Kessler Inst. for Rehab. v. Essex Fells Mayor
| Decision Date | 31 January 1995 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 94-2361(WGB). |
| Citation | 876 F. Supp. 641 |
| Parties | KESSLER INSTITUTE FOR REHABILITATION, INC., in its own right and for and on behalf of its employees and patients; Sally Tannenbaum, Legal Guardian of Heather Benney; Heather Benny and United Association for Handicapped Persons, Inc., Plaintiffs, v. MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF the BOROUGH OF ESSEX FELLS, a municipality, and Borough of Essex Fells, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Jersey |
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Lindabury, McCormick & Estabrook by Donald F. Nicolai, Jay Lavroff, Westfield, NJ, for plaintiffs.
Lum, Hoens, Conant, Danzis & Kleinberg by Dennis J. Drasco, Kevin J. O'Connor, Roseland, NJ, for defendants.
Plaintiff, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, Inc. ("Kessler"), operates a health care facility for disabled persons in West Orange, New Jersey. In addition, Kessler owns a 12.5 acre tract of land, located a few miles away from its current facility and in the Borough of Essex Fells, New Jersey. Kessler purchased the site for construction of a second facility, to be used as a transitional residence for disabled persons and a skilled nurse training facility.
The property that Kessler intended to use to expand its services to disabled persons is now the subject of a condemnation action filed by the Borough of Essex Fells in New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Essex County. The condemnation action was authorized by a municipal ordinance, enacted on May 17, 1994, pursuant to the New Jersey Eminent Domain Act, N.J.S.A. 20:3-1, et seq. and the New Jersey Local Lands and Building Law 40A:12-1 et seq.
Plaintiff, Salley Tannenbaum, is the legal guardian for Plaintiff, Heather Benney, a disabled person who is allegedly a "candidate" for treatment at Kessler's proposed facility if and when it is constructed. Compl. ¶ 5. Plaintiff, the United Association for Handicapped Persons "UAFHP" is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocacy and support for Handicapped Persons in New Jersey. Compl. ¶ 6.
On May 18, 1994, Plaintiffs initiated this action claiming that Defendants' enactment of the ordinance authorizing condemnation of Kessler's property discriminated against disabled persons and/or those who associate with them in violation of the following laws: the equal protection clauses of the state and federal constitutions, the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination.
This Court has federal question jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1331 (), 28 U.S.C. § 1343 (), and 42 U.S.C. § 3613 (). The Court has supplemental jurisdiction over Plaintiffs' New Jersey constitutional and statutory claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367.
Defendants have moved to dismiss all of Plaintiffs' claims on three alternative grounds: (1) lack of standing; (2) abstention; and (3) failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
For the reasons set forth in this Opinion, Defendants' motion is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part.
On this motion to dismiss, the Court must accept all of Plaintiffs' factual allegation as true. Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 48, 78 S.Ct. 99, 103, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957). According to the Plaintiffs, the history of the property at issue in the state condemnation proceeding reflects the Defendants' intentional discrimination against persons with disabilities. Before Kessler purchased the property, it was owned by the Northeastern Bible College, which graduated its last class and offered the property for sale in the summer of 1990. Compl. ¶ 10. On August 12, 1991, the Borough purchased a soccer field, totaling approximately three acres from the Bible College. Compl. ¶ 11.
According to the Plaintiffs, the Borough never made any attempt to purchase the balance of the property from the Bible College. See Compl. ¶ 12. The property remained for sale until May 26, 1992, when Kessler contracted to purchase the property. Compl. ¶ 12.
Kessler intended to construct a new facility on the site, a few miles away from its existing facility, in order to expand its services to disabled persons. Compl. ¶ 13. The New Jersey Department of Health issued a Certificate of Need to Kessler for a 20 bed transitional living facility for disabled persons and a 60 bed skilled nursing facility to be established on the former Bible College site. Compl. ¶ 14.
Since the property was zoned for educational use, Kessler appeared before the Borough Planning Board, seeking an amendment to the Borough's zoning ordinance to permit construction of the proposed facility. Compl. ¶¶ 15-16. While this matter was pending, on October 23, 1992, the sale contract between Kessler and the Bible College became final. Compl. ¶ 19.
In order to evaluate Kessler's request to amend the zoning ordinance, Defendants, the Borough, Mayor, and Council of Essex Fells, retained the services of planning and legal experts to evaluate the suitability of the site for Kessler's proposed facility. Compl. ¶ 20.
