NCLA has filed a reply brief in support of our petition to the New Jersey Supreme Court to check Governor Phil Murphy’s COVID-19 public health emergency powers. NCLA argues that Governor Murphy unilaterally and unlawfully modified contracts between housing providers and tenants that explicitly required security deposits.

NCLA’s lawsuit, Chuck Kravitz, et al. v. Philip D. Murphy, et al., is about important fundamental limitations placed on executive power by and through the New Jersey Constitution.

NCLA released the following statements:

“This petition asks the Court to resolve important questions about limits on the Governor’s emergency powers and to afford our clients their guaranteed rights under the Contracts Clause. This case is not just about the actions taken in response to the pandemic, but also about what the Governor can do in the future. If the Appellate Division’s decision is allowed to stand there is effectively no limit on the Governor’s emergency powers and the Contracts Clause is dead. Both outcomes are illogical and impede on important individual rights and liberties.”

— Kara Rollins, Litigation Counsel, NCLA

“Governor Murphy does not have the law on his side—he relies solely on his belief that courts should capitulate to his will as Chief Executive whenever he determines there is an emergency that he alone can fix. We’ve asked the New Jersey Supreme Court to restore meaning to the Contracts Clause, just as the Second Circuit did in Melendez v. City of New York last month.”

— Jared McClain, Litigation Counsel, NCLA