Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New Jersey

Re: New Jersey Special Civil Part (small claims court)

Procedurally, the fact that the case was dismissed without prejudice suggests that the Court intended to permit the Plaintiff to move to reinstate the Complaint, though probably not more than 1 year later. The fact that they filed a new complaint instead of moving to reinstate the former action suggests that they may have anticipated some difficulty reinstating their original complaint. You should find out if you have a statute of limitations defense, or a defense based on the "entire controversy" doctrine, which provides that all related claims should be litigated in a single action. At a minimum, the delay should enable you to assert the defense of laches--i.e., that your ability to defend the case has been impaired by unreasonable delay on the part of the Plaintiff. A lot will probably depend on the reason for the delay. Hope this helps. Should you wish to discuss this further, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Re: New Jersey Special Civil Part (small claims court)

Yes and as long as the applicable statute of limitation has not expired.