The Appellate Division of Superior Court decided a case addressing the amount that should be held in escrow in eminent domain cases involving contaminated properties. In Housing Authority v. Suydam Investors, L.L.C., the NJ Supreme Court held that in an eminent domain case involving a contaminated property, the condemnor may seek an order requiring estimated remediation costs to be set aside in escrow. In New Jersey Transit Corporation v. Mary Franco, the Appellate Division the court held that the escrow for the estimated costs of environmental cleanup should be based on "the remediation necessary to achieve the highest and best use of the property used to calculate the amount of the condemnation award" as opposed to the use for which the property is condemned.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
