Ivy Hill Park Section III v. Smirnova

FAST, J.S.C.

This summary eviction action presents an issue that has been unreported in New Jersey, to wit, whether a tenant may be evicted pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:18-61.1c1, for having caused damage either willfully or through gross negligence, when the damage alleged is the odor of boiling urine which emanated from, and has “seeped” out of, the defendants’ apartment. The circumstances are unusual, if not unique, but the principles expressed herein may be applicable to other similar situations.

*424The facts may be briefly stated as follows: Defendants are husband and wife. Defendant husband, on…