The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that attorney fees may be awarded under the state Civil Rights Act in a suit claiming a municipality violated a right created by a state statute rather than by the state constitution.

In a 4-2 ruling in Tumpson v. Farina, the majority said the failure of the Hoboken, N.J., city clerk to comply with the Faulkner Act, a state government-organizing statute, violated the state Civil Rights Act, which allows for attorney fee awards.