Riggs v. Long Beach Tp.

• Decision Date: 21 January 1986
• Citation: 503 A.2d 284,101 N.J. 515
• Parties: Charles J. RIGGS and Virginia Riggs, his wife and Island Homes, Inc., a corporation of the State of New Jersey, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TOWNSHIP OF LONG BEACH, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

Page 515

101 N.J. 515

503 A.2d 284

Charles J. RIGGS and Virginia Riggs, his wife and Island Homes, Inc., a corporation of the State of New Jersey, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TOWNSHIP OF LONG BEACH, Defendant-Respondent.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued Oct. 21, 1985.

Decided Jan. 21, 1986.

Richard A. Grossman, Toms River, for plaintiffs-appellants (Grossman & Kruttschnitt, Toms River, attorneys, Raymond V. King, Toms River, on briefs).

Granville D. Magee, Wall, for defendant-respondent (Magee, Kirschner & Graham, Wall, attorneys, Philip G. Pagano, Wall, on brief).

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

HANDLER, J.

In this case the trial court determined that a zoning ordinance passed by defendant, Township of Long Beach, was arbitrary and capricious because the ordinance affected only the plaintiffs' property. The trial court also ruled that the ordinance was unconstitutional because it had no relation to the public welfare. On appeal, the Appellate Division reversed the trial court judgment. It held that because the Township had passed a more recent, though virtually identical, ordinance the issue as to the validity of the initial ordinance had become moot. It then concluded that under the "time-of-decision rule," the claims of the parties should be determined by the trial court under the new ordinance. The Appellate Division also ruled that because the plaintiffs had not applied for a variance from the earlier ordinance, their contention that the ordinance was invalid and unconstitutional was barred under the exhaustion-of-remedies doctrine. We granted plaintiffs' petition for certification, 101 N.J. 515, 503 A.2d 284 (1985). We reverse the judgment of the Appellate Division and remand the matter for its reconsideration.

I.

The plaintiffs, Charles and Virginia Riggs, own harborfront property in the Township of Long Beach. In 1976 the Township held a referendum, which was approved by the public, authorizing the Township to acquire and establish a "public open-space" area. Plaintiffs' property is one of eleven lots that are included in the Township Master Plan Element designated as "public open-space" as defined by N.J.S.A. 40:55D-6. By statute, this zoning purpose requires that the area first be "conveyed or otherwise dedicated to a municipality." Ibid. The trial court found that the Township had successfully arranged for the purchase of all the lots except plaintiffs'.

Prior to January 2, 1981, plaintiffs' property had been zoned "R-50," which allowed high-density residential habitation with minimum lot sizes of 5,000 square feet and minimum width of 50 feet. This would have allowed plaintiffs to divide their lot into four separate plots. Plaintiffs had applied to the Township for a permit to subdivide their property into these four lots, but were denied in a letter dated December 14, 1977. That letter also informed plaintiffs that the Township intended to purchase their property either by "amicable negotiation" or by the power of eminent domain. The letter additionally advised plaintiffs that in "the interim period" "no further subdivision nor building will be permitted on your lands." Thereafter, negotiations between the plaintiffs and the Township for purchase of the property broke down. ¹

Two appraisals were made as to the value of the property. In 1978 the property was appraised at $234,500, and in 1980 it was appraised at $400,000. These appraisals were made on the assumption that plaintiffs could make the most profitable use of their property--four residential bayfront properties of approximately 9,200 feet. Thereafter, in 1980, the Township enacted Ordinance No. 81-1C. This authorized for the zone in which plaintiffs' property was located only low-density R-10 use, with minimum lot sizes of 10,000 square feet and minimum width and depth of 75 feet.

Plaintiffs brought suit claiming that Ordinance No. 81-1C was invalid. They alleged that the ordinance was aimed at driving down the market value of their property, was "spot-zoning," and was arbitrary and capricious. Their complaint further alleged procedural irregularities attending the passage of the ordinance. The matter proceeded to trial, and on the first day of trial the Township notified the court that a new ordinance, No. 83-9C, had been passed, which corrected the procedural defects of the prior ordinance. The two ordinances, in fact, are verbatim duplicates of one another, differing only in designation and in citation form to the revised General Ordinances.

