Housing Authority of City of Long Branch v. Valentino

• Decision Date: 06 June 1966
• Docket Number: No. A--133,A--133
• Citation: 47 N.J. 265,220 A.2d 196
• Parties: HOUSING AUTHORITY OF the CITY OF LONG BRANCH, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Maria VALENTINO et al., Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

Page 265

47 N.J. 265

220 A.2d 196

HOUSING AUTHORITY OF the CITY OF LONG BRANCH, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Maria VALENTINO et al., Defendants-Appellants.

No. A--133.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued May 10, 1966.

Decided June 6, 1966.

Ralph S. Heuser, Matawan, for defendants-appellants (Heuser & Heuser, Matawan, attorneys, Ralph S. Heuser, Matawan, of counsel).

Thomas L. Yaccarino, Asbury Park, for plaintiff-respondent (Edward F. Juska, Long Branch, attorney, Thomas L. Yaccarino, Asbury Park, of counsel and on the brief).

The opinion of the court was delivered

PER CURIAM.

Defendants appeal from two orders entered by the Superior Court, Law Division, subsequent to a judgment in condemnation proceedings awarding $83,000 as the value of the property taken by plaintiff. This valuation, found by a jury after trial, was based upon conflicting evidence of its market value as of the date of the taking, i.e., June 12, 1961. Both parties used June 12, 1961 as the critical date on which their experts based their opinions of market value. The jury award of $83,000 was recorded as a judgment on February 11, 1965. No appeal has ever been taken from that judgment.

Some time later defendants applied to the trial court for an allowance of interest on the $83,000 award from August 2, 1955 to March 21, 1965, the date the Housing Authority paid the judgment. In support of the motion defendants alleged they had been deprived of the use of their property since the date specified. They made a second motion also, requesting the allowance of counsel fees as well as fees paid to their experts in the condemnation trial. Interest was allowed at 4% On $56,400, the excess of the award over the $26,600 deposit the Housing Authority had made prior to trial. It amounted to $8,414. The beginning date for the computation of interest was the date of filing the complaint in condemnation, the same date used at the trial as the date of taking of the property and consequently the valuation date. Counsel and experts fees were denied, the court finding no authority for such allowances.

The present appeal was taken only from the order of September 22, 1965 fixing the interest, and denying the fees. The judgment of February 11, 1965 awarding $83,000, based upon the taking date of June 12, 1961 has never been appealed from and remains unchallenged. Under the circumstances our attention must be limited to the validity of the orders under attack.

The date of taking of defendants' property was determined by a trial judge prior to trial pursuant to an agreement included in the pretrial conference order. After both parties had submitted their pertinent proof, the date adjudicated was June 12, 1961. The Appellate Division granted leave to appeal therefrom, and after argument remanded the matter to the trial court for the taking of further evidence...