4. No claim shall be made for payment from the real estate guaranty fund except upon the reduction to final judgment, which shall include reasonable attorney fees and costs, of a civil action against the broker, broker-salesperson, or salesperson or unlicensed employee of a broker, and, where the judgment creditor has pursued all available remedies, made all reasonable searches, and has been unable to satisfy the judgment from the licensee’s assets, the entry of a court order which directs the New Jersey Real Estate Commission to make payment from the fund. No such order shall authorize a payment to the spouse or personal representative of the spouse of the judgment debtor.

No order shall be entered unless the claimant, either at the time of filing the civil action or thereafter, files a certification affirming that a criminal complaint alleging the misappropriation of funds by the broker, broker-salesperson, or salesperson or unlicensed employee has been filed with a law enforcement agency of this State or of a county or municipality in this State. The criminal complaint shall refer to the same conduct to which reference is made in the civil action as forming the basis for a claim against the real estate guaranty fund. The certification shall specify the date on which the criminal complaint was filed and the law enforcement agency with which it was filed. A copy of the certification shall be provided to the New Jersey Real Estate Commission upon its being filed. The requirement to file a certification shall apply prospectively only to claims seeking reimbursement from the fund filed on the basis of causes of action which accrue after the effective date of P.L.1993, c.51 (C. 45:15-12.3 et al.).

Upon delivery by the New Jersey Real Estate Commission to the State Treasurer of a certified copy of the court order together with an assignment to the New Jersey Real Estate Commission of the judgment creditor’s right, title and interest in the judgment to the extent of the amount of the court order, the State Treasurer shall make payment to the claimant from the real estate guaranty fund.

L.1976, c.112, s.4; amended 1993, c.51, s.37; 2009, c.238, s.19; 2018, c.71, s.25.