Moskovitz files notice
to sue town, officials

By Mark Rosman

MANALAPAN — It appears that Manalapan municipal officials and attorney Stuart Moskovitz will be tangled up in legal matters for some time to come.

On Sept. 21, Moskovitz notified Township Administrator Tara Lovrich that he is pursuing a legal claim against Manalapan and three members of the Township Committee: Richard Klauber, Michelle Roth and Andrew Lucas.

Klauber is serving as Manalapan’s mayor in 2009.

In his correspondence to Lovrich, Moskovitz states, “The occurrence and transaction giving rise to the claim asserted is the filing of a malicious and frivolous lawsuit against me in the name of the Township of Manalapan, by certain officials of that township, and the continued prosecution of that lawsuit in the face of overwhelming evidence that it was frivolous.

“It incorporates the malicious comments by certain officials during the course of the litigation, including the impertinent, false and defamatory statements made by certain officials in concluding said litigation, as well as the deliberate breach by officials of promises made to the judge in continuing the litigation after all parties had agreed to a method of termination.

“The actions by those officials led to significant financial damage including loss of business, as well as significant billable time put forth in defending the frivolous and malicious action,” Moskovitz wrote in the notice of claim.

He was referring to a lawsuit Manalapan officials filed against him in June 2007. The lawsuit alleged that Moskovitz committed malpractice while he was serving as the township attorney in 2005. The alleged malpractice centered on the preparation of a contract of sale by Moskovitz in connection with the purchase of land by the municipality.

The township’s lawsuit against Moskovitz was dismissed in July by a state Superior Court judge. Moskovitz represented himself in the case that was known as Manalapan v. Moskovitz.

Moskovitz went on to state in his notice to the township, “The public entity involved in the offense is the Township of Manalapan, and the individuals primarily responsible for the offensive actions causing the injury, damage or loss include Michelle Roth, Richard Klauber and Andrew Lucas.

“The amount of damage to be claimed is $400,000 in actual damages. Pursuant to statutory authority, we will also be pursuing punitive damages against the individuals in the amount of $2,000,000. Actual damages are based on computation of hours expended in the defense of the matter, as well as court costs and disbursements, together with the reasonably anticipated revenue from the lost business …

“You should also be aware that Section 59:10-4 of the Tort Claims Act does not permit the municipality to indemnify public employees either directly or through its insurance carrier, where the acts committed were those of malice.

"Accordingly, any individual involved in the wasting of taxpayers funds by arranging for such illegal indemnification may well be subject to a taxpayers’ suit for reimbursement to the public coffers of all such costs encountered, including resulting increased insurance policy costs for subsequent years,” Moskovitz wrote in his notice of claim to Lovrich.