BLOG: Court Decisions
Revocation of Highway Access Affirmed on Appeal
On July 5, 2022, the Appellate Division affirmed a denial of direct highway access by the NJ Dep’t of Transportation. In re Revocation of the Permit for Direct Access to Route 206, Docket A-1958-18. Opinion here. The property owner – Sylvia Zika – had litigated the denial of access through the entire regulatory process culminating... Read More
Appellate Division Affirms Town’s Right to Take Redevelopment Property
In New Jersey, redevelopment designations are often a precursor to the government exercising its eminent domain power. However, in order for the government to use eminent domain, it must first obtain a final judgment from the court authorizing the “right to take.” On April 6, 2022, in Lindenwold v. Jackson, et al., the Appellate Division... Read More
N.J. District Court: Jersey City’s Limit on Short-Term Rentals is Constitutional Under the Takings Clause
Home sharing platforms have exploded in popularity over the past decade, becoming an acceptable way for individuals to earn supplemental income from their properties. Using these platforms, individuals may lease or sublease their properties for a short-term period of days, weeks, or months at a time. In 2015, Jersey City passed an ordinance affirmatively permitting... Read More
SCOTUS Declines to Hear Dakota Access Pipeline Case
Image courtesy of researchgate.net With over 7,000 requests for review per year, the Supreme Court of the United States has its hands full and hears only about 100-150 cases in a given year. One case that recently did not make the cut was an appeal submitted by the operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline... Read More
Penn. High Court: Eminent Domain Power Not Required For Liability in Inverse Condemnation Action
In late November 2021, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court addressed a rather interesting question regarding inverse condemnation liability in Hughes v. UGI Storage Co., et al., No. J-69A-2021 (Nov. 29, 2021). There, the Court sought out to answer whether, to be held liable for damages under Pennsylvania’s inverse condemnation statute, an entity must be clothed with... Read More
Gym Owner Loses Challenge to COVID Shutdown Order
A New Jersey kickboxing business owner was recently denied compensation for the closure and limitations placed on its business under COVID-19 “shutdown” orders signed by Governor Phil Murphy. The business, JWC Fitness, LLC, based in Franklin, New Jersey, shut its doors in March 2020 in compliance with Murphy’s Executive Order 104, thereby closing its business... Read More
Michigan Supreme Court Allows Flint Water Crisis Victim to Assert an Inverse Condemnation Claim
From 1964 through late April 2014, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (“DWSD”) supplied Flint, Michigan residents with water from Lake Huron. On March 28, 2013, the State Treasurer recommended to the Governor that he authorize the plan to construct an alternative water supply system. Thereafter, on April 16, 2013, the Governor authorized a process... Read More
4th Circuit: State Sovereign Immunity Bars a Takings Claim in Federal Court when Remedies are Still Available in State Court
A recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Zito v. North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission) addressed whether a Fifth Amendment takings claim against the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission (the “Commission”) is barred by State sovereign immunity. The Pacific Legal Foundation, an organization that has successfully argued many property rights... Read More
U.S. Supreme Court’s Emphatic “Take That!” To CDC Eviction Moratorium
Yesterday, the US Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion which finally (hopefully) ended the ping pong match that had been underway for many months concerning the validity of the federal eviction moratorium, which had been in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The moratorium was first imposed by Congress in March 2020... Read More
Court OKs Governor’s Executive Order Concerning Security Deposits
A New Jersey appellate court has upheld Governor Phil Murphy’s Executive Order No. 128, which permits residential tenants to use their security deposits to pay rent during the COVID 19 pandemic. The Executive Order, entered in April 2020, was one of many entered since last March in response to the economic and public health crises... Read More