The Township contended that the passage of Ordinance No. 83-9C mooted the challenge to Ordinance No. 81-1C. This contention was rejected by the trial court, which also determined that the procedural irregularities attending the passage of Ordinance No. 81-1C were cured by the passage of Ordinance No. 83-9C. The trial court then examined the merits of plaintiffs' claims. It found that although the ordinance purported to apply to a five-block area, the Township had, by deed or contract, acquired all the lots covered by the ordinance except for the lot owned by plaintiffs; the court determined that plaintiffs' property would be the only property in the Township affected by the ordinance. Accordingly, the trial court held that the ordinance was not related to the public welfare, was unreasonable, and, therefore, unconstitutional. As noted, the Appellate Division reversed on the grounds that Ordinance No. 83-9C mooted the challenge to Ordinance No. 81-1C under the "time-of-decision rule," and that the plaintiffs' claim was barred because they had failed to exhaust their administrative remedies in not seeking a variance from the terms of the ordinance.

II.

A time-of-decision rule problem arises when, after a lower court or administrative agency decision, there is a change in the relevant law that governs the disposition of the issues on appeal. The question in such cases is which law should control the reviewing court's decision: the law in effect when the issues arose and were initially presented for the lower tribunal's determination or the new or amended law that is in effect at the time the appellate court must render its decision.

The time-of-decision rule provides that "an appellate court on direct review will apply the statute in effect at the time of its decision, at least when the legislature intended that its modification be retroactive to pending cases." Kruvant v. Mayor & Council Township of Cedar Grove, 82 N.J. 435, 440, 414 A.2d 9 (1980).

The purpose of the principle is to effectuate the current policy declared by the legislative body--a policy which presumably is in the public interest. By applying the presently effective statute, a court does not undercut the legislative intent. Moreover, when a facial attack on a statute is involved, or an injunction is sought against future violations of a statute, the time of decision rule is necessary to avoid rendering an advisory opinion on a moot question. [Ibid.]

Courts have fashioned exceptions to this general rule. For example, when one party has obtained a vested right under the prior law, the later law may not be applied if this will divest that right. See, e.g., S.T.C. Corp. v. Planning Bd. of Township of Hillsborough, 194 N.J.Super. 333, 476 A.2d 888 (App.Div.1984). Additionally, a litigant may be estopped by its conduct on equitable grounds from enjoying the benefits of a change in the law. E.g., Kruvant, supra. ² In this case, unlike most time-of-decision rule cases, there does not appear to be a dispute over which law should apply. Here, all parties appear to concede that the new ordinance governs the case. The narrower issue presented is whether, in implementing the time-of-decision rule, the Appellate Division itself should have decided plaintiff's challenge to the current ordinance, or have remanded the case for lower court determination as to the validity of that ordinance.

Previous cases have presented situations in which a law that is challenged on technical or procedural as well as substantive grounds is, pending an appeal, cured of its technical or procedural defects without any change of its substantive provisions. In Westinghouse Elec. Corp. v. United Elec. Workers Local 410, 139 N.J.Eq. 97, 49 A.2d 896 (E. & A. 1946), a vice-chancellor, in the course of issuing an injunction against union picketing activities, held the New Jersey Anti-Injunction Act unconstitutional on the technical ground that the title to the Act failed to refer sufficiently to the subject-matter of the statute itself. The court also ruled that the statute was unconstitutional on a substantive ground. Pending appeal, the Legislature amended the title to the Act, curing the technical infirmity and rendering the defective title issue moot. However, rather than remanding the case to the trial court for a ruling on the substance of the "new" or amended statute, the Court considered the merits of this issue, ruling ultimately that the lower court's holding that the Act violated the State Constitution was incorrect.

In S & L Associates, Inc. v. Washington Township, 35 N.J. 224, 172 A.2d 657 (1961), the Court disposed of the issues in the same manner as in Westinghouse. The plaintiff in S & L Associates challenged the restrictions imposed by a zoning ordinance, and the presence of two town officials who allegedly suffered from conflicts of interest on the municipal planning board that prepared and adopted the ordinance. In reversing the trial court's dismissal of plaintiff's suit, the Appellate Division upheld the ordinance against plaintiff's substantive attacks, but held the ordinance invalid on the basis of the conflict of interest allegation. While the appeal to the Court was pending, the town passed, without the participation of the offending committee members, a zoning ordinance identical in content to the first enactment. The Court, applying the time-of-decision rule, held the conflict-of-interest issue to be moot and...