Due to the pandemic, the New Jersey Supreme Court imposed a moratorium on all eviction trials beginning in March 2020 and continuing to the present. This did not prevent landlords for filing eviction complaints and waiting for trial once the moratorium was lifted. Also, the Court did create a narrow exception to permit cases involving a tenant’s physical violence or severe property damage to be scheduled for trial upon successful application to the court.
(https://www.whelan-law.com/residential-evictions-covid-19-style/) I did prevail in many such cases, resulting in tenants vacating the premises.
The Chief Justice has just entered an Order effective June 2, 2021 providing that commercial eviction trials may proceed.
The Order further states that trials will proceed in a virtual format. That means by way of Zoom, Microsoft Teams or other medium. This requires preparation in the submission of documentary
evidence, photos and videos to the court in advance, as there will be no physical meeting at the courthouse where the evidence exchange normally occurs. It will be best for the landlord to appear at his attorney’s office for the hearing rather than appearing independently and remotely.
Absent some credibility issue, I believe that it is beneficial to the landlord for the typical commercial non-payment case to be handled virtually. However, a virtual trial does require forethought and pre-planning.
The moratorium on residential evictions has been extended to January 1, 2022.
