Help-U-Sell of Teaneck v. Township of Teaneck

504 A.2d 824, 207 N.J. Super. 600, 1985 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1615
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedNovember 4, 1985
StatusPublished

This text of 504 A.2d 824 (Help-U-Sell of Teaneck v. Township of Teaneck) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Help-U-Sell of Teaneck v. Township of Teaneck, 504 A.2d 824, 207 N.J. Super. 600, 1985 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1615 (N.J. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

CIOLINO, A.J.S.C.

In this action plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief from enforcement of defendant Township of Teaneck’s Code, § 26-22.1 et seq. relating to real estate canvassing. An agreed and stipulated statement of facts has been presented to the court and the issues submitted on briefs and oral argument.

Plaintiff challenges the continuing validity of the real estate canvassing code both facially and as applied on the following grounds:

(1) The code is preempted.
(2) The code directly conflicts with other State statutes.
(3) The code presents an unconstitutional abridgment of constitutionally protected speech by:
(a) providing for prior restraints;
(b) proscribing unsolicited direct sales activity generally without prior notice; and
(c) the ordinance is content based.

Plaintiff Help-U-Sell of Teaneck is a real estate brokerage service doing business in or about the Township of Teaneck. It intended to conduct a campaign to secure real estate listings by contacting homeowners in certain areas by the use of mailed circulars. Prior to the initiation of its campaign, plaintiff informed the township manager of its proposed activities and inquired if the activity was regulated by ordinance. Plaintiff was informed that the campaign appeared to violate Teaneck Township Code § 26-22.1 et seq.

The pertinent section of said code makes it unlawful for any person:

[t]o solicit a listing from any homeowner or occupant of a home who has not granted permission in writing to the canvasser to visit his home for the purpose of discussing the sale or leasing of the premises. No person shall file for said listing more than once in any six month period. [Teaneck Township Code (1973) § 26 — 22.3(h)J

Canvassing is defined as:

Door-to-door soliciting or soliciting by the use of circulars, visitations or any other means where the canvasser or his employer has not been invited or requested by the owner, as defined below, to obtain a listing of real property or to confer with the owner regarding a real estate transaction ... [Teaneck Township Code (1979) § 26-22.1]

[603]*603Complaints of plaintiff canvassing for listings were received by the township manager. Plaintiff was invited to a conference to discuss the activity, however, plaintiff refused and filed this action for declaratory judgment.

In 1966, defendant township adopted code § 26-22.1 et seq. in an effort to curb blockbusting. Blockbusting, then rampant in the township, is the practice of causing homeowners to sell their property for fear that their neighborhoods’ racial, religious or ethnic composit will soon change drastically.

In Summer v. Teaneck, 53 N.J. 548 (1969), a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court upheld the validity of Teaneck’s anti-blockbusting ordinance. The code, in its present form, has been modified since the Summer decision to provide for prior permission from the homeowner to be canvassed but exempted this requirement where the home has been publicly advertised for sale, or where the broker had been invited by the homeowner, or where there is but one home on a specific day to be solicited. Teaneck Township Code (1979) § 26-22.1.

This court is satisfied that the code prior to its post-Summer amendment is and remains a valid tool to combat blockbusting. The current ordinance as applied to plaintiff is overbroad. There is no doubt that a municipality may take appropriate actions to combat blockbusting. The Summer court clearly held that: “Blockbusting depends very much upon the local scene and varies accordingly in its intensity and hurt. Although the evil warrants the concern to the State itself, it would not be inappropriate to permit the municipalities also to wrestle with it.” Summer, supra, 53 N.J. at 553.

Plaintiff argues that the Law Against Discrimination, N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq., specifically 10:5-12(h) and (k) preempts the subject. I disagree. While N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq. does vest the State with the power to combat blockbusting, it is clear that the very nature of blockbusting requires local regulation and oversight.

Although the Summer court did not pass upon the preemption issue viz-a-viz the Law Against Discrimination, except to [604]*604note that the Division of Civil Rights can pursue one who violates the statute despite the fact the Real Estate Commission has similar authority, it did determine that the real estate statute, N.J.S.A. 45:15-1 et seq., did not occupy the field in the area of blockbusting. It stated; “We [therefore] should not easily assume a statute providing for statewide licensure was intended to bar the municipalities from protecting their citizens from offensive conduct by the licensees.” Summer, supra, 53 N.J. at 556. See also Mogolefsky v. Schoem, 50 N.J. 588 (1967).

In Overlook Terrace Management Corp. v. West New York Rent Control Board, 71 N.J. 451 (1976), the New Jersey Supreme Court outlined the factors to be considered in determining whether a State’s statute preempts a local ordinance:

1. Does the ordinance conflict with state law, either because of conflicting policies or operational effect (that is, does the ordinance forbid what the Legislature has permitted or does the ordinance permit what the Legislature has forbidden)?
2. Was the state law intended, expressly or impliedly, to be exclusive in the field?
3. Does the subject matter reflect a need for uniformity? Inganamort, et al. v. Bor. of Fort Lee, et al., 62 N.J. [521] at 528-530 has perceived “subject matter inherently in need of statewide treatment” in terms of jurisdictional power, posing the question of whether the State Constitution has prohibited delegation to the municipality of power to enact ordinances in a certain sphere.
4. Is the state scheme too pervasive or comprehensive that it precludes coexistence of municipal regulation?
5. Does the ordinance stand “as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives” of the Legislature? [at 461-462; citations omitted]

Analysis of these factors demonstrates that the Code does not stand as an obstacle to implementation of the Law Against Discrimination. Rather, it adds one more weapon to the arsenal of antidiscrimination and antiblockbusting laws. I therefore find that the code is not preempted by N.J.S.A. 10:5-1 et seq.

The ordinance provides that any person or entity who intends to canvas in defendant township must file a form with the township manager no less than 20 days nor more than 30 days [605]*605prior to the scheduled canvassing. The form shall include the name and address of the canvasser, a listing of the blocks to be canvassed and the dates of the scheduled canvassing. At least 15 days prior to the canvas, the canvasser must send a request to canvas to each homeowner as well as a copy of the above mentioned listing.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Friedman v. Rogers
440 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Overlook Terrace Management Corp. v. Rent Control Board of West New York
366 A.2d 321 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1976)
Mogolefsky v. Schoem
236 A.2d 874 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1967)
Summer v. Township of Teaneck
251 A.2d 761 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1969)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
504 A.2d 824, 207 N.J. Super. 600, 1985 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1615, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/help-u-sell-of-teaneck-v-township-of-teaneck-njsuperctappdiv-1985.