NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3193-20 STANISLAW SMIALEK, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. IRENE GORGON and ZBIGNIEW GORGON, Defendants-Respondents. ___________________________ Argued June 9, 2022 – Decided June 29, 2022 Before Judges Hoffman, Whipple, and Geiger. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Hudson County, Docket No. C-000158-19. Robert E. Margulies argued the cause for appellant (Schumann Hanlon Margulies, LLC, attorneys; Jeff Thakker, of counsel; Donald D. Campbell, on the briefs). Michael C. Schonberger argued the cause for respondents. PER CURIAM This appeal stems from a partition action filed by plaintiff Stanislaw Smialek against defendants Irene Gorgon and Zbigniew Gorgon in September 2019. In his complaint, plaintiff sought "a fair partition" of the multi-unit building located at 344 Seventh Street in Jersey City (the property); in the alternative, plaintiff sought the sale of the property, "if a fair partition" cannot be made. In December 2020, defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, seeking a declaration that the parties each own an equal one-third interest in the property. On April 1, 2021, the court granted defendants' motion, finding that the parties took title as tenants in common and that each party owns "an equal [one-third] ownership share" of the property. After carefully reviewing the factual record and applicable legal principles, we affirm. I. We briefly set forth the relevant facts. In 1981, plaintiff immigrated to the United States from Poland and subsequently moved to the property, a building consisting of five separate apartment units. In 1984, plaintiff's mother, Irene Smialek, also left Poland and moved in with plaintiff. Roughly two years later, in 1986, defendant Irene Gorgon, plaintiff's sister, and defendant Zbigniew (Ziggy) Gorgon, defendant Irene's son and plaintiff's nephew, emigrated from A-3193-20 2 Poland and moved into plaintiff's apartment. Defendant Ziggy, now forty -eight years old, suffers from health issues and has lived with his mother his entire life. Ziggy receives monthly disability benefits and has not worked since 2012. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Edward Boguezewski owned the property at 344 Seventh Street. Prior to his death in 1998, Boguezewski lived in a separate apartment in the same building as the parties, and maintained a friendship with plaintiff and defendants, as they all belonged to the same Polish church. Boguezewski expressed that he wanted to leave plaintiff the building. Following Boguezewski's passing, the administratrix of his estate, Elizabeth Monaco, offered to sell the property to plaintiff. Monaco originally asked for $120,000, but plaintiff negotiated the price down to $100,000. In 1999, Monaco entered into a written agreement with plaintiff and defendants to purchase the property for $100,000. Irwin Rosen, Esq. represented both plaintiff and defendants in the transaction. The parties met in Rosen's office …
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