## Facts

- The parties participated in a religious marriage ceremony in Short Hills, New Jersey, on June 30, 2001, with witnesses and a signed ceremonial certificate.
- The parties did not obtain a New Jersey marriage license before or after the ceremony.
- The plaintiff filed a divorce complaint in July 2005 alleging the statutory ground of 18 months’ continuous separation.
- The defendant moved to compel proof of a valid marriage and to dismiss the divorce complaint, asserting no civil marriage existed.
- The Family Part denied dismissal, treating the ceremony and the parties’ subsequent conduct as sufficient to validate the marriage notwithstanding the lack of a license.
- The Appellate Division granted leave to appeal from the interlocutory order.

## Issues

1. Whether a marriage ceremony performed in New Jersey without a marriage license can be valid under New Jersey law despite religious solemnization and subsequent conduct indicating the parties held themselves out as married.
2. If no valid marriage exists, whether the Family Part has authority to entertain and grant a divorce.

## Decision

- The Appellate Division reversed the order denying the motion to dismiss.
- The court held that, under N.J.S.A. 37:1-10, a New Jersey marriage performed without a marriage license is void.
- Religious solemnization and subsequent “validating acts” could not cure the failure to comply with the statutory licensing requirement.
- Because no valid marriage existed under civil law, the Family Part lacked authority to grant a divorce.
- The matter was remanded with instructions to dismiss the divorce complaint.

## Legal Principles

- After N.J.S.A. 37:1-10, New Jersey requires compliance with statutory formalities for a valid marriage, including obtaining a marriage license.
- A marriage performed in New Jersey without a marriage license is void as a matter of law.
- Courts may not create or validate marital status through equitable considerations, intent, or post-ceremony conduct when a statute declares the marriage invalid absent a license.
- Divorce jurisdiction depends on the existence of a valid marriage; without one, the proper disposition is dismissal of the divorce action.

## Conclusion

The Appellate Division held that New Jersey’s marriage-license requirement is mandatory: a solely religious ceremony without a state license creates no valid civil marriage, leaving the Family Part without authority to grant a divorce and requiring dismissal of the complaint.


Yaghoubinejad v. Haghighi, 894 A.2d 1173 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2006)