B. P. Oil, Inc. v. State

379 A.2d 1051, 153 N.J. Super. 389, 1977 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1124
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedOctober 13, 1977
StatusPublished

This text of 379 A.2d 1051 (B. P. Oil, Inc. v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
B. P. Oil, Inc. v. State, 379 A.2d 1051, 153 N.J. Super. 389, 1977 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1124 (N.J. Ct. App. 1977).

Opinion

Trautwein, A. J. S. C.

This is a motion by defendant State of New Jersey to dismiss the first count of plaintiff’s complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can [390]*390be granted. In the alternative, the State moves for summary judgment on the First Count in its favor.

Plaintiff owns a tract of land in Linden, which is located .in Union County, New Jersey. Part of that tract was subject to a tidelands claim by the State. As a result, plaintiff applied to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection in 1971 for a conveyance of the State’s interest in the tract. On March 13, 1974 the Natural Besource Council in the Department of Environmental Protection approved the conveyance of the State’s interest to plaintiff for the sum of $160,000. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection also authorized this conveyance.

Plaintiff’s application for the conveyance was' then forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office. Although the Attorney General’s approval is not statutorily required, the Governor, who must approve any conveyance of the State’s tideland interests, apparently will not sign such a conveyance without the Attorney General’s agreement. The Attorney General considered the sum of $160,000 to be inadequate and returned plaintiff’s application to the Natural Besource Council. The Attorney General had relied upon an appraisal of plaintiff’s tract by James Hyde, the Director of Bight of Way in the Department of Transportation. Hyde valued the State’s interest in plaintiff’s tract at $215,000.

In comparative terms, the Natural Besource Council’s figure of $160,000 represented $60,000 for the defined watercourses on plaintiff’s tract and $100,000 for the roughly 100 acres remaining which were subject to a tidelands claim. The Attorney General’s figure of $215,000 represented $103,000 for watercourses and $112,000 for the remaining 100 acres.

Continuing negotiations having failed, plaintiff filed a complaint in lieu of prerogative writs against the State in the Superior Court, Hudson County, in December 1975. The first count of the complaint alleged that the Attorney General’s refusal to forward plaintiff’s application to the [391]*391Governor was arbitrary and capricious. Plaintiff demanded that the appropriate officials be compelled to grant