York, a party that obtains a preliminary injunction is generally required to post an undertaking, a form of security that protects the other side if the order turns out to be unjustified. That cost should be part of the decision. In our first discussion we look at whether a negotiated access or protection agreement, monitoring arrangement, or insurance claim would solve the problem faster than a motion. If court is the right path, we discuss what can realistically be filed and how soon.
