Oak Tree Village v. Thompson

A-3744-99T5 (N.J. Super. App. Div. 2001) (Unpublished)

Opinion Date: April 23, 2001
Real Property Law
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LEASES; ATTORNEYS FEES—A tenant may contractually agree to pay reasonable legal fees related to an eviction.

A lease between a landlord and tenant had a clause that required the tenant to pay a “late charge” and “costs of suit and an attorney’s fee” in the event of an eviction. When the landlord came to seek eviction, the tenant paid the charges and defeated the warrant of removal. The issue here was of the propriety of the late charges and attorney’s fees. The Appellate Division agreed with the lower court’s finding that “the landlord’s accounting practices were ‘correct’ and the late charges and attorney’s fees were ‘reasonable.’ A prior New Jersey Supreme Court case stated, “[i]t is clear that a tenant in New Jersey may contractually agree to pay reasonable legal fees related to an eviction.”

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