Your Government at work – Matthew Johnson, et al. v. Governor of New Jersey, et al.

 From the New Civil Liberties Alliance.  Please contribute.

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CASE SUMMARY

NCLA filed the complaint against Governor Murphy in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, challenging Executive Order No. 128. The order, which violates federal constitutional law, state constitutional law, state contract law and state landlord-tenant law, purports to allow tenants to use their security deposits to offset rent or back rent. Regardless of the governor’s good intentions, the order unlawfully singles out residential landlords and cancels the major security measure they use to protect their property.

NCLA represents Mr. Johnson, the owner of a small rental property in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Like many other New Jersey landlords, he has fallen victim to the governor’s unconstitutional order and risks losing the security deposit for which he rightfully contracted. Without a security deposit to insure against damage caused to the property during the tenancy, he will be forced to cover the cost of such damage out of his own pocket, or he could be forced to bring a costly and time-consuming small-claims action against his tenant. If Mr. Johnson should try to adhere to the terms of the voluntarily signed leasehold contract, under the new rules, he would be subject to criminal penalties.