According to the Plaintiffs, the planning and legal experts found that Kessler's proposed use of the property to provide services to disabled persons was consistent with the goals set forth in Essex Fells' master plan and zoning ordinances. Compl. ¶ 21. Moreover, Plaintiffs allege that at a subsequent Borough Council meeting, the Mayor stated that the Borough did not believe that any municipal use for existed for Kessler's property. Compl. ¶ 21. Consequently, the Mayor directed the legal and planning experts to draft an amendment to the zoning ordinance to permit construction of Kessler's proposed facility. Compl. ¶ 21. The amendment was scheduled to be presented for consideration at a public hearing on October 5, 1993. Compl. ¶ 21.
At the public hearing, Plaintiffs contend that Kessler was "heckled" by Essex Fells residents, who made several comments evidencing discriminatory animus against disabled persons and those who serve them, including: "We don't want our children to see people in wheelchairs" and "Go back to West Orange". Compl. ¶ 22. Rather than submit the zoning amendment to the Council as originally planned, the Mayor and Council decided to send a questionnaire to all Borough residents. Compl. ¶ 22.
The questionnaire, mailed on October 19, 1993, asked Borough residents whether they would be willing to pay higher taxes in order to acquire Kessler's property, either through negotiation or condemnation, for the alleged public purpose of maintaining a park and/or open space. Compl. ¶ 24. When the questionnaire was mailed, Kessler contends that 15.9% of the property within the Borough had already been dedicated to parks and open spaces. Compl. ¶ 24.
A majority of the residents who responded favored acquiring Kessler's property. Compl. ¶ 25. As a result, the Borough offered Kessler $2.3 million to sell the property voluntarily, an offer that Kessler refused. Compl. ¶ 26.
With the proposed amendment to the zoning ordinance stalled, Kessler applied for a use variance with the Borough Board of Adjustment. Compl. ¶ 27. A hearing on the use variance was originally scheduled for May 24, 1994 but was postponed because Kessler failed to provide notice to neighboring property owners as required by New Jersey law. See N.J.S.A. 40:55D-12. Compl. ¶ 27.
On May 17, 1994, the Borough enacted an ordinance authorizing condemnation of the property pursuant to the New Jersey Eminent Domain Act, N.J.S.A. 20:3-1, et seq. and the New Jersey Local Lands and Building Law 40A:12-1 et seq. The stated purpose for acquiring Kessler's property was to use the property for park land, recreational use, and the protection of a critical environmental area, serving as a water recharge for wells in the area. Compl. ¶ 28.
According to the Plaintiffs, all six wells located on property adjacent to the condemned property are already purified by "air stripping units", installed because the wells were found to be contaminated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Compl. ¶ 29. Since these mechanical purification mechanisms are already in place, Plaintiffs claim that there is no legitimate need for the Borough to condemn its property to provide a "recharge area" for the contaminated wells. Compl. ¶ 29.
On June 6, 1994, Defendants, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 20:3-8, filed a verified complaint in condemnation, as well as an order to show cause, in the New Jersey Superior Court, Law Division, Essex County. The order to show cause was returnable July 20, 1994. As part of the state condemnation proceeding, Kessler challenged the Borough's actions by denying its authority to condemn the property. See N.J.S.A. 20:3-11. As a result, all subsequent action in the state condemnation proceeding, including the vesting of title in the Borough, has been stayed pending resolution of Kessler's challenge to the Borough's authority. See id.
An outgrowth of the requirement of Article III of the constitution, "standing is the determination of whether a specific person is the proper party to bring a particular matter to the Court for adjudication." Erwin Chemerinsky, Federal Jurisdiction § 2.3.1 (1989). In order to invoke the jurisdiction of a federal court, a plaintiff must have "a personal stake in the outcome" of an otherwise justiciable controversy. Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 498-99 95 S.Ct. 2197, 2204-05, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975), U.S. Const., art. III, § 2, cl. 2. "At an irreducible minimum, Art. III requires the party who invokes the court's authority to `show that he personally has suffered some actual or threatened injury as a result of the putatively illegal conduct of the defendant,' ... and that the injury...
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...Reno, 18 F.Supp.2d 38 (D.D.C.1998); Clark v. Burger King Corp., 255 F.Supp.2d 334 (D.N.J.2003); Kessler Inst. for Rehabilitation v. Mayor & Council of Essex Fells, 876 F.Supp. 641 (D.N.J. 1995). In United States v. AVX Corp., the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that an environmental org......
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