State v. Churchdale Leasing, Inc.

• Citation: 115 N.J. 83,557 A.2d 277
• Parties: STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. CHURCHDALE LEASING, INC. and A.C. Enterprises, Defendants-Appellants. STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. O.J.O. TRUCKING CORPORATION and Yardville Supply Company, Defendants-Appellants.
• Decision Date: 10 April 1989
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (New Jersey)

Page 83

115 N.J. 83

557 A.2d 277

STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. CHURCHDALE LEASING, INC. and A.C. Enterprises,

Defendants-Appellants.

STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. O.J.O. TRUCKING CORPORATION and Yardville Supply Company,

Defendants-Appellants.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued May 3, 1988.

Decided April 10, 1989.

H. Richard Chattman argued the cause for defendants-appellants Churchdale Leasing, Inc. and A.C. Enterprises (Podvey, Sachs, Meanor & Catenacci, Newark, attorneys; Thaddeus C. Raczkowski, Parlin, and Franklin M. Sachs, Newark, on the briefs).

Louis J. DeMille, Jr., argued the cause for defendants-appellants O.J.O. Trucking Corp. and Yardville Supply Co. (Charles J. Casale, Jr., Trenton, attorney).

Stephen H. Monson, Deputy Atty. Gen., argued the cause for plaintiff-respondent (Cary Edwards, Atty. Gen. of New Jersey, attorney; Stephen H. Monson and Larry R. Etzweiler, Deputy Atty. Gen., on the briefs).

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

POLLOCK, J.

These appeals raise the question whether a commercial motor vehicle registered in New Jersey pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-20 (Section 20) ¹ violates that statute if it is registered at the maximum authorized registration weight and its gross weight exceeds this maximum. More specifically, the question in State v. Churchdale Leasing, Inc. and A.C. Enterprises is whether a commercial vehicle registered for 80,000 pounds, the maximum possible weight under Section 20, violates the statute if it is operated on the highways of this State at a weight in excess of the maximum registered weight. The question in State v. OJO Trucking Corp. and Yardville Supply Co. is whether a vehicle registered pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-20b (Section 20b) as a "constructor" vehicle for 70,000 pounds, the maximum authorized registration weight for such a vehicle, violates Section 20 if it is operated in excess of that maximum weight on the highways of this State. The Churchdale appeal also requires us to decide whether the owner of a commercial vehicle registered for 80,000 pounds but operated in excess of that weight may be punished in a single trial for both a registration violation under Section 20 and an excess weight violation under N.J.S.A. 39:3-84b (Section 84b). ² We hold that even when a commercial motor vehicle is registered for the maximum weight, ³ if the weight of the vehicle exceeds the gross weight provided on the registration certificate, the vehicle is in violation of Section 20. We further hold, however, that the State may not impose cumulative punishment for both a registration violation under Section 20e and an excess-weight violation under Section 84b.

-I-

The facts in both cases are undisputed. From June 12, 1985, through November 15, 1985, the state police issued sixty summonses to Churchdale Leasing (Churchdale) and A.C. Enterprises (A.C.) for registration-certificate and excess-weight violations for tractor-trailer combinations used to haul solid waste. Churchdale and A.C. do not claim that their vehicles were registered as "solid waste" vehicles under N.J.S.A. 39:3-20c, and the exemptions for that type of vehicle under N.J.S.A. 39:3-84.1a ⁴ do not apply. The parties have stipulated that defendants' vehicles were registered for the 80,000-pound maximum weight allowed by Section 20 and that the operating weights as alleged by the state police were accurate. Twenty-nine of the summonses allege violations of Section 20 for operating a vehicle in excess of the gross weight provided on the registration certificate. The other thirty-one summonses alleged violations of Section 84b, including eighteen summonses for exceeding a tandem-axle weight of 34,000 pounds, contrary to Section 84b(2), and thirteen summonses for exceeding a gross-vehicle weight of 80,000 pounds, contrary to Section 84b(4). Axle- and gross-weight violations constitute separate offenses, the penalty for which "shall be only for the violation involving the greater or greatest excess weight." N.J.S.A. 39:3-84.3k.

Of the sixty summonses, seventeen were prosecuted in the Pennsauken Township Municipal Court. Eight of these summonses charged Churchdale and A.C. with violations of Section 20, and nine other summonses charged them with violations of Section 84b. In all but one instance, two summonses were issued each time a vehicle was stopped, with one summons alleging a violation of Section 20 and the other alleging a violation of Section 84b. In one instance, a single summons was issued, charging a violation of Section 84b(2).

Defendants pled guilty to the excess-weight violations under Section 84b, which carry fines ranging from $72.80 to $351.60 per violation, but not guilty to the registration violations under Section 20, the fines for which range from $800 to $2,200 per violation. Churchdale and A.C. were subsequently convicted by the Municipal Court on the Section 20 violations. On an appeal de novo to the Superior Court, Law Division, Camden County, they were again convicted of all charges, and the court imposed fines ranging from $800 to $2,200 for the violations of Section 20.

The remaining forty-three complaints against Churchdale and A.C. were prosecuted in the Lumberton Township Municipal Court. Twenty-one of those complaints charged violations of Section 20, and the other twenty-one charged violations of Section 84b. As in the Pennsauken cases, defendants pled guilty to the charges under Section 84b, but not guilty to the charges under Section 20. Subsequently, however, they were convicted on all charges. On an appeal de novo to the Superior Court, Law Division, Burlington County, they were again found guilty of all charges of Section 20, and fines from $628 to $2,360 were imposed. The Appellate Division affirmed the convictions under Section 20 "without prejudice to the State moving in the Superior Court, Law Division, Burlington County, to correct the fines entered in that court." 217 N.J.Super. 307, 313, 525 A.2d 1125 (1987).

Turning to the appeal of OJO Trucking Corporation (OJO) and Yardville Supply Company (Yardville), on October 8, 1984, a concrete truck registered to Yardville as a constructor vehicle weighing 70,000 pounds was operated at a weight of 75,700 pounds in Cranbury Township. Also in Cranbury Township, on January 3, 1985, two of OJO's dump trucks, which were registered at 70,000 pounds, were operated at gross-vehicle weights of 73,000 and 73,640 pounds. State police filed complaints charging Yardville and OJO with violations of Section 20 only.

On the premise that they registered at the maximum allowable weight for constructor vehicles under Section 20b, defendants contend that they cannot be liable under that section. The municipal court disagreed, and defendants were convicted of the three registration violations. After a trial de novo on the record, the Law Division found defendants had not violated Section 20 and therefore dismissed the complaints. On the State's appeal, the Appellate Division reversed and remanded the matter to the Law Division for the entry of judgments finding defendants guilty and reimposing the fines. 217 N.J.Super. at 313, 525 A.2d 1125.

We granted defendants' petitions for certification, 109 N.J. 44, 532 A.2d 1110, 1111 (1987), and now affirm in part and reverse in part the judgment of the Appellate Division. More specifically, we affirm the judgments of conviction against OJO, Yardville, Churchdale, and AC. We remand the Churchdale and AC matter to the Law Division for resentencing.

-II-

Section 20, which applies to the registration of commercial vehicles, permits the owner to select the authorized gross weight for its vehicle within the statutory limits. A commercial motor vehicle may be registered pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-20a (Section 20a) for a maximum gross weight, including load, of 80,000 pounds. Furthermore, a vehicle may be registered pursuant to Section 20b as a "constructor" vehicle for a maximum gross weight, including load, of 70,000 pounds. Section 20 imposes a graduated fee based on the registered gross weight: the heavier the vehicle, the higher the fee. Registration fees for ordinary commercial motor vehicles registered under Section 20a range from $53.50 for a vehicle under 5,000 pounds to $841 for a vehicle registered at the maximum allowable weight of 80,000 pounds. Registration fees for constructor vehicles under Section 20b range from $780 for a 40,000 pound vehicle to $1,365 for a vehicle registered at the maximum allowable weight of 70,000 pounds. Registering a truck as a constructor vehicle, therefore, subjects the owner of the vehicle to higher registration fees and reduced allowable weight, but, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:3-84.1, exempts the vehicle from the axle-weight limitations imposed by Section 84b. Section 20e declares unlawful and sets forth fines for the operation of a vehicle in excess of its registered weight. Here, in every instance in which defendants are charged with a violation, their vehicles were operated at a gross weight "in excess of the gross weight provided on the registration certificate." N.J.S.A. 39:3-20c.

Notwithstanding the plain language of the statute, defendants argue that the Legislature intended Section 20 to be a revenue-raising statute designed to discourage owners from depriving the State of registration fees by "underregistering" their vehicles. Defendants assert that they registered their vehicles at the maximum allowable weight, and therefore paid the highest registration fees. Their argument continues that because they have not underregistered their vehicles, they have not deprived the State of revenue. Defendants conclude that they may be penalized only for excess-weight violations under the "overweight" statute, Section 84b and Section 84.1, not for underregistration under Section 20.

Section 84 regulates the size and weight of all vehicles, not just those vehicles registered in New Jersey, that travel on the...