BLOG: Court Decisions

Neptune Redevelopment Challenge Dismissed

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
7 Oct 2010
A New Jersey appellate court has affirmed a trial judge’s dismissal of a citizen’s challenge to the Township of Neptune‘s designation of five acres as an “area in need of redevelopment “under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (“LRHL”).  The court also dismissed the objector’s challenge to the township’s subsequent adoption of a redevelopment plan.  The court held that... Read More

Appraisal Reports Must Be Produced

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
16 Sep 2010
 The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has released a published opinion in Tractenberg v. Twp. of West Orange, ___ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div. 2010), which required the Township of West Orange  to release an unredacted copy of an appraisal report prepared for the Township’s Council following an OPRA request by the... Read More

Newark Trucking Facility Not Blighted

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
27 Aug 2010
A Newark property owner, CD Development, LLC, challenged a 2005 blight designation which led to its property being designated as an area in need of redevelopment.  The five acre property is used as an active trucking facility.  Newark’s planning expert concluded the property satisfied the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (LRHL) criteria in N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5(e), the... Read More

Asbury Park Property Owner Wins Opportunity to Seek Amendment to Redevelopment Plan

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
25 Aug 2010
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court has reversed a trial judge’s decision that property within a redevelopment area in Asbury Park was “unzoned” because it was exempted from eminent domain as part of a redevelopment plan.  The subject property, formerly owned by the Salvation Army, was exempted from eminent domain under the... Read More

Rehearing Ordered on Interest Rate Decision in Long Branch Taking

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
10 Aug 2010
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
12 Jul 2010
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
26 Jun 2010
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

by: Joseph Grather
25 Jun 2010
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

by: Joseph Grather
27 May 2010
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
26 May 2010
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