The Municipalities File Their Motion to Intervene...(NJDEP v City of Trenton and TWW)

I wanted to take a moment to inform you that Lawrence, Hamilton, and Ewing have joined together to file a motion to intervene in the case captioned NJDEP v. City of Trenton and TWW which commenced last month.  The details of which I explained in a blog article dated, June 19, 2020.  

A "motion to intervene" is a legal process in which a party (or parties in our case) request to participate in a civil action that has been filed by one party (the "Plaintiff(s)") against another (the "Defendant(s)").  The "intervenors" must prove to the court that they have an interest in the case, and that any disposition of it (i.e., settlement or judgment) will impact them in some substantive way and, therefore, they should have the opportunity to protect their rights and participate in the case.  

There are, of course, other legal considerations for a Judge to consider before making a decision, but what I have described is the main element.  It is my opinion that the facts and circumstances involved clearly indicate that the Court should allow the Townships to intervene and participate in the matter.  But I am not the Judge, so we wait for a decision.  

I am providing you with a copy of the "letter brief" that the Townships submitted along with their motion to intervene.  A letter brief is a document submitted to the Court by a party that provides the legal and factual arguments to convince a judge to decide in that party's favor on whatever issue is being presented. In our case, the issue is whether to allow the Townships to be permitted to participate as a party in the civil action against the City of Trenton and TWW.  

The link to that document is here: https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:495868b6-a952-4473-9b07-4d1211e1bc54

The letter brief includes the following observation, "The right to clean water is a human and constitutional right.  This is not negotiable.  It is clear that Trenton and TWW have repeatedly and egregiously missed benchmarks in fulfilling their obligation to provide safe and clean drinking water for the customers of TWW, which include residents of Plaintiff-Intervener Municipalities." 

For those of you who want to review the pleadings (i.e. documents filed by a party in support of their motion), I am providing the following links:

The Motion to Intervene:  https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:d5d680de-2c99-4f1c-bbc8-71a7965eeb2f

The Certifications of Counsel in Support of Motion:  https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:d45a3103-90fd-404b-9534-281f6cab4726

Exhibits attached to Motion (including Complaint): https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:e48bedc7-b523-4d3d-9fe4-c6bc5ce9066e

If you want to know the specifics regarding what the Townships are demanding, you should review the complaint which is provided in the above link.  

I will keep you informed as we progress through this process.  As of today, August 13, 2020 is the date set by the court as the hearing date.  Stay tuned!