BLOG: Court Decisions
Rehearing Ordered on Interest Rate Decision in Long Branch Taking
Failure to Provide Evidentiary Hearing on Interest Rates Requires Remand A New Jersey appellate court recently held that a Monmouth County Superior Court trial judge erred by failing to hold an evidentiary hearing in a Long Branch redevelopment taking case, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:3-31 and -32 after it was requested by the property owners. The... Read More
Recovery of Owner’s Attorneys’ Fees Limited in “Complicated” Inverse Condemnation Case
A New Jersey appeals court recently limited a Bergen County property owner’s ability to recover attorneys’ fees in an inverse condemnation proceeding to those fees actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the condemnation. The plaintiff, NJ Capital Partners, LLC, filed an inverse condemnation action after the Oakland Planning Board denied its subdivision application twice. After... Read More
Jury Verdict in Cliffside Park Case Upheld on Appeal
Verdict not based on averaging or misconduct according to New Jersey’s Appellate Division An opinion released by a New Jersey appellate court found that a jury properly carried out its duties in Borough of Cliffside Park v. Estate of Ignatius Catanzaro., a condemnation case involving Cliffside Park’s taking of a downtown commercial building containing a restaurant... Read More
"Powerhouse" Redevelopment Amendment Allowed for Decades Old Blight Designation
The New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division recently published its decision affirming a trial court decision which disallowed a challenge to an amendment to a redevelopment pan by the City of Jersey City in its Powerhouse Redevelopment Area. Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Assoc. v. City Council, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div, 2010). Along the way... Read More
Possible Inverse Condemnation Looms in Variance Denial Case
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging a local municipality’s denial of a variance application to build one single family residence on a 24 acre lot. The Last Frontier, Inc. v. Blairstown Tp. Zoning Bd. of Adj., Docket A-5205-08T2 (May 24, 2010). A variance was required because the property... Read More
New Jersey Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Another Redevelopment Case Involving Tenants’ Rights
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently granted a petition for certification in Town of Kearny v. Discount City of Old Bridge, Inc., et al., a redevelopment taking involving tenants rights where the designated “redeveloper” was also the tenant’s landlord, which was decided by the Appellate Division on October 23, 2009. The Appellate Division held that pre-condemnation... Read More
Jersey City Redevelopment Plan Upheld Despite Passage of Time
High rise housing is permitted in City’s Powerhouse Arts District following adoption of amended Redevelopment Plan A neighborhood action group’s argument that a redevelopment plan was wrongly amended was rejected by the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court in a recently published opinion. The neighborhood group filed an action in the Superior Court... Read More
Plainfield Redevelopment Project Upheld on Appeal
Bucking a trend of court decisions striking down redevelopment projects, a New Jersey appellate court has determined that the City of Plainfield may proceed with a redevelopment project in the City because it satisfied criterion (d) under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (LRHL), N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5(d), and due to the “substantial evidence” contained in the... Read More
Owners' Approvals and Improvements Upheld as Relevant in Jury Valuation
A New Jersey appellate court recently rejected an attempt by the the New Jersey School Construction Corporation’s (“NJSCC”) to reverse a trial court judge’s decision permitting the jury to consider evidence of zoning board approvals and property improvements for purposes of determining just compensation at the trial concerning the NJSCC’s condemnation of the owners’ commercial property. The trial... Read More
Appeals Court Denies Relocation Benefits to Bloomfield Property Owner
A New Jersey appellate court affirmed the denial of relocation benefits to a former property owner (Jeanny Sung Koo) in a redevelopment area in the Township of Bloomfield after she signed a lease to relocate to a new location where an initial offer to purchase her property had been made, and negotiations ensued, but the project stalled. The... Read More
