J.C. v. M.C.

L.R. JONES, J.S.C.

This case involves a circumstance where a husband files a divorce complaint, but cannot verify his wife’s address for service of process due to an active domestic violence restraining order.1 Accordingly, the legal issue at hand involves a clash of two distinct rules and policies in New Jersey: (1) the obligation of a plaintiff seeking to serve a divorce complaint upon a defendant to make “diligent inquiry” of the defendant’s whereabouts to effectuate service of process, and (2) the right of a domestic violence victim to confidentiality of his or her location. The New Jersey…