Judge recommends up to $600,000 in sanctions against Toms River in shul lawsuits

A federal magistrate judge has recommended fining Toms River Township $20,000 a day for up to 30 days, as much as $600,000, for failing for more than two years to turn over electronic records in lawsuits brought by two Orthodox congregations, The Lakewood Scoop reports.

In a 14-page decision dated Oct. 30, U.S. Magistrate Judge Justin T. Quinn found that township-issued devices were missing, wiped, factory-reset or locked, and that the township refused to pay for forensic searches. He called its conduct a "habitual and flagrant disregard of this Court's decisions." The suits were filed in 2021 by Khal Anshei Tallymawr and Bais Brucha. The court held the township in contempt in March 2025, and a July 2026 order told Mayor Daniel Rodrick to hand over his township devices; the ruling does not find that Rodrick erased anything.

The plaintiffs had asked for $25,000 a day; the township proposed $1,000. The fine is a recommendation, and U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi will decide. Judge Quinn also refused to let the township's law firm withdraw from the case.