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NJDOT Complaints Dismissed for Failure to Engage in Bona Fide Negotiations with Property Owners
The Bergen County Assignment Judge recently dismissed condemnation complaints filed by the New Jersey Department of Transportation (“DOT”) after its appraiser failed to consider the impact that the loss of access would have on business’s operating on the Route 46 Circle in Little Ferry, as well as potential flooding issues caused by the installation of... Read More
Appeals Court Denies Request for Expert’s Records
A recent New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a litigation expert’s financial records are not subject to disclosure. This holding could impact eminent domain and real estate tax appeal litigation because both practices rely on expert opinions to establish a property’s value. In the case in question, a plaintiff’s attorney in a personal injury case requested information from... Read More
Court Denies Discovery Request for Expert’s Financial Records
A recent New Jersey appeals court has ruled that a litigation expert’s financial records are not subject to disclosure. This holding could impact eminent domain and real estate tax appeal litigation because both practices rely on expert opinions to establish a property’s value. In the case in question, a plaintiff’s attorney in a personal injury case requested information from... Read More
Edward McKirdy named Eminent Domain Lawyer of the Year
Best Lawyers, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession, has named McKirdy & Riskin’s Edward D. McKirdy as the “Newark Area Best Lawyers Eminent Domain and Condemnation Lawyer of the Year” for 2011. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year”... Read More
Spring Lake Council Enacts Anti-Eminent Domain Ordinance by Overturning Mayor’s Vetoes
The Spring Lake Heights Council voted 5-1 to overturn the Mayor’s vetoes on two ordinances previously adopted by the Borough Council. The ordinances will prohibit pay-to-play for redevelopment projects, and the use of eminent domain when private property is being used for the purpose of privately funded economic development. The ordinances were supported by residents... Read More
Monroe Township Ordered to Undertake Revaluation
The Tax Court of New Jersey recently granted an application by approximately 1,000 Monroe Township property owners which will require the Township to undertake a municipal property tax revaluation. The plaintiffs claim that the “Chapter 123” equalization ratio for the Township is skewed and discriminatory based on the Township’s failure to properly categorize sales between 2001 and 2005. ... Read More
Eminent Domain Abuse in Newark Cited in New Report
A new report entitled “No Work In Newark: City Must Free Entrepreneurs” by the Washington, D.C. based Institute for Justice, as part of its City Study Series, repeatedly cites fear of eminent domain abuse as a major reason for Newark’s lack of new small businesses. The report suggests that Newark should discontinue the use of eminent... Read More
Spring Lake Mayor Vows to Veto Anti-Eminent Domain Ordinance
The Mayor of Spring Lake Heights plans to veto two ordinances adopted by the Borough Council because she claims they were unnecessary as there are no blighted areas in the Borough, and there was no reason to spend money publishing laws that were not needed. The ordinances would prohibit pay-to-play for redevelopment projects, and the... Read More
Governor Christie Kills ARC Tunnel Project, Again
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has announced that the trans-Hudson ARC Tunnel project will remain canceled, after agreeing to take another look at its fiscal impact upon urging from federal transportation officials. The project would have added a second commuter rail tunnel and line between the Frank Lautenberg rail station in Secaucus and a new... Read More
Contaminated Property Would Be Assessed As-If Remediated Under Proposed Legislation
New Jersey Assemblyman Craig J. Coughlin has sponsored bill A-3179 in the New Jersey Assembly. The bill, if adopted as introduced, would require that “the true value of a parcel of real property contaminated with a hazardous substance . . . shall be its value as if it were remediated .” Under current New Jersey case... Read More
