New Jersey Ass'n of Realtors® v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

842 A.2d 262, 367 N.J. Super. 154
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedFebruary 25, 2004
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 842 A.2d 262 (New Jersey Ass'n of Realtors® v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) 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
New Jersey Ass'n of Realtors® v. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, 842 A.2d 262, 367 N.J. Super. 154 (N.J. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

RODRÍGUEZ, A. A., J.AD.

Pursuant to R. 2:2-3(a)(2), the New Jersey Association of Realtors® (NJAR) 1, challenges the validity of N.J.A.C. 7:26E-8.2(g)(5), a regulation adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) effective February 3, 2003.2 We conclude that N.J.A.C. 7:26E-8.2(g)(5) is void ab initio because it is in conflict with the New Residential Construction Off-Site Conditions Disclosure Act, set out at N.J.S.A 46:3C-1 to -12 (Disclosure Act).

The operative facts are undisputed. The DEP adopted a series of regulations called the Technical Requirements for Site Remediation (Tech Rules). The Tech Rules establish the minor technical requirements to investigate and remediate environmentally contaminated sites. N.J.AC. 7:26E-1.1. The Tech Rules were implemented by the DEP to effectuate several legislative enactments.3 A person responsible for conducting site remediation must record with the County Register a Declaration of Environmental Restric[157]*157tion, commonly known as a “deed notice,” in order to provide notice of any conditions or restrictions on real property due to site contamination. N.J.A.C. 7:26E-8.2(a). The Deed Notice Rule, codified at N.J.AC. 7:26E-8.2(g), requires that the person responsible for conducting any remediation send copies of the recorded deed notice to certain entities. In 2003, the Deed Notice Rule was amended so that additional entities would receive deed notices. According to the DEP,

[Its] objective in identifying this broader distribution of copies of deed notices concerning contaminated properties is to inform a larger segment of society that residual contamination exists on these properties and that a closer look may be necessary prior to certain actions and decisions.

The subsection of the Tech Rules challenged in this appeal, 8.2(g)(5), requires that the “New Jersey Realtors Association” be one of the entities that must be notified. N.J AC. 7:26E-8.2(g)(5). There is no “New Jersey Realtors Association.” However, the DEP concedes that the regulation was intended to apply to NJAR. Regarding the inclusion of the “New Jersey Realtors Association” in the Deed Notice Rule, the DEP’s position is that:

The [DEP] included the New Jersey Realtors Association as one of the groups to receive copies of deed notices because, under New Jersey law, realtors have a legal obligation to inform prospective purchasers of the presence of certain properties that may pose risk to human health and safety. See [Disclosure Act], N.J.S.A. 46:3C-1 et seq.

Before the adoption of the 2003 Tech Rules Amendment, in May 2000, the DEP sent a “Notice of Opportunity for Interested Party Comments on Technical Requirements for Site Remediation.” 32 N.J.R. 1694(a). In January 2002, the DEP published a Rule Proposal setting forth the DEP’s intent to readopt with amendments the Tech Rules. 34 N.J.R. 170(a). During the rulemaking and re-adoption process, the DEP gave public notice in the New Jersey Register, State House Press Room, on the agency website and in the Trenton Times and the Asbury Park Press. Over 600 public comments were received on the rule proposal in general. A public hearing was held at which twelve persons testified and fifty-eight persons made comments.

[158]*158Nonetheless, it is undisputed that NJAR did not receive an individual notice. NJAR did not participate in the hearings, nor did NJAR submit written comments. At oral argument, NJAR’s counsel indicated that the organization was unaware of the amendment until it received a copy of a deed notice. Indeed, up to the present at least eleven deed notices have been sent to NJAR in compliance with N.J.AC. 7:26E-8.2(g)(5).

NJAR filed a complaint for declaratory judgment and an order to show cause against the DEP in the Law Division. The DEP opposed the application arguing that the Appellate Division had exclusive jurisdiction pursuant to R. 2:2-3(a)(2). The parties agreed that the Law Division action would be dismissed without prejudice and the matter would proceed in the Appellate Division. Since the filing of this action, the DEP has decided to repeal N.J.AC. 7:26E-8.2(g)(5) because it has determined that the regulation is “imperfect, and that it, perhaps, has unintended impacts.”

On this direct appeal, NJAR contends that N.J.AC. 7:26E-8.2(g)(5) is void because it contravenes the Disclosure Act in two ways. First, the regulation imposes a duty on NJAR and its members to provide purchasers with notice of off-site conditions disclosed in deed notices received by NJAR. Second, it imposes a duty to compile lists of off-site conditions in order to provide such notice. The effect of the regulation is to impose a duty on NJAR members and other real estate licensees that is contrary to the Disclosure Act. We agree.

The Disclosure Act requires a seller or builder engaged in the sale of newly constructed residential real estate to provide a purchaser with notice of the availability of lists of off-site conditions maintained by municipal clerks, including the municipality within which the real estate is located, as well as municipalities within one-half mile of the real estate. N.J.S.A. 46:3C-8. “Off-site conditions” are defined, in part, as “those conditions which may materially affect the value of the residential real estate property.” N.J.S.A. 46:3C-3. The term “seller” as used in the Disclosure Act includes real estate brokers, real estate salesper[159]*159sons and real estate broker-salespersons. Id. A seller who provides said notice of the existence of the lists is:

deemed to have disclosed fully the off-site conditions relating to the residential real estate and shall be deemed to have satisfied fully the seller’s disclosure duties pursuant to New Jersey law. ..
[N.J.SA 46:3C-10a]

No seller “shall be required to compile or to contribute to the compilation of, in whole or in part, the lists of off-site conditions required to be made available by municipal clerks pursuant to [the Disclosure Act].” N.J.S.A. 46:3C-11.

The Disclosure Act sets forth its purpose as follows:

The Legislature finds and declares that ... the professionals who engage in the business of selling newly-constructed residential real estate can facilitate prudent decision-making with respect to the purchase of residences by advising purchasers of the availability of information concerning factors which can reasonably be determined to exist and which may affect the value of the residence; ...
The Legislature therefore determines that it is in the public interest to define the entirety of the disclosure duties of the sellers of newly-constructed residential real estate and to create a public repository of relevant off-site conditions which may be accessed by purchasers of such real estate.
[N.J.SA 46:3c-2.]

The regulation under review, subsection -8.2(g)(5), appears to impose a duty on NJAR and its members to compile a deed notice register as an additional repository to provide notice of off-site conditions to purchasers.

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

Related

Zachary Magana v. New Jersey State Parole Board
New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2025
Darius Heimer Gittens v. New Jersey State Parole Board
New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2025
Stephen D. Perry v. New Jersey State Parole Board
New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2025
STEPHEN D. PERRY VS. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD (NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD)
208 A.3d 439 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2019)
Williams v. New Jersey Department of Corrections
31 A.3d 645 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2011)
Gonzalez v. PLIGA.
991 A.2d 243 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2010)
Ridgewood Commons Group, LLC v. Director, Division of Taxation
25 N.J. Tax 188 (New Jersey Tax Court, 2009)
Cohen v. W.B. Associates, Inc.
882 A.2d 456 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
842 A.2d 262, 367 N.J. Super. 154, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/new-jersey-assn-of-realtors-v-new-jersey-department-of-environmental-njsuperctappdiv-2004.