My mom and I are being evicted due to not being able to afford the rent. My mom is to appear in court on Monday a piece of paper taped to the door said. A lawyer friend told her not to show up because right now she isn't required to pay back the money because she has not been served directly. If she appears in court, then can serve her there as she is walking in. Is this correct legal advice?

Ethically, I am against my mom's attempt to not pay back the rent. However, the landlord is rude and never fixed the heat and there was no air conditioning. (We had to use the stove to heat the house in the winter). So I don't feel to bad. So ethics aside, is this correct legal advice.

It is never good advice to ignore a summons. A lot depends on what this "piece of paper" is. The proper procedure for an eviction due to non-payment goes like this:

A written notice is delivered by the landlord given the tenant 3-10 days (depending on locality) to pay in full or vacate. If the tenant does not vacate within the time frame, the landlord then goes to court for an eviction order. A hearing is scheduled and a summons is issued and served notifying the tenant of the hearing. At the hearing the judge will listen to any reason why rent was not paid, other then lack of money. If the reason isn't valid he will issue an eviction order. The tenant will have a short period to vacate, if they still haven't vacated by then, the landlord hires a sheriff to physically remove them and their belongings.

If this notice taped to the door was not preceded by a pay or quit notice, then I doubt if it's a valid summons. But its too important to ignore, so your mother should check with the court Monday morning to see if there really is a hearing scheduled. If there is, she should show up, otherwise the landlord will get an eviction order by default.

Was the attorney one who specializes in landlord/tenant law in that state?

A notice to pay or quit is not required everywhere. NJ no longer requires it. If a tenant has not paid the rent then the landlord can immediately file a lawsuit for eviction. And posting the notice on the door may be considered proper notice in some locations. So I would definitely appear in court that day.

If your mother does not go to court, and if the lawyer friend is right and there wasn't proper service then she is just delaying the inevitable. If the lawyer friend is wrong and there was proper service then she may find her belongings being put out at the curb a few weeks later.

If she appears in court, then can serve her there as she is walking in. Is this correct legal advice?

If you are asking whether this is correct advice, yes it is. If the court finds that the service is insufficient, she can be re-served then, a new hearing will be scheduled, and she will be evicted then.

1. if she merely does not show up, the landlord will win automatically and she will be ordered to pay everything he asks for,

To get out of it, she will have to file an appeal within a time frame.

2. At least here taping the notice to your door for eviction paper work if a legal method of service.