Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 2A:55-1

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
  • State: extends to and includes any State, territory or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia and the Canal Zone. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
Where persons are jointly indebted to any other person upon any joint contract, obligation or matter, and in an action thereon by the creditor any of such joint debtors shall be served with process, those served shall answer to the plaintiff, and if judgment shall pass for the plaintiff, he shall have his judgment and execution against those served. The judgment and execution shall be as effective, as to the joint debtor or debtors served, as if all of them had been served and the judgment had been entered against all of them.

Judgment in the action may be entered, also, against the other joint debtor or debtors if he or they are named in the process and served by publication or otherwise, as an absent defendant or defendants, in accordance with the practice of the superior court in cases in which the action affects specific property within the jurisdiction of the court; but if such other debtor or debtors do not appear in the action, said judgment shall be special as to them, to be made as to them only of their interest in real and personal property within the state jointly owned by all such joint debtors.

L.1951 (1st SS), c.344.