Hollander v. Watson

In Hollander v. Watson, et. al., 167 N.J. Super. 588, 401 A.2d 560 (Law.Div.1979) aff'd 173 N.J. Super. 300, 414 A.2d 275 (App.Div.1980), the Appellate Division invalidated the appointment of a Mercer County Freeholder to serve on the Board of Trustees for the county college. 167 N.J. Super. at 302, 400 A.2d 843. Finding that the offices of trustee and freeholder were incompatible, the court held that: Offices are incompatible when there is a conflict or inconsistency in their functions. Therefore, offices are not compatible when one is subordinate to or subject to the supervision or control of the other or the duties of the offices clash requiring the officer to prefer one obligation over the other. Reilly v. Ozzard, 33 N.J. 529, 166 A.2d 360 (1960). If such is the governmental scheme, incompatibility must be found even though in practice a conflict of duty might never arise. Id. at 562-63.