Media Advisory

EVENT:

Tuesday Court Hearing Could Mark Victory Over Eminent Domain Abuse or Homeowners from Long Branch, N.J.

If Case Resolves, Homeowners & Attorneys to Speak Afterwards to Media

TIME/DATE:

1:30p.m./Tuesday, September 15, 2009

PLACE:

Courtroom of Hon. Thomas W. Cavanagh
Hall of Records
One East Main Street                           
Freehold, New Jersey 07728

CONTACT:

John Kramer
Institute for Justice, (703) 682-9320

PARTICIPANTS:   

Scott Bullock, Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
Jeff Rowes, Staff Attorney, Institute for Justice
Peter H. Wegener, Bathgate, Wegener & Wolf
William Ward, Carlin & Ward
Property Owners from the MTOTSA neighborhood

SUMMARY:

On Tuesday, at 1:30 p.m., the long-running fight to protect the homes in the MTOTSA neighborhood of Long Branch, N.J., against eminent domain for private gain could come to an end.  An agreement will be discussed in the courtroom of Judge Thomas Cavanagh, who has been presiding over discussions between the parties for the past several months.

The Institute for Justice—a public interest law firm based in Arlington, Va., that litigated the Kelo v. New London eminent domain case before the U.S. Supreme Court—represents the homeowners along with noted New Jersey eminent domain attorneys Peter Wegener of Bathgate Wegener & Wolf and William Ward of Carlin & Ward.  In August 2008, a three-judge panel of the New Jersey Appellate Division unanimously reversed the June 2006 decision of Superior Court Judge Lawrence Lawson, which had allowed Long Branch to condemn a charming seaside neighborhood known as MTOTSA for a luxury condominium development.  After the case was sent back to the trial court and the city announced that it was willing to drop the eminent domain actions, the parties began discussing how to resolve the remaining issues in the case.

Following the hearing, if the case is resolved, attorneys along with MTOTSA property owners will speak with the media in the courtyard in front of the Hall of Records in downtown Freehold.