Callen v. Sherman's, Inc.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

COLEMAN, J. A. D.

This appeal challenges the constitutionality of the distraint statutes, N.J.S.A. 2A:33-1 et seq., because the landlord is permitted to seize the tenant-debtor’s property with the assistance of a sheriff or constable without notice or prior judicial review. Suecintly put, defendants maintain that the statutory scheme contravenes the Fourteenth Amendment’s prohibition against a state taking an individual’s property without due process of law. The Law Division concluded that (l) the statutory scheme was *441constitutional, (2) judgment be…