In re Marlboro Township, issued on August 7, 2015, the Superior Court affirmed COAH’s denial of the township’s third-round re-petition for substantive certification and dismissal from its jurisdiction. Since COAH found Marlboro “failed to act in good faith” in the second and third round processes, the Court also rejected Marlboro’s argument that it deserves “participating status”, noting that “[I]o do otherwise would render the term ‘participation’ meaningless”, pursuant to the 2015 Supreme Court decision In re Adoption of N.J.A.C. 5:96 and 5:97. The Court held that Marlboro is subject to builder’s remedy litigation “as if it had never submitted to COAH’s jurisdiction in the first instance” and that “[I]f Marlboro indeed intends to fulfill its obligations in good faith, it can now make that demonstration to a judge.”

Link to decision: Click here