PAUL MASLOW VS. RICHARD DONATO(L-0162-16, ATLANTIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-3748-15T4

Plaintiff Paul Maslow leased a house to defendants Richard Donato and Lisa Kennard; eviction proceedings arose from unpaid rent and utility bills.
Parties entered a settlement agreement incorporated into a consent judgment that required monthly $1,500 rent, specified repairs to satisfy plaintiff’s insurer, placement of utilities in defendants’ names, and short-sale negotiation steps.
Plaintiff sought enforcement after alleged breaches; a hearing found defendants breached the settlement and issued a warrant for removal; a limited stay was granted conditional on payments.
Defendants appealed, challenging evidentiary rulings (exclusion of Certificate of Occupancy evidence) and contending payments under the settlement ended eviction jurisdiction under N.J.S.A. 2A:18-55.
Appellate court reviewed factual findings for sufficient credible evidence and contract interpretation de novo, ultimately affirming eviction because defendants failed to make required payments (rent and utility balance).

Issue	Maslow's Argument	Donato/Kennard's Argument	Held
Admissibility of C.O. evidence	C.O. irrelevant to enforcement of settlement; exclusion proper	Lack of C.O. barred eviction and was relevant	Exclusion not reversible; defense waived by settlement and lack of automatic lease invalidation upheld
Effect of statutory payment (N.J.S.A. 2A:18-55)	Settlement required additional conditions; statute does not bar eviction post-agreement	Payment of past-due rent under settlement ended eviction jurisdiction	Statute inapplicable; consent judgment terms governed and allowed eviction if payments breached
Whether breaches of repair/receipts and utility transfer justified eviction	Breaches of settlement justified warrant for removal	Repairs/receipts and utility transfer issues either not breached or not eviction-triggering	Court erred on some findings (receipts, utility transfer) but error harmless because other payment breaches supported eviction
Whether plaintiff’s own breaches preclude eviction	Plaintiff entitled to enforce consent judgment	Plaintiff’s breaches should bar relief	Rejected as insufficiently meritorious to affect outcome

Townsend v. Pierre, 221 N.J. 36 (review of evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion)
Rova Farms Resort, Inc. v. Inv’rs Ins. Co., 65 N.J. 474 (deference to trial factfinding)
Kieffer v. Best Buy, 205 N.J. 213 (contract interpretation reviewed de novo)
McQueen v. Brown, 342 N.J. Super. 120 (absence of certificate of occupancy does not automatically void a lease)