BLOG: Condemnation Law
Town’s Failure to Treat Property Owner Fairly Leads to Reversal by Appellate Division
A New Jersey appellate court recently reversed a trial court’s dismissal of a tax appeal, and found that the City of North Wildwood failed to act fairly in litigation with the property owner. The property at issue is improved with a seven-story mixed-use tower, a 160-slip marina and a 3900 square-foot marina services building, and... Read More
High Court Declines Hearing on Partial Taking of Cemetery
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court denied a petition for certification filed by the Diocese of Camden in behalf of St Mary’s Cemetery in Bellmawr. As reported by the Republic.com, in 2010, the New Jersey Department of Transportation acquired by exercise of eminent domain a six acre parcel owned by the church for its... Read More
Mantoloking (NJ) Contemplates Use of Eminent Domain for Dune Easements
This just in – Mantoloking has decided to use eminent domain to acquire private property for the purported public use of dune replenishment. See articles from CBS News and NJ.com. McKirdy & Riskin’s Tony DellaPelle was interviewed and quoted in the CBS news video about the constitutional issues raised by attempting to require that oceanfront property owners... Read More
Experts’ Opinions Accepted Over Town’s Objections
Plaintiff Route 21 Associates challenged the assessments imposed by Defendant Township of Belleville on vacant land for tax years 2008, 2009, and 2010. The matter was scheduled for trial where the Tax Court accepted each party’s two witnesses as experts, one in real estate appraisal and one in environmental remediation, and admitted their reports into... Read More
Arkansas Fish and Game – Remand Briefs
As you know from our December 2012 blog, the United States Supreme Court found that an Army Corps flooding program, which damaged a hardwood forest managed by the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission, may constitute a taking of private property. Therefore, the Court upheld the property owner’s inverse condemnation claim, reversed the Fifth Court’s decision... Read More
More from the Shore – Proposed Legislation Seeks to Limit Just Compensation
Owners of property along the Jersey shore continue to be battered, this time by their own elected officials. The New Jersey Senate recently introduced S-2618, which provides: “Just compensation for an easement over a portion of beachfront property condemned for the purpose of dune construction or beach replenishment shall include consideration of the increase in value... Read More
Eminent Domain Bill Clears Senate Committee, Would Update Redevelopment Procedures
Legislation that would rework some of the procedures used by local governments to their redevelopment powers cleared a State Senate committee earlier this week. The bill, S-2447, codifies certain protections to property owners which were decided in court decisions in recent years, and also would provide a negotiation alternative to using eminent domain in local redevelopment... Read More
Hoboken North End Redevelopment Moving Forward
The Hoboken Planning Board recently completed its investigation of a proposed redevelopment area dubbed the North End Redevelopment Area. A full copy of the Study Report is available on the City’s website. Photo courtesy Google maps. As noted in a recent article by Amanda Palasciano of the Hudson Reporter, the next step in the process... Read More
Mortgagee Not Entitled to Bona Fide Negotiations
On February 5, 2012, the Appellate Division published its decision in a condemnation case captioned Borough of Merchantville v. Malik & Son, LLC. The property was acquired by the municipality in connection with an earlier “in need of redevelopment” designation. In short, the Appellate Court affirmed a trial court’s rejection of a “right to take” challenge... Read More
More on Dune Replenishment – Taking Private Property Without Just Compensation
The Borough of Mantoloking is one of several beachfront municipalities that has asked owners of beach-front property to donate their private property to the municipality. A copy of the most recent form of dedication agreement (identified as an easement) is available on the Borough’s website here. The Borough is attempting to force property owners to... Read More
