MSTA: “LAST WEEK WAS THE BEST WEEK FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS IN HOBOKEN 30 YEARS”

FROM: Mile Square Taxpayers Association
P.O. Box 344
Hoboken, NJ 07030
201-659-MSTA
www.HobokenMSTA.com

CONTACT: Ron Simoncini
201-424-9017

JUDGE O’SHAUGHNESSY OPENS HOBOKEN RENT CONTROL A CRACK

MSTA: “LAST WEEK WAS THE BEST WEEK FOR PROPERTY RIGHTS
IN HOBOKEN 30 YEARS”

HOBOKEN, NJ – JULY 6, 2009 – In an opinion that took nearly 3 ½ hours to read July 3, Superior Court Judge John O’Shaughnessy decided eight separate motions that attorneys say represent the beginnings of reform of rent control in Hoboken.
The most critical of these signaled that the Court believes there is some level or probability that landlords will prevail in their claim that the City’s administration of the ordinance is arbitrary and capricious. The rulings follow a week in which a rent control property owner won a hardship case that restored rents to an appropriate level after a “legal rent calculation” resulted in an unreasonable rollback of rents.
“Everyone involved knows how ridiculous the City’s application of the law is. This week we see the Superior Court express dubiousness about the administration of the ordinance, and we see a growing impatience by the rent board with tenant attorneys who work on contingency to exploit the rent leveling office’s misadministration of the ordinance, which often results in an illegitimate windfall for tenants,” says Ron Simoncini, executive director of Mile Square Taxpayers Association. “The Council is squarely responsible for not tackling this matter, but, as we have seen in the past, as a body it is unwilling to act affirmatively on fiscal issues that might have political consequences. It leaves the City vulnerable on many levels and it is incredibly costly.
“Still, last week was the best week for property rights in Hoboken 30 years, and between the litigation and the pressure for fiscal reform, there is some level of hope that reason will be restored before the market collapses.”
Judge O’Shaughnessy’s decisions have redefined the rent control litigation landscape as follows:
* The rent control ordinance requires that a current landlord inherit the liability of prior owners for excess rent that was charged by the prior owner. Current landlords are not liable for damage awards under the consumer fraud act for rents collected prior to their ownership.
* The current judgment is stayed pending the outcome of the landlord’s challenge to the City’s unjust, arbitrary and capricious previous enforcement and interpretation of the ordinance.
“It will be interesting to see what happens when the ruling on the Administration of the Ordinance comes,” says Mr. Simoncini. “The City will surely face a wave of landlords demanding repayment of prior settlements and judgments that were no fault of their own. The total is well over $10 million. The only justice would be if Council members who declined to do the right thing all these years faced personal liability and trebling of damages.”