BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Despite the April 10 Appellate Court ruling unfavorable to his client, Bloomfield Duval Corp., attorney Anthony DellaPelle is confident that once the facts are again heard in court before a new jury, the verdict will be the same and his client will prevail. The Appellate Court had agreed with the township of Bloomfield that an expert witness for the town should have been heard by the six-member jury charged with determining the price it should pay for a parcel of land.
The township had acquired, for $440,000 through eminent domain, a slope of land, .62-acre in size, between Lackawanna Place and the elevated NJT train platform. However, the owner of the land, Howard Haberman, the principal of Bloomfield Duval Corp., had had it appraised for $3.2 million because he envisioned it being developed. The jury decided 5-1, in his favor, and said that the land was worth $2.9 million. The appeal by the township was based, in part, on a judge’s omission of favorable testimony.
DellaPelle’s response to the decision did not come in time for the story last week.
In an April 18 email, he said the Appellate Court remanded the matter for a new trial so that one additional expert witness for the township could testify.
“We believe that the additional expert testimony will not change the outcome of this matter. The property owner sought just compensation for its property based upon the actual zoning created by the township for this property.
“The jury in the first trial rejected that the township’s position that the property could not be developed and concluded that the township was unrealistic because its position ignored the fact that the township had itself created zoning permitting development on the property.
“We are confident that a fair and just compensation award will be made at the retrial and that adding one more expert, in addition to the several other experts the township used the first time, won’t change a thing.”
DellaPelle said he did not know when a new trial would take place, but he was scheduled to meet with Judge Robert Gardner on May 10 to discuss scheduling. The attorney representing the township is Kevin McManimon.
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