SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
A-1375-94T1
VICTOR GRECO and JOANN GRECO,
Plaintiffs-Respondents,
v.
ANNETTE ZECCHINO,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________________________________
Argued October 11, 1995 -- Decided November 13, 1995
Before Judges Michels, Villanueva and Kimmelman.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Law Division, Essex County.
Christopher A. Ferrara argued the cause for
appellant.
Pasquale F. Giannetta argued the cause for
respondent (Fuhro & Hanley, attorneys; Mr.
Giannetta, of counsel and on the letter brief).
The opinion of the court was delivered by
MICHELS, P.J.A.D.
Defendant Annette Zecchino appeals from a post-judgment
order of the Law Division that granted the motion of plaintiffs
Victor Greco and Joann Greco for a new trial on the ground that
the verdict for defendant was against the weight of the evidence
in this action arising out of a breach of contract to purchase a
one-half interest in a two-family beach house in Ortley Beach,
New Jersey.
Plaintiffs entered into a contract with defendant to
purchase a one-half interest in the latter's beach house for
$165,000. Plaintiffs paid defendant $65,000 as a downpayment and
agreed to pay the balance in monthly payments of $1300.55.
Plaintiffs paid a total of approximately $30,365 in monthly
payments thereafter. However, title to the property never closed
and defendant never tendered to plaintiffs a deed for their half
interest in the property. When plaintiffs failed to make the
required monthly payments, defendant locked them out of the
property and notified them that they had no interest in the
property.
Plaintiffs instituted this action to recover the down
payment and monthly payments made to defendant, claiming that
defendant breached the contract. Defendant denied that she was
liable to plaintiffs and counterclaimed for the balance due under
the contract, contending that plaintiffs were liable for breach.
Following trial, the jury, by a five to one vote, awarded
defendant damages of $43,001 on her counterclaim against
plaintiffs. Plaintiffs' motion for a new trial on the ground
that the verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence was
granted. While partially granting the motion, Judge Yanoff in
the Law Division reasoned:
I am simply not going to let this verdict
stand. . . . I will not do it. I think it
was a gross injustice. I think what happened
here was these people entered into a contract
for the purchase o[f] property, and I don't
care whether they were telling the truth or
not telling the truth, the gross facts,
independent of any testimony that they gave,
speak -- are absolutely convincing. They
entered into this contract. They made
payments on account. They never got title.
And then, the damages were assessed, and
apparently -- and I've checked the law on
that, as of the date of a breach which was
declared by the seller of the property. Even
though the property was not sold.
So, where we stand now, is that the -
is that the seller of the property has gotten
payments on account of the property and still
has the property and there is an affirmative
judgment against the buyers for damages.
I think that result is absolutely
inequitable and I'm not going to let it
stand.
Defendant appealed.
Defendant seeks a reversal of the order granting a new trial
and the reinstatement of the judgment based on the jury's
verdict. She contends that (1) the jury verdict must stand
because "the trial judge had no grounds on which to find that the
verdict was so distorted and wrong as to manifest with utmost
certainty a miscarriage of justice" and (2) "[e]ven if the jury's
damage award were a miscarriage of justice, a remittitur leaving
the liability verdict intact would have been the appropriate
remedy."
It is perfectly plain on this record that the order appealed
from was not a final judgment. The order was not final as to all
issues and as to all parties since the trial court set aside the
jury verdict and the judgment entered thereon and ordered a new
trial on all issues. See Hudson v. Hudson,
36 N.J. 549, 552-553
(1962); Petersen v. Falzarano,
6 N.J. 447, 452-53 (1951);
Henderson v. Morristown Memorial Hospital,
198 N.J. Super. 418,
426-27 (App. Div.), certif. denied,
101 N.J. 250 (1985);
Delbridge v. Jann Holding Company,
164 N.J. Super. 506, 509 (App.
Div. 1978); Yuhas v. Mudge,
129 N.J. Super. 207, 209 (App. Div.
1974); Frantzen v. Howard,
132 N.J. Super. 226, 227 (App. Div.
1975); Kerr v. Kerr,
129 N.J. Super. 291, 293 (App. Div. 1974);
Florio v. Galanakis,
107 N.J. Super. 1, 4-5 (App. Div. 1969).
Clearly, the order was interlocutory and, therefore, not
appealable as of right pursuant to R. 2:2-3(a). Application
should have been made to this court to appeal from this order.
See R. 2:5-6; R. 2:2-3(b); R. 2:2-4. Since defendant did not
seek leave to appeal and improvidently filed the appeal,
plaintiffs had the responsibility to the court to file a timely
motion to dismiss the appeal. Delbridge v. Jann Holding Company,
supra, 164 N.J. Super. at 509 n.1; Brown v. Brown,
147 N.J.
Super. 156, 157 (App. Div. 1977).
While we recognize that we have the power to grant leave to
appeal nunc pro tunc from an interlocutory order where there are
extraordinary circumstances and the interest of justice so
warrants, See R. 2:2-3(b); R. 2:4-4(b)(2); see also Butler v.
Bonner & Barnewall, Inc.,
56 N.J. 567, 573 n.2 (1970); Delbridge
v. Jann Holding Company, supra, 164 N.J. Super. at 509-10; N.J.
Land Title Ins. Rating Bur. v. Sheeran,
151 N.J. Super. 45, 50
n.2 (App. Div. 1977); Rybeck v. Rybeck,
150 N.J. Super. 151, 155
(App. Div.), certif. denied,
75 N.J. 30 (1977); Yuhas v. Mudge,
supra; Kerr v. Kerr, supra, we are satisfied from our study of
this record that we should not do so here. This case is not
extraordinary within the purview of R. 2:2-3(b) and neither the
interest of justice nor the prompt disposition of the matter can
be furthered by granting defendant leave to appeal at this time.
See Delbridge v. Jann Holding Company, supra; Rendon v. Kassimis,
140 N.J. Super. 395, 399 (App. Div. 1976); Frantzen v. Howard,
supra.
Accordingly, the appeal in the above entitled matter is
dismissed without prejudice.