BLOG: Condemnation Law
Discounted Jury Verdict Upheld on Appeal
A New Jersey appellate court recently rejected a property owner’s claim that it was deprived of just compensation because the jury verdict reflected a discount for the cost of environmental remediation on its property. New Jersey Schools Construction Corporation v. Warminster Investments Corporation, et als., Docket No. A-5319-07T15319-07T1. Warminster, the property owner, argued that the jury... Read More
Camden Property Owners Succeed in Having Properties Removed from Redevelopment Area
The Camden City Council amended its Lanning Square Redevelopment Plan during a special meeting on December 29, 2009, to remove two blocks from the property acquisition list. The amendments were part of a settlement agreement with two of the parties involved in litigation that began in 2008 after the redevelopment plan was announced. The Camden... Read More
Long Branch to Protect Owners from Eminent Domain
Following a settlement agreement that permitted homeowners in the MTOTSA section of Long Branch to remain in their homes (read about it here), the Long Branch City Council is expected to revise the area’s zoning laws to grandfather the use of the remaining homes under the previous code while requiring new construction to... Read More
Dueling Supreme Courts to Decide Beach Replenishment Takings Issues Heard on Same Day
The United States Supreme Court and New Jersey Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the same day this week in cases focusing on the issue of where a beachfront property owner’s rights end, and the public’s rights begin, when the government decides to replenish beaches with public funds. The United States Supreme Court, in Stop... Read More
New Jersey Supreme Court Considers Tenants' Rights to Notice in Redevelopment Challenge
The New Jersey Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in a case regarding the rights of commercial tenants to notice under the provisions of New Jersey’s Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. Iron Mountain Information Management, Inc. v. City of Newark (A-100-08). The issue presented to the Court was framed: “When property is targeted for redevelopment pursuant to the... Read More
NY Court of Appeals Deals Blow to Property Owners In Atlantic Yards Case
Within weeks of Pfizer abandoning the redevelopment project made infamous in Kelo v. City of New London, New York’s highest Court refused to overturn lower courts’ decisions that the area surrounding Brooklyn’s Atlantic Yards project is blighted. Read the opinion here. Amid calls for eminent domain reform, the project will now move forward by selling bonds to fund... Read More
NJ Supreme Court Agrees to Hear "Bizarre" Condemnation Case
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently granted a petition for certification filed by the property owners who alleged unsuccessfully before the Law Division, and the Appellate Division, that the municipality was required by law to provide them access to “their property.” The case has been described by Henry Gottlieb of the New Jersey Law Journal... Read More
Kelo Update — Lessons Learned?
Read this excellent Op-Ed piece from the New York Times about the questions recently revisited as a result of the decision of Pfizer to close its New Lodon facility before “redevelopment” occurred and leaving behind vacant land which victimized Suzette Kelo and her neighbors. For another article in the New York Times on Pfizer’s departure... Read More
The Aftermath of Kelo – Pfizer Leaving New London
From the Wall Street Journal November 11, 2009, Page A20 “The Supreme Court’s 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London stands as one of the worst in recent years, handing local governments carte blanche to seize private property in the name of economic development. Now, four years after that decision gave Susette Kelo’s... Read More
Asbuy Park Redeveloper's Claim Against City Revived
A redeveloper’s claim against the City of Asbury Park was remanded to trial by a recent New Jersey appellate court decision. Asbury Shores, Inc. v. City of Asbury Park, Docket No. A-2158-08T1 (November 10, 2009) (unpublished). Plaintiff Asbury Shores is the designated redeveloper for the Springwood Avenue Redevelopment Area in Asbury Park. Asbury Shores sought... Read More
