Pro Bono Client Secures Trial Victory in Hudson County Landlord-Tenant Court

Paul, Weiss secured a victory for a pro bono client in the Landlord-Tenant section of the Superior Court of New Jersey (Hudson County) by obtaining the dismissal of a holdover eviction case following a short bench trial.

In April 2024, our client’s landlord initiated an eviction proceeding against our client after serving a three-day notice to quit, terminating our client’s occupancy and demanding he move out and deliver possession of his apartment to the landlord. In the complaint, and as set forth in the notice to quit, the landlord alleged that our client violated New Jersey law by causing, willfully or by gross negligence, destruction to the rental premises and building. The landlord cited certain events involving our client that purportedly took place throughout 2020 and in May 2023.

In a bench trial, counsel for the landlord put the property manager on the stand to testify to the facts alleged in the complaint. Litigation associate Aaron Haier cross-examined the property manager, gaining critical admissions to support our argument that the landlord waived the right to evict our client for the alleged conduct, including that the landlord continued to deposit our client’s rent checks after filing the complaint, and that the landlord was aware of the alleged conduct in August 2023 when the landlord filed an earlier nonpayment eviction action against our client, the dismissal of which the Paul, Weiss team also secured. The property manager also admitted that the alleged property damage he identified in our client’s apartment was connected to similar damage he observed that day in the apartments of at least two other tenants.

In an oral decision, the court dismissed the eviction case, finding that the landlord did not timely file the notice and complaint, and that the landlord failed to establish that our client caused any damage or engaged in any willful or negligent conduct of any kind.

The Paul, Weiss team included litigation associate Aaron Haier. Litigation partner Audra Soloway supervised the matter.