Two New Jersey rulings close off common defenses to assessment judgments
Two New Jersey rulings close off common defenses to assessment judgments
2026-09-15 · New Jersey · Courts
Two New Jersey appellate decisions in this window tested the arguments unit owners most commonly raise against assessment judgments. Both failed, and for reasons worth understanding.
Cedar Crossing Condominium Association, Inc. v. Linda A. Clark
Docket A-1936-23, submitted January 6, 2026 and decided April 13, 2026. Unpublished, not precedential under R. 1:36-3.1
The panel affirmed summary judgment and a $16,218.41 assessment judgment, rejecting three arguments: that the association's counsel lacked authority to sue because the board was allegedly "non-functioning"; that there was a lack of privity between the owner and the association; and that the case should have been dismissed for lack of prosecution.
The reasoning rests on the nature of the relationship. It "is contractual in nature," and owners "contractually agreed to abide by the common rules and regulations of the Association" — language drawn from the Supreme Court's 2007 Twin Rivers decision. And by statute, a unit owner taking title is "conclusively presumed to have agreed to pay his proportionate share of common expenses."
511 Willow Avenue Condominium Association v. Martin J. Kiely
Docket A-0678-23, argued November 14, 2024 and decided January 3, 2025. Unpublished.2
The panel affirmed denial of a unit owner's second motion under R. 4:50-1 to vacate a default judgment of $201,837.63 for unpaid assessments. A 19-month delay after proper substituted service defeated both "excusable neglect" and "exceptional circumstances," and a setoff claim for work the owner said he had performed did not excuse the statutory duty to pay.
The "non-functioning board" argument, and why it goes nowhere
This one recurs constantly in New Jersey, usually in communities where elections have lapsed, quorum has failed, or the board has shrunk below its bylaw complement. The argument is intuitive: if the board is not properly constituted, how can it have authorised litigation?
Cedar Crossing answers that an association's collection counsel need not prove board "functionality" to have standing. The association is a corporate entity with a statutory duty to collect common expenses; the assessment obligation attaches to the unit by operation of law, not by board resolution.
That is not a licence for boards to stop holding elections. Governance failures create real exposure elsewhere — to election challenges, to PREDFDA claims, to Department of Community Affairs open-meeting enforcement. It simply means a delinquent owner cannot use them as a shield.
Setoff is the other one, and it is the more sympathetic
The owner in 511 Willow Avenue claimed he had performed work at the property and should be credited for it. Whatever the merits of that claim, it does not suspend the duty to pay assessments.
The reason is the one the Condominium Act makes explicit: common expenses are a lien against the unit, and the obligation to pay is not conditioned on the association's performance. An owner with a genuine claim against the association has to bring it as a claim, not withhold.
The practical consequence for owners is severe, and it is worth stating plainly because it is the single most costly mistake an owner makes. Withholding converts a dispute the owner might have won into a collection action in which the same facts are irrelevant — and then adds interest, costs and, where the bylaws authorise it, the association's legal fees.
The size of the Willow Avenue judgment is the story within the story
$201,837.63 is what an unpaid assessment balance looks like after years of accrual on a Hoboken condominium. It is not primarily a delinquency figure; it is a compounding figure. And it was entered by default — the owner did not appear — and then survived two attempts to vacate.
The 19-month delay is what defeated relief. R. 4:50-1 motions are judged on diligence, and the clock runs from service, not from the point at which an owner decides to engage.
What a board takes from both — at the category level
Process is what makes these outcomes available. Substituted service must be proper; in 511 Willow Avenue, the propriety of service is precisely what made the 19-month delay fatal to the owner rather than excusable. Ledgers must be clean enough to survive summary judgment. And the fee authority must be in the bylaws before it is needed.
None of that is about litigating harder. It is about the file being in order before the first notice goes out.
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