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Revocation of Highway Access Affirmed on Appeal
On July 5, 2022, the Appellate Division affirmed a denial of direct highway access by the NJ Dep’t of Transportation. In re Revocation of the Permit for Direct Access to Route 206, Docket A-1958-18. Opinion here. The property owner – Sylvia Zika – had litigated the denial of access through the entire regulatory process culminating... Read More
Redevelopment Plan Approving Grocery Store Use Upheld on Appeal
Last Friday, a two-judge panel of the Appellate Divison issued a Per Curiam opinion in Meredith v. Mayor and Council Borough of Somerdale (A-1933-20) and “affirm[ed] substantially for the cogent reasons expressed by Judge Silverman Katz in her thorough written decisions.” Slip op. at 16. Full text of the opinion is available here. This case... Read More
PennEast Pipeline Prevails Because State Consented to Taking Under the “Plan of the Constitutional Convention” in 1787
In a 5-4 decision issued yesterday, the United States Supreme Court answered the question “whether the Federal Government can constitutionally confer on pipeline companies the authority to condemn necessary rights-of way in which a State has an interest. We hold that it can.” The full text of the opinion is here. By way of recap,... Read More
Cedar Point Nursery – Per Se Taking Found by United States Supreme Court
[Photo Credit – NY Times 6-23-21] The US Supreme Court decided a takings case in favor of a property owner yesterday. Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, ___ U.S. ___ (2021). The Court found that there was a per se taking where governmental regulation permitted union organizers limited access to private farm property.  The full... Read More
Arby’s Exception to the Jury View Rule?
A favorable jury verdict in a Kentucky takings case was recently reversed because the trial court refused the condemnor’s request that the jury view the property. A copy of the opinion is here. Under Kentucky law, the jury “shall be sent by the court, in the charge of the sheriff, to view the land” upon... Read More
Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Offices Tax Exempt
I don’t often venture over to the tax appeal side of things here at McKirdy Riskin, but I have always been fascinated by the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Ass’n that is the subject of a recent tax court opinion authored by Judge Sundar (March 4, 2021 opinion is available here). I would suggest a full... Read More
US Supreme Court Alert – PennEast Pipeline Cert Petition Granted !
All you SCOTUS watchers already know the news, but yesterday the United States Supreme Court granted PennEast Pipeline Company’s petition for certiorari.  Petition GRANTED. In addition to the question presented by the petition, the parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: Did the Court of Appeals properly exercise jurisdiction over this case?... Read More
Trials in the Age of COVID/SARS-2
As most New Jersey trial lawyers would know, ^ is a picture of the Hudson County Courthouse, which was built over a century ago. (click here for a detailed history of the building by jerseydigs). It is one of the most impressive and beautiful courthouses in the entire State. It was renamed the William J.... Read More
Functional Units and A New Year
Rolling into a New Year here in Morristown after enduring a 14 day SARS-2/COVID-19 quarantine isolation. Sound familiar? I bet. So, what do condemnation lawyers think of while sitting in isolation? Real estate valuation and property rights issues, of course! With that in mind, here’s a good one: what happens when your client’s private property... Read More
Is COVID-19 “Shutdown” Compensation Due Under Disaster Control Act? And Who Gets To Decide?
An interesting case arose in our home vicinage – Morris & Sussex – involving a small business owner’s challenge to Governor Murphy’s COVID-19 “shutdown” orders. JWC Fitness v. Governor Murphy: The complaint was filed about a month ago and was subsequently dismissed by Assignment Judge Stuart Minkowitz on jurisdictional grounds. Judge Minkowtiz held that jurisdiction... Read More
