BLOG: Court Decisions
Court Disapproves Averaging of Comparable Sales
A New Jersey appellate court recently held that a trial judge’s practice of averaging comparable sales in fixing the fair market value of real property is an improper valuation practice. In Pansini Custom Design Assocs. v. City of Ocean City, Docket No. A-2003-07T1, the plaintiffs owned a single family residence at the Jersey shore, which was... Read More
New Jersey Supreme Court Confirms Award of Counsel Fees as Mandatory in Abandonment of Condemnation
In a recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision authored by Justice Virginia Long, the Court confirmed the mandatory nature of attorneys’ fees awards in condemnation actions where the condemnor abandons the the taking. Township of West Orange v. 769 Associates, et als, (A-113-07, April 9, 2009). The Supreme Court reversed an Appellate Division ruling that limited... Read More
Mortgage Lender's Recovery of Interest on Condemned Parcel Limited by Appellate Court
On February 10, 2009, a New Jersey appellate court limited the rights of a mortgage lender to receive interest on property taken by eminent domian, upon which the lender held a mortgage at the time of the taking. The appeals panel ruled that the mortgage lender was only entitled to receive, in satisfaction of its mortgage,... Read More
NJ Supreme Court upholds Highlands Act
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that an inverse condemnation did not occur in a takings case involving the application of the New Jersey Highlands Act with respect to a development tract owned by OFP, LLC in Morris County. According to the Supreme Court, which upheld an earlier opinion by the Appellate Division of the New... 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
Redevelopment Designation in Neptune Rejected
The Superior Court of New Jersey recently rejected a redevelopment designation by the Borough of Neptune City. 65 Steiner Avenue, LLC v. Borough of Neptune City, MON-L-4082-85. The area targeted by the Borough through the redevelopment processes of the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq. (“LRHL”), consisted of light industrial uses, some... Read More
