<http: findicons.com="" icon="" 158161="" cell=""><http:
www.lomurrolaw.com="">The full scoop is now online....
</http:></http:>
Burst Pipes Close Courts in Essex, Mercer and Middlesex
<http: findicons.com="" icon="" 158161="" cell=""><http:
www.lomurrolaw.com="">Mary Pat Gallagher, New Jersey Law Journal
Read more:
http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202718260792/Burst-Pipes-Close-Courts-in-Essex-Mercer-and-Middlesex#ixzz3SCpfjiza The extreme cold weather that has gripped New Jersey recently, causing water pipes to freeze and burst, has resulted in the closing of courthouses in three counties�Essex, Mercer and Middlesex.
Court proceedings have been moved elsewhere or canceled while court personnel have scrambled to address the problems and keep lawyers in the loop about the situation as it develops.
The most seriously affected building is the Mercer County Civil Courthouse at 175 S. Broad St. in Trenton, New Jersey, which houses the civil and family courts and the Probation Supervision offices.
Gregory Eldridge, the operations manager for the Mercer County vicinage, said a frozen pipe burst on the third floor sometime on Feb. 16, a holiday.
By the time the leak was discovered that evening, the water had spread to large areas of the second and first floors and to the basement, Eldridge said.
A �pretty large area� was affected, including courtrooms, chambers and various offices, Eldridge said.
The courthouse stayed closed Feb. 17, following the long Presidents Day weekend.
It was still closed Feb. 18, as an abatement company continued to go through the building to assess the damage.
Some staff who work in unaffected portions were to be allowed back in Feb. 19, but Eldridge said he did not know when the public would be allowed back in and normal operations would resume except that it would not be before Feb. 20.
In the meantime, emergent applications are being heard in the Mercer Criminal Courthouse at 400 S. Warren St. in Trenton.
Examples of matters that would fall within that category are orders to show cause, bail reviews, foreclosure stays or extensions, removals of abused or neglected children, civil commitments and stays of eviction.
Mercer County Bar Association President Michelle Gasparian said she understood the pipe was flowing for some time and the damage was pervasive.
The court closure is �dominating discussions here,� she said, referring to her workplace, the Mercer County Prosecutor�s Office. �It�s a big deal to close a courthouse and not have a reopen date.�
In Essex County, the Robert N. Wilentz Court Building on 212 Washington St. in Newark was evacuated on the morning of Feb. 17 due to what trial court administrator Amy K. DePaul referred to as the �snowball effect� of two separate water leaks.
One was from a broken sprinkler head on the first floor and the other was a leak in the basement that DePaul said she believed to be weather-related though she was �not 100 percent sure.�
The sheriff�s command center was flooded and the electricity had to be shut off while the system was taken apart, dried and reassembled, DePaul said. The HVAC, plumbing and computer systems were also down, she said.
Evacuation was necessary because �once the electricity was compromised, it compromised the security of the building,� given that cards are used to access the building, as well as judicial chambers, DePaul said.
The courthouse building, which takes up an entire block, contains the Family Division, General Equity courts and the Child Support Enforcement offices, as well as state offices such as the Securities Bureau and Law Revision Commission.
DePaul said it was not clear on Tuesday night how long it would take to assess and repair the damage so the building remained closed on Wednesday. But with the damage ultimately turning out to be less than expected, the building was set to reopen Thursday, according to DePaul.
While the building was closed, however, emergent juvenile matters, domestic violence final restraining orders and child support bench warrants were moved to the Veterans Courthouse on Market Street in Newark.
And though many employees were sent home, others were relocated to the Veterans Courthouse and what is known as the �Historic Courthouse� on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Newark.
Temporary restraining orders, which are typically heard in municipal courts on weekends, nights and other times that the state courts are not open, were dealt with by local judges on Tuesday and Wednesday, resulting in what DePaul referred to as a �de facto weekend schedule.�
For once, DePaul noted, the chronic shortage of judges in Essex was a good thing because it meant there were empty courtrooms that could be used.
According to DePaul, three General Equity judges and one recall judge were allowed to move back onto the eighth floor on Wednesday.
They were the first ones back in because the small staff made them the easiest to move, DePaul said.
The regular schedule was set to resume for all courts on Thursday.
Commenting on the closure, Essex County Bar President Kenneth Rosenberg of Fox Rothschild in Roseland, New Jersey, called it unfortunate that it had to happen but said it was �more important that the comfort and safety of the public, our judges, attorneys and court personnel was ensured.�
He added, �We are truly thankful for the hard work of those public officials, court administrators and public and private workers who worked tirelessly to achieve this expeditious result.�
The Middlesex County Family Courthouse in New Brunswick, New Jersey, also shut down on Wednesday due to an external water main break that cut off water to the building.
It too was set to reopen on Thursday.
Contact the reporter at
[email protected].
Read more:
http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202718260792/Burst-Pipes-Close-Courts-in-Essex-Mercer-and-Middlesex#ixzz3SCpY6Gxn -
-----------------------------
David Perry Davis, Esq.
112 West Franklin Avenue
Pennington, NJ 08534
Voice: 609-737-2222
Fax: 609-737-3222
http://www.FamilyLawNJ.pro
------------------------------ </http:></http:>