A federal judge has ordered Toms River to pay nearly $30,000 in attorneys’ fees amid two ongoing lawsuits involving the township’s zoning board and shuls whose applications were denied nearly a decade ago.
The legal battle stems from the township’s rejection of zoning applications submitted by Bais Brucha and Khal Anshei Tallymawr, who sought permission to establish shuls in residential areas. The denials, which plaintiffs say were fueled by anti-Semitic opposition, drew federal scrutiny after the Chabad Jewish Center, led by Rabbi Moshe Gourarie, filed a lawsuit in 2016 challenging an earlier zoning board decision blocking minyanim in his home.
Following that case, the U.S. Department of Justice launched an investigation into alleged discrimination by the township’s zoning practices. Toms River eventually reached a settlement with the DOJ, but the lawsuits filed by Bais Brucha and Khal Anshei Tallymawr continued. Federal judges issued partial dismissals in those cases, allowing both shuls to amend their complaints in early 2023.
In his ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Arpert Quinn sharply criticized Toms River for repeatedly failing to turn over documents and information required by court order. The township’s delay led to a contempt finding and an order to pay the plaintiffs’ legal fees as a sanction.
“It simply is not reasonable for counsel to claim that they spent over a month’s worth of billable hours on one partially briefed motion,” Judge Quinn wrote, rejecting the plaintiffs’ original request for more than $100,000 in legal fees and labeling parts of their billing “excessive” and “vague.” Instead, he awarded a reduced amount of $29,982.50.
Toms River’s attorneys have since confirmed that the township will provide all remaining discovery materials by October 27, with a status hearing scheduled for November 3.
This is their process to destroy existing communities and establish their own non welcoming community at everyone else’s expense.
Imagine the roles reversed…
go back into your hole….