BLOG: Condemnation Law
Dune Replenishment Case Settled, So State Gives Green Light To Acquire Remaining Easements
Today we may have learned why there has not been any noticeable progress in the government’s acquisition of approximately 1,000 dune easements in several municipalities on the Jersey Shore. This afternoon, a settlement was reported between the Borough of Harvey Cedars and Mr. and Mrs. Karan, which resulted in the ruling this summer from the... Read More
Bipartisan Redevelopment Reform Becomes Law in New Jersey
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law bipartisan legislation (A-3615/S-2447) this week that was intended to correct several due process and constitutional failures in the prior statute found by the New Jersey Courts in Harrison Redevelopment Agency v. DeRose, 398 N.J. Super. 361 (App. Div. 2008); and Gallenthin Realty Development v. Paulsboro, 191 N.J. 344 (2007).... Read More
Down-Zoning Invalidated by Appellate Division
In Griepenburg v. Township of Ocean, decided August 29, 2013, the a New Jersey appellate court invalidated an Ocean Township zoning ordinance that down-zoned the plaintiffs’ thirty-one acre property from a mix of residential and commercial uses (including hotel) to one residential unit per twenty acres. The Township’s offered justification for the ordinance was to... Read More
Cal App Ct Denies Pre-Condemnation Damages
A California Court of Appeals panel recently reversed a trial court decision which was favorable to a property owner in Dep’t of Transportation v. McNamara. The issue on appeal was limited to whether the property owners were entitled to pre-condemnation damages as a matter of law. The trial court awarded the property owner pre-condemnation damages in... Read More
Underwater Mortgage Plan: Will it Sink or Swim?
It has been several months since we last reported on the scheme to use eminent domain to seize “underwater” mortgages in various places around the country. It appeared that the idea died out earlier this year, but it has recently come back with a vengeance. In recent weeks, several California cities have advanced efforts to... Read More
N.J. Supreme Court Opines on Prior Public Use Doctrine in Railroad Case
On August 6, 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its opinion in Norfolk Southern Railway Co. v. Intermodal Properties (available here). The Court’s opinion was limited to analysis of two narrow issues; 1) whether the proposed use is incompatible with the public interest; and 2) whether the term “exigencies of business” limited the railroad... Read More
Property Owner is Injured But Has No Remedy at Law
Berardi I (Tp of Pemberton v. Berardi, 378 N.J. Super 430 (App. Div. 2005)). On September 30, 2002, the Township of Pemberton commenced a condemnation action to acquire property owned by the Berardis within a designated redevelopment zone in the municipality. Contemporaneous with the commencement of the action, the Berardis filed an applications with the... Read More
Property Owner's Challenge to Montclair Redevelopment Plan Denied
On July 26, 2013, the Appellate Division issued an unpublished opinion in Grabowsky v Township of Montclair. In May 2012, the Township adopted an ordinance amending a redevelopment plan to permit an assisted-living facility on the Church Street site. Grabowsky filed an action challenging the ordinance adoption, which was rejected by the Law Division in... Read More
Atlantic City Revel Hotel and Casino Redevelopment Keeps Residents Moving
The Casino Reinvestment Development Authority has been slowly acquiring private property through exercise of eminent domain to “redevelop” the areas near the year-old Revel Hotel and Casino. According to a recent article by the Standard Times Go San Angelo, the redevelopment has progressed slowly because revenue from the Revel was supposed to fund a $50... Read More
Karan and Dune Replenishment: Where Do We Go From Here?
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court threw its hat into the ring in the controversy between New Jersey’s municipalities and beachfront property owners regarding the construction or replenishment of sand dunes to protect the shore from future storms. This dispute has been going on for years, but has become front page news since Superstorm... Read More
