TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Developers across the country are keeping tabs on a lawsuit going before the New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday, in which a homebuilder is suing over a township seizing his land to preserve open space.
Developer Michael Procacci Jr. had been planning to build 23 homes on his 16 acres in Mount Laurel before the township used its eminent domain powers to take it. An appellate panel sided with Mount Laurel last year, and Procacci appealed to the state's highest court.
"It is definitely a case to watch closely," Princeton lawyer Bill Potter, who formed the Coalition to Stop Eminent Domain Abuse, told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Sunday newspapers.
The case "could signal what the courts will do" when it gets a case from towns where he believes "significant abuse is taking place," Potter said.
Procacci has the backing of builders' groups. Local governments and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office are supporting Mount Laurel.
Procacci's lawyer, Jeffrey Baron, believes the case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, no matter who prevails at the state level.
The case has drawn attention from critics of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that gave wide latitude to local governments wanting to use eminent domain - their power to seize private property - to promote economic development.
The decision, which involved New London, Conn., allowed states the right to adopt tighter controls on eminent domain use.
In the Mount Laurel case, the township used a state Green Acres grant to help acquire Procacci's tract, once a farm. The land now bears the scars of an abandoned construction project.
"This is pretty much the center of the township. To my way of thinking, this would make an ideal park in the future," Mayor Peter McCaffrey said. "Too much of New Jersey is being eaten up and there's nothing left."
But Baron says the $2.1 million Mount Laurel plans to pay Procacci for the property is only about half of what it is worth.
Procacci himself is also upset that the township stepped in to take the land after he had already won approval for his project.
"It would be almost impossible for anyone to develop a piece of ground in the state of New Jersey if any township can take it away from you after you get all of your approvals," Procacci said.
