WILLIAM DEW VS. S. COLUMBIA TERRACE, LLC (NEW JERSEY DIVISION ON CIVIL RIGHTS)


NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ."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-3800-19 WILLIAM DEW, Complainant-Appellant, v. S. COLUMBIA TERRACE, LLC, Respondent-Respondent. _____________________________ Submitted June 7, 2021 – Decided August 18, 2021 Before Judges Rothstadt and Susswein. On appeal from the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, Department of Law and Public Safety, Docket No. HB08WT-67679. William Dew, appellant pro se. Ira C. Kaplan, attorney for respondent S. Columbia Terrace, LLC. Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney for respondent New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (Donna Arons, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; James R. Michael, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief). PER CURIAM Appellant, William Dew, appeals from an April 29, 2020 final agency decision rendered by the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights (the Division) finding that there was no probable cause to support Dew's discrimination complaint against his landlord, respondent S. Columbia Terrace (S. Columbia). Dew alleged in his complaint that S. Columbia violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 to -49, by discriminating against him based on his race and the public assistance source of his rental payments. After carefully reviewing the record in light of the arguments of the parties and the applicable legal principles, we affirm substantially for the reasons explained in the Division's comprehensive April 29, 2020 written opinion. We briefly summarize the pertinent facts and procedural history. In May 2010, Dew first entered into a lease agreement for his apartment with Elmor LLC (Elmor). His monthly rent for the apartment at that time was $1,390 and he provided Elmor with a $1,390 security deposit. The monthly rent had increased to $1,440 as of March 2015 when S. Columbia purchased the building and assumed ownership. Dew's security deposit was lawfully depleted to cover missing payments. A-3800-19 2 In April 2018, Dew and S. Columbia signed a lease extension with a monthly rent of $1,223. However, Dew did not pay the requisite $1,773 security deposit, nor did he pay rent from January to April 2019. Despite these missed payments, in April 2019, S. Columbia sent Dew a proposed lease extension for the period of July 1, 2019 through June 30, 2020 with a monthly rent of $1,284 . The security deposit for this proposed one-year extension was $1,926. Dew did not sign the lease extension, nor did he remit the security deposit. S. Columbia filed for eviction on June 20, 2019, seeking $7,338 in unpaid rent from January through June 2019, $300 in late fees, and a security deposit of $1,773, totaling $9,411. The court entered a judgment for possession and then issued a warrant of removal. On July 22, 2019, the Superior Court judge hearing the matter issued an order of removal set …

Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals