Hill Manor Apartments v. Brome

In Hill Manor Apartments v. Brome, 164 N.J. Super. 295, 395 A.2d 1307 (Dist.Ct.1978), a case where tenants about to be evicted sought judicial declaration that rent increases approved by HUD were unconscionable, Judge Baime cautioned against state judicial interference in federal administrative decisionmaking, and he stated reasons for such abstention: Our federal system contemplates a policy which generally permits federal administrative agencies to execute their duties free from interference by the state judiciary. Many and varied considerations support this well recognized principle. Vital among these considerations is the concept of comity, that is, a proper and mutual respect between the federal and state governments. Interference by the state judiciary with respect to a responsibility conferred upon a federal agency with presumed expertise in its assigned field would be inherently abrasive and would tend to erode the mutual respect between governmental entities which is so necessary to the effective operation of our federal system. Id. at 307-08. 164 N.J. Super. 295, 395 A.2d 1307.