MAIN STREET AT WOOLWICH, LLC, ET AL. VS. AMMONS
SUPERMARKET, INC., ET AL.
A-0713-15T3
After plaintiffs successfully defended against litigation brought by defendants challenging approvals for plaintiffs' shopping complex, plaintiffs filed a complaint against defendants, their attorney, and his firm alleging the litigation was a sham intended only to gain advantage over a competing business.
In a case of first impression, the court adopts the holding in Hanover 3201 Realty, LLC v. Village Supermarkets, Inc., 806 F.3d 162, 180 (3d Cir. 2015), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 136 S. Ct. 2451, 195 L. Ed. 2d 264 (2016), and concludes that, when determining whether a litigant is entitled to immunity under the Noerr-Pennington doctrine, the motion judge was required to consider the allegations in plaintiffs' complaint that the litigation was part of a pattern of sham litigation brought by defendants for the purpose of injuring market rivals rather than to redress actual grievances.
