STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. 1995 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-0558-09T30558-09T3

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

1995 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN,

Defendant-Appellant.

_______________________________________________________

 

Submitted July 6, 2010 - Decided

Before Judges Stern and Skillman.

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Special Civil Part, Union County, Docket

No. DC-010704-08.

Dawud Adib, appellant pro se.

Theodore J. Romankow, Union County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Thomas Haluszczak, Jr., Assistant Prosecutor, on the brief).

PER CURIAM

Dawud Adib appeals from an amended order for judgment by default, entered on January 30, 2009, for the forfeiture of a 1995 Chevrolet Suburban owned by Adib. The forfeiture was based on the alleged use of the car in a robbery.

The sole recourse for relief from a default judgment is a motion under Rule 4:50-1. Haber v. Haber, 253 N.J. Super. 413, 416-17 (App. Div. 1992). Therefore, "a direct appeal will not lie from a judgment by default." Id. at 416; see also N.J. Div. of Youth & Family Servs. v. T.R., 331 N.J. Super. 360, 363-64 (App. Div. 2000).

Defendant violated this well-established rule by appealing from the default judgment entered against him without first moving before the trial court for relief under Rule 4:50-1.

Accordingly, we dismiss Adib's appeal without prejudice and with leave to apply to the trial court for relief under Rule 4:50-1. We express no opinion as to whether such a motion would be timely, or if timely, whether any relief would be appropriate.

 

An order granting leave to file the appeal as within time was entered on November 4, 2009.

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A-0558-09T3

August 9, 2010