BLOG: Condemnation Law
Property Owners Protest Penn East Pipeline at Delaware RiverKeeper Meeting
Legions of property owners turned out in opposition to the proposed Penn East Natural Gas pipeline at the at the quarterly meeting of Delaware River Basin Commission. Reported here. The general comments were consist with those of Doug O’Malleym director of Environment New Jersey: “PennEast is trying to peddle a pipeline to the residents of... Read More
Challenge to Redevelopment Action Decades After Finding of Blight Denied
The Appellate Division recently analyzed an old blight designation in Ocean County in a January 18, 2017 opinion. You may have to read it more than once to understand the convoluted fact pattern. Or, you may want to skip ahead to the legal analysis because it is short and to the point. Two tracts... Read More
Interstate Gas Pipelines in NJ – Public Use or Private Benefit?
Photo credit. http://www.spectraenergy.com/Natural-Gas-Oil-101/ New Jersey is the most densely populated State in the Union. It may soon have the most underground gas transmission lines. The latest in a series of new pipelines is being proposed in New Jersey is by PennEast, a subsidiary of Spectra Energy. An interactive map of the proposed route can be... Read More
Eminent Domain in a Nutshell – More Takings on the Horizon?
Eminent domain has frequently been in the news over the past few months, part in thanks to president-elect Donald Trump’s support for and involvement in the practice, and also the controversial Dakota oil pipeline. Amidst all of the media attention, here is a review of the basic tenets of eminent domain. Eminent domain refers to... Read More
NJ Transit v. Franco – Property Owner Verdict Overturned on Appeal
On October 19, 2016, almost seven years after a condemnation action was commenced, the Appellate Division published an opinion reversing an $8,150,000 jury verdict in favor of the property owners from 2013. The pre-condemnation offer of compensation was $934,500. The trial judge also ordered that $1,967,865 be escrowed in the Superior Court Trust Fund to cover... Read More
How is “Just Compensation” Determined in Eminent Domain Matters?
In an eminent domain case, when a governmental agency or other condemning authority takes private property, the property owner is constitutionally entitled to received “just compensation” for the taking. This refers to the amount of money that will make the owner whole and indemnify him, her or it for the loss of the property. Frequently,... Read More
CRDA Denied Authority to Take – Birnbaum Wins on Reconsideration
On August 5, 2016, Judge Mendez reversed himself issuing an Order holding that the Casino Reinvestment Development Corp.’s condemnation of the Birnbaum property was a “manifest abuse of the eminent domain power” and exceeded CRDA’s statutory authority. Thereby dismissing the case commenced over two years ago. Initially the Court denied the Birnbaum’s challenge to the... Read More
New Jersey’s Stance on Eminent Domain Since Kelo v. New London
The United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo v. City of New London in 2005 served as a wake-up call for eminent domain usage and abuse, as the Court affirmed that, depending upon any state or local laws to the contrary, it was and is permissible for government agencies to seize private property as a... Read More
Sales Approach Rejected in Valuing Rental Property
In reviewing a recent decision by the Honorable Patrick DeAlmeida, the Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Tax Court, the first thing that jumps out is the large reductions — approximate $1.84 million in reduced assessments for each of the years under appeal. The appeal involved a free-standing Barnes & Noble store in Evesham Township brought by the retailer, a... Read More
Morristown Booming with Redevelopment
This is kind of an off topic post … but generally fits within the purview of redevelopment. Having grown-up in Colonial Morristown with its historic Green; and National Historic Parks (Washington’s Headquarters and Jockey Hollow), and having returned for the practice of law, I am amazed at the transformation that has occurred over the past... Read More
