Margate City, New Jersey v. United States Army Corps of Engineers

The federal district court for the District of New Jersey denied without prejudice the City of Margate’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the Corps and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) from constructing the dune system. The court found that plaintiffs had shown a likelihood of success on the merits on the issue of whether NJDEP deprived them of procedural due process rights. The court described NJDEP’s decision to proceed with condemnation for the dune project through administrative orders rather than through the Eminent Domain Act’s procedures as “baffling.” The court determined, however, that the awarding of a contract by the Corps would not cause irreparable harm because actual construction would not begin until after NJDEP commenced a condemnation proceeding, which it had agreed to do by April 2015. Nor did the balance of harms or the public interest weigh in favor of an injunction. However, in the event the Corps was prepared to begin construction before the condemnation proceeding was filed, the court said plaintiffs could seek reconsideration.

The City of Margate, New Jersey commenced a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to prevent the agencies from commencing a sand dune construction project on the City’s beaches. The City claimed that implementation of the project would violate the U.S. and New Jersey constitutions, would constitute a trespass, and would violate New Jersey law. The complaint also alleged that NJDEP had failed to comply with the requirements of New Jersey’s Eminent Domain Act of 1971.