Real Estate Law

Mount Laurel Township v. MiPro Homes Petition Sent to United States Supreme Court

As a follow up to previous posts regarding the case of Mount Laurel Township v. MiPro Homes, the Builders League of South Jersey, Inc. and MiPro Homes, L.L.C. has petitioned the United States Supreme Court to review the decision issued by the New Jersey State Supreme Court in December.

The New Jersey State Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to allow ambush acquisitions stating towns and municipalities could proactively condemn property to prevent development. It is the position of the Builders League of South Jersey and others that this decision, if allowed to stand, will have a chilling effect on development in New Jersey and a negative impact on families with school children and developers of projects deemed politically undesirable.

The question raised is whether or not the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits a municipality from condemning private property for “public use” when the municipality’s public use determination is ad hoc, pretextual, and not part of a comprehensive planning process.

You can download the petition here.

From Real Estate - New Jersey Law Blog posted 2007-05-10.