Daniel Tumpson, Russell Hoover, Eric Volpe, Cheryl Fallick and Joel Horwitz, Plaintiffs-Appellants and…

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the Hoboken City Clerk violated the Faulkner Act by refusing to file a referendum petition and that this violation deprived the plaintiffs of a substantive right protected by the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, entitling them to attorney's fees. The Court affirmed the Appellate Division’s finding on the Faulkner Act violation, reversed its denial of civil‑rights fees, and remanded for further proceedings. Justice PATTERSON concurred in part and dissented in part, agreeing with the statutory construction but rejecting the deprivation analysis.