Last we checked in, the case we've been referring to as the "bizarre condemnation" (Klumpp v. Borough of Avalon) was decided by the unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court in favor of the property owners, and remanded to the trial court for a determination of the compensation owed to the property owners, who had their land taken by the Borough in 1965.
A few days ago, the trial court issued its decision, concluding that the compensation owed to the property owners were owed the fair market value of the property in 1965 ($5,400) plus interest at 8-9%, for a total of $284,802. The property owners claimed the value of what they lost was considerably more, since the Borough offered other property owners whose properties were taken different beachfront parcels in exchange, but never notified the Klumpps of that option. If they had been able to acquire an exchange property, its present value would be $5.5 million.
What makes this decision weird is that the judge felt it necessary to tell a version of an old joke to explain why he was not buying the property owners' expert's testimony:
A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job.The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks "What do two plus two equal?" The mathematician replies "Four." The interviewer asks "Four, exactly?" The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says "Yes, four, exactly."
The interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The accountant says "On average, four – give or take ten percent, but on average, four."
Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer and says "What do you want it to equal?"
We've heard a slightly different blush on that joke, one where the third interviewee is a lawyer (which we think makes it slightly funnier). Because this was not a "traditional interest rate analysis," the judge rejected the testimony.
Is an appeal in the cards? Perhaps so, if this report from the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Couple to get $284,802 for Avalon property seized in 1965" is any indication.