When a tenant moves out of an apartment but leaves personal belongings behind, the landlord may not dispose of the property without giving the tenant an opportunity to return to the apartment and remove the belongings. This applies even if the tenant owes rent and even if the tenant was legally evicted by the court.

In New Jersey, a law called the Abandoned Tenant Property Statute requires landlords to give written notice to former tenants if the landlord wants to dispose of property left by the tenants after they have moved out. The notice must state that the landlord considers the property left behind abandoned.

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(This according to the J. Geils Band song of the same name.) “And may lead to litigation…”

A recent unreported Appellate Division decision involved parties that were romantically involved.

The plaintiff purchased property and built a house. Prior to the closing, the parties executed an agreement in which plaintiff promised to deed the house into both of their names as joint tenants with the right of survivorship and that defendant would have no financial obligations for the home. The parties executed and recorded the deed before they began living in the house.

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There is a basic concept in the law of due process.  Part of that is that a person or entity should not be sued in a State where it has not done business.  In the old days, it might be sufficient to show that the defendant never stepped foot in New Jersey and therefore is not subject to the jurisdiction of the Courts.  This question is governed by the principle of reasonableness and whether the defendant has minimum contacts sufficient that he should expect to be haled into court here.

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The Federal courts have had electronic filing for many years, both in the district courts and the bankruptcy courts. Typically, this is initiated by the attorney opening an account with the court, which gives the attorney the ability to scan and upload litigation documents on line instead of having to mail the documents to the courthouse. Also, rather than having to write a check to the court, your online account is automatically charged.

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In a recent New Jersey Federal court decision, a judge denied Wal-Mart’s motion for summary judgment and determined that the plaintiff was entitled to a trial on his claim for personal injuries arising in defendant’s store.  Specifically, the plaintiff alleged that he tripped and fell over a fishing wire which Wal-Mart employees failed to reel in from a display but rather left on the floor.

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