Borough of Glassboro v. Vallorosi – Legal Definition of “Family”
Borough of Glassboro v. Vallorosi, 117 N.J. 421, 568 A.2d 888 (N.J. 1990).
NATURE OF THE CASE: This family law case involved a dispute over the legal definition of the word family.
FACTS: Diane Vallorosi (D) purchased a home in a restricted residential zone to provide a home for Diane’s brother Peter Vallorosi and the son of two partners in a real estate investment partnership. It was contemplated that nine of Peter’s friends would share the house with him when they attended Glassboro State College.
The Borough of Glassboro (D) commenced an action seeking an injunction against the use of the house by the students on the grounds that the occupants did not constitute a family as defined by Glassboro’s ordinance. The trial court found that the occupancy of the students constituted a single housekeeping unit as defined by the ordinance and the Borough of Glassboro appealed.
ISSUE: Must the standard of what constitutes a single housekeeping unit be functional and hence capable of being satisfied by either related or unrelated persons?
RULE OF LAW: Yes. The standard of what constitutes a single housekeeping unit must be functional and hence capable of being satisfied by either related or unrelated persons.
HOLDING AND DECISION: The uncontradicted testimony reflects a plan by these 10 sophomore students to live together for three years under conditions that correspond substantially to the ordinance’s requirement of a stable and permanent living unit. The students ate together and shared household chores and paid expenses from a common fund. We will not upset the lower court’s conclusion that the occupancy shows stability, permanency and can be described as the functional equivalent of a family.
DISPOSITION: Affirmed.