In New Jersey, Courts will enter Default Judgment for a variety of reasons. Most commonly, it is because one party, the plaintiff or defendant, failed to respond to a motion or complaint within the required time. In response, the aggrieved party may file a Motion to Vacate the Default Judgment. If successful, this Motion will allow you to re-open the case and re-litigate your matter. Time is of the essence in these types of situations. Therefore, when facing a Default Judgment in forfeiture case, it is crucial that you act quickly. If you would like to consult with a New Jersey Forfeiture Attorney about Vacating a Default Judgment, please contact our office today at 732-339-3897.
First and foremost, a Motion to Vacate a Default Judgement must be made within a reasonable time. In those situations where the motion to vacate is based on reasons of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, newly discovered evidence which would probably alter the judgment or order and which by due diligence could not have been discovered in time to move for a new trial under R. 4:49, fraud, misrepresentation, or other misconduct of an adverse party, then the motion should be made within one (1) year after the judgment. This Rule, in the context of a forfeiture proceeding, is partially altered by N.J.S.A. 2C:64-6. N.J.S.A. 2C:64-6 allows for a three (3) excludable time extension to contest a forfeiture complaint, so long as the person frame to can demonstrate that they did not consent to, and had no knowledge of its unlawful use. The motion itself must be made with the Court in which the original judgment or order was entered and should include all of the original parties to the matter.
You motion must include all of the following:
Generally, you are expected to file an Answer to a forfeiture Complaint within the time frames required by Court Rules. However, there are often situations where our clients were unaware of the forfeiture complaint or where a third-party who was not involved in the criminal case but owned the property. In those scenarios, it is not uncommon for you to miss the required deadlines to file an Answer to the State’s motion. If this happens, the Attorney General or County Prosecutor may move for a Default Judgment and immediate forfeiture of the property. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to file a Motion to Vacate the Default Judgment. Specifically, under N.J.S.A. 2C:64-8, “[a]ny person who could not with due diligence have discovered that property which he owns was seized as contraband may file a claim for its return or the value thereof at the time of seizure within 3 years of the seizure if he or she can demonstrate that they did not consent to, and had no knowledge of its unlawful use.”
Pursuant to the Service-members Civil Relief Act (SCRA), formerly known as the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940, provides important safeguards to members on active duty status in the area of financial management, including rental agreements, security deposits, evictions, installment contracts, credit card interest rates, mortgages, civil judicial proceedings and income tax payments. For this reason, the State would be barred from obtaining any default judgment against you or your property, should you be an active Service-member.
If you failed to fight the original forfeiture but have a valid claim to vacate the default judgment, you may still be unable to get the original property back. This can happen when the underlying property was something tangible like a car or motorcycle and it was sold at a forfeiture auction. In this scenario, you may still be eligible to obtain the proceeds (cash) that the State obtained from the sale of the forfeited property. For more information on what other options may exist, please contact our office.