In a class action claim brought by residents of an apartment building, the Appellate Division held, in a published decision, that a waiver of the right to maintain a class action is unenforceable absent a mandatory arbitration agreement.

The representative plaintiffs in the claim, William Pace and Robert Walters, are tenants of the Hamilton Cove Apartments in Weehawken, a three-building complex containing hundreds of apartments, according to the opinion. In advertisements, brochures and oral statements to prospective tenants, the complex promised “elevated 24/7 security” for the Weehawken location, where property crime rates are higher than average.