AYMAN ASAAD FARES ALHAGALY VS. MEGA PROPERTIES AT 100-104 ROMAINE AVENUE (L-4279-19, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-4287-19

Background

Tenants Ayman Alhagaly and Safaa Bekhit rented a Jersey City apartment (Sept. 2018) at $1,500/month; landlord Mega sued in Special Civil Part for nonpayment of May 2019 rent.
Tenants raised habitability defenses in the summary-dispossess action and, pursuant to a June mediation, paid rent into court ($4,500 total). A court inspector later found many repairs incomplete.
Tenants separately filed a rent-leveling complaint; the rent administrator issued a preliminary (July 17, 2019) and final (Aug. 6, 2019) determination that the lawful rent was lower and ordered Mega to refund excess rent.
On Aug. 22, 2019 the summary-dispossess case was resolved by a consent order releasing the deposited funds: $4,050 to Mega and $450 to tenants, without referencing the rent-board determination or any releases.
Tenants then sued under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act (Nov. 2019) for rent overcharges; Mega moved for summary judgment asserting accord and satisfaction and collateral estoppel based on the consent order and the rent-board determination.
The trial court granted summary judgment dismissing the CFA claim; the Appellate Division reversed, holding genuine issues of fact existed on accord and satisfaction and that collateral estoppel did not bar the CFA claim.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the Aug. 22 consent order constituted an accord and satisfaction barring later CFA claims	Consent order did not clearly resolve or release the rent-overcharge or CFA claims; no clear manifestation of a global settlement	The consent order settled the summary-dispossess case and thus operated as an accord and satisfaction resolving all tenancy-related claims	Reversed summary judgment — genuine issue of material fact whether parties intended the consent order to be a global accord and satisfaction; consent order alone insufficient on summary judgment
Whether the rent-leveling administrator's determination collaterally estops the CFA claim	The rent-board addressed ordinance-based rent; it did not decide whether overcharging amounted to a CFA violation, so collateral estoppel is inapplicable	The administrator’s finding that landlord overcharged rent precludes relitigation of the overcharge issue in court	Reversed summary judgment — collateral estoppel not established because the CFA violation is a different legal issue than the rent-board’s ordinance determination
Whether damages claims could have been litigated or recovered in summary-dispossess proceedings	Tenants could not recover damages in summary dispossess and therefore could not raise a CFA damages claim there	Landlord argued tenants should have raised overcharge defense or resolved it in the summary action	Court reiterated summary dispossess cannot award damages and a tenant cannot counterclaim for money there; that does not bar a subsequent statutory damages action under the CFA

Key Cases Cited

Raji v. Saucedo, 461 N.J. Super. 166 (App. Div. 2019) (acquiescence to a court-approved pay-and-go judgment can embody an accord and satisfaction when the record shows parties intended a global settlement)
Green v. Morgan Props., 215 N.J. 431 (2013) (summary dispossess actions cannot award money judgments; remedy is limited to possession and determining rent due to avoid eviction)
Brill v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 142 N.J. 520 (1995) (standard for summary judgment review)
Loizeaux Builders Supply Co. v. Donald B. Ludwig Co., 144 N.J. Super. 556 (Law Div. 1976) (elements of accord and satisfaction articulated)
Zeller v. Markson Rosenthal & Co., 299 N.J. Super. 461 (App. Div. 1997) (accord and satisfaction requires clear manifestation that payment was intended in full satisfaction)
Chau v. Cardillo, 250 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 1990) (municipal rent-board determinations may be a defense in landlord-tenant actions regarding legally owed rent)
In re Estate of Dawson, 136 N.J. 1 (1994) (elements required to invoke collateral estoppel)