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August 8, 2008
EMINENT DOMAINIA
This week, property owners were vindicated in a NJ State appeals court ruling in a Long Branch case that we've been keeping an eye on because... well because taking a neighborhood of smallish, but well kept homes, to build a seaside condo complex is abusive, unseemly and un-American.
Associated Press, via Newsday, NJ court orders hearing in eminent domain case
On Thursday, an appeals court ordered a new hearing for the New Jersey homeowners, allowing them to challenge the city's assertion that their properties are blighted.
The ruling was a setback for Long Branch, which adopted a plan to redevelop its beachfront in 1996. As part of the plan, the city sought to condemn 24 properties that sit on the northern tip of the redevelopment area.
Castle Watch, Long Branch Homeowners Hail Appeals Court Victory
The eminent domain watch-blog for the Institute for Justice, the group representing the Long Branch property owners, posted a press release.
Today, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division unanimously reversed the June 2006 decision of Superior Court Judge Lawrence Lawson, which allowed the city of Long Branch, N.J., to condemn a charming seaside neighborhood known as MTOTSA for a luxury condominium development. This is the latest in a series of major decisions from New Jersey courts, including the Supreme Court, recognizing that state law and the New Jersey Constitution place real limits on the power of government to condemn property for private development. After explaining how the lower court misapplied the law, the court of appeals found that the city did not provide “substantial evidence” to support its findings of blight.
“The Court basically told the city that if that’s all it has, it can’t take these homes,” said Scott Bullock, a senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, which represents many of the homeowners along with Peter Wegener of Bathgate, Wegener & Wolf in Lakewood, N.J. “It’s too late for the city to manufacture more evidence, so the Court’s ruling is a fatal blow to the city. We are confident the owners will prevail on remand.” The owners will also have the opportunity to show that changing the plan to use eminent domain was illegal.
Posted by lumi at August 8, 2008 3:15 AM