A recently reported decision, Greenberg v. New Jersey State Police Trooper, 426 N.J. Super. 591 (App. Div. 2012), is disturbing in two respects. First, there was the State Police apparently acting as a collection agency for a local merchant to the extent of harassing and then arresting the plaintiff who had a minor civil dispute with a friend of local State Police officers. Second was the trial court’s probable cause finding, accepting the local practice and dismissing the plaintiff’s claims for false imprisonment, false arrest, battery, defamation, conspiracy and § 1983 and civil rights violations.
The dispute arose when plaintiff Richard Greenberg and the merchant disagreed about the efficacy of a minor car battery repair and the plaintiff stopped payment on a $129.44 check. Greenberg closed his bank account, subtracted the amount paid for a second repair and sent the merchant a check on a new account at the same bank for the difference, $31.02. The merchant returned the new check and threatened a small claims suit. The plaintiff welcomed the suit (which he eventually won).
