ADMINISTRATIVE LAW
01-2-5015 Aristocrat Condominium Association v. 48 Street Weehawken LLC, App. Div. (Grall, P.J.A.D.) (22 pp.) Plaintiff appeals from two orders of the Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs adopting the decision of the ALJ rejecting as time-barred plaintiff’s claim for numerous defects in the condominium building's common elements filed pursuant to the New Home Warranty and Builders' Registration Act, and denying plaintiff’s petition to remand the matter to the ALJ for further action on issues and argument not previously raised or incompletely considered. The panel reverses and remands, finding that the commissioner’s final decision is so inadequately supported by findings of fact and a reasoned application of the act and regulations that there is no basis for concluding that it is consistent with the act or the regulations. The panel then addresses the matters that require further consideration on remand, including that the Act and the regulations cannot be construed to permit dismissal of a claim solely because it was filed after the applicable warranty expired; dismissal of a claim solely because it was filed after the applicable warranty period would frustrate the legislature's plainly and unambiguously expressed intention to require a claimant to work with the builder before filing a claim against the fund; the commissioner affirmed the dismissal of a claim against the fund on the claim being filed after the warranty expired by adopting an initial decision that does not address the regulations setting forth the claims procedures; the commissioner did not address key elements in determining the warranty date; and the commissioner did not address whether defect that arose after the warranty date can form the basis for a common element claim.
