ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20160
No(s). A-5248-10T4 (Sup. Ct. N.J. Jul 16, 2012)

A New Jersey appellate court held that a town that acquired property containing a former landfill in an eminent domain action cannot require part of the condemnation award to be set aside for remediation purposes. The state's highest court has previously held that contaminated property acquired in an eminent domain action must be valued as if the contamination had been remediated and that the portion of the condemnation award required to pay the costs of remediation should be deposited into a trust-escrow account. Here, however, the landfill has been closed with approval by the state environmental agency. Because the condemnee has already obtained approval of its plan for closure of the landfill, it is not subject to any additional liability for remediation of the site and should therefore receive the full fair market value of its property as determined by ordinary valuation methodologies.