township to include litigation bills
Judge: North Bruns. will pay some legal fees
Negotiations with
township to include litigation bills
By dave goldberg
Staff Writer
Superior Court Judge James P. Hurley ordered North Brunswick to negotiate legal fees with the Otken family at a hearing Friday at the Middlesex County Courthouse in New Brunswick.
"It’s very hard to win legal fees," Ed Otken Jr. said. "It’s going to be a question of how much money we will get. I’m not sure that we will be happy with what we get. I’m also sure that the town will not be happy with having to write us a check. This isn’t going to be a $5 fee; it’s going to probably be in the thousands."
"We are looking for legal fees going back to the first case," Otken family attorney Larry Sachs said several weeks ago. "The judge never made a determination, and we hope that the judge will see in our favor. The council fees may be approaching $200,000 at this point."
Township Council President Francis "Mac" Womack said that the town will have to pay the fees.
"That is the consequence of the condemnation," Womack said. "I am not surprised by the judge’s decision. That is something that is a direct consequence of the fact that last year the Republicans had began the condemnation in a rash and hasty manner. Part of the legal fees came from the early portion of the case being thrown out. I think the ball is in our court whether to make an offer, and if so, how much."
Hurley also ruled that the bond the town processed when the Otken farm was condemned was valid.
"Back in 2001, when the farm was condemned, a bond was issued in the amount of $15 million usable for open space," said Womack. "The Otkens had challenged it because they felt that the taking of the land was not a valid process. They believed that the bond was not issued for a legitimate process."
Hurley also ruled that it was not a conflict of interest to have Jeffrey Lehrer serve as both the township’s counsel on the case and as the Planning Board attorney. Mayor David Spaulding said he was happy that Lehrer would continue on with the case.
"The one positive of this situation is that the judge did not object to having Lehrer as the attorney," Spaulding said.
This was a fair decision by the judge, according to Womack.
"I think, legally, it’s correct and pragmatically it helps us move without any further delay," Womack said.
Otken said that he has not been happy with the decisions made throughout the hearings on the condemnation.
"I wasn’t too impressed. We might appeal everything again," Otken said. "The town has made many mistakes along the way, that is why they will have to pay some legal fees. The whole thing will be going on for a while. I don’t know what the solution will be."
Only hours after Judge Hurley ruled that the township had the authority to condemn the Otken farm in January, the council presented a resolution asking to meet with the Otken family and U.S. Home to resolve the condemnation action.
The township formed a negotiating committee consisting of various parties with opposing views of the condemnation. These parties have been meeting for months, according to Womack.
Otken said he is not happy with this method.
"I was hoping it would be easier with the new council, but they haven’t done anything," Otken said. "They have been negotiating in bad faith. I don’t care about any committee.
"There are four people that could make a decision and they don’t. That is what they are elected to do. You don’t need 30,000 people making a decision," he said.
Womack said that he hopes the town can move on.
"The decision leaves us in the same place we were in before," Womack said. "We are trying to pull our committee together this week to take action. We are going to try to get together, get a quorum and take some action."
The legal fees the Otkens are seeking stem from July 2001 when the Otken family went to court to prevent the initial condemnation of their 105-acre farm. That action was enacted by the council in February 2001.
The Township Council had wanted to take the Otkens’ farm and use it as open space intended for recreational use.
Otken said he hopes to fair well in the appeals process.
"I’m not too thrilled with the decisions of the judge," he said. "In the appeals process, I hope the whole thing will be overturned. There will be three judges overlooking the decision. We have appealed everything up until now. Everything has been stalled until there was an outcome in the appeals process."