New Jersey common law and statute apply uniformly statewide to spite fences, boundary fences, and shared maintenance disputes between adjoining landowners.
New Jersey follows the common-law spite fence doctrine recognized in Caldwell v. Gorman and refined by later cases: a fence erected primarily out of malice and serving no legitimate purpose can be enjoined as a private nuisance. Title 4, Chapter 20 of the New Jersey Statutes (N.J.S.A. 4:20-1 et seq.) governs partition fences between agricultural lands, requiring adjoining owners to share construction and maintenance costs equitably. These statewide rules apply regardless of municipal fence ordinances, which only regulate height, materials, and permits.
Spite fences may be ordered removed or lowered by Superior Court (Chancery Division). Refusal to share partition fence costs allows the paying neighbor to recover double damages under N.J.S.A. 4:20-9.
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