The New Jersey Appellate Division reversed the Tax Court’s order, which awarded a municipality more than $45,000 in counsel fees in conjunction with a dispute of tax assessments. The fees were imposed because the Tax Court held that the plaintiff engaged in frivolous litigation under N.J.S.A. 2A:15- 59.1 when he sued the municipality’s tax assessor. The Appellate Division decided the matter on procedural grounds. The defendants waited to file their motion for sanctions until after the appellate process ended, 679 days after the entry of the final judgment. The Appellate Division ruled that the mandatory time limitation imposed by Rule 1:4-8(b)(2), which instructs that “[a] motion for sanctions shall be filed with the court no later than [twenty] days following the entry of final judgment,” compelled the lower court to reject the request for sanctions.
