BLOG: Settlements and Awards Condemnation
Let’s Make a Deal: Ocean County Set to Acquire Campground Site for $5.9M
Many of our blog posts focus on the run-of-the-mill condemnation case, that is, when pre-litigation negotiations fail, and the government legally “takes” private property for public use in exchange for “just compensation.” It’s about time we shed some light on an alternative case where the condemning agency avoids exercising its eminent domain power by entering... Read More
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
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
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
$17.9 Million Jury Verdict Upheld on Appeal
The Appellate Division of the Superior Court recently upheld and affirmed a jury verdict of $17,900,000.00 as just compensation for the taking of a 75 acre farm in Piscataway Township for open space. The farm, owned by the Halper family, had been the subject of a long-standing battle between the Township and the Halper family which... Read More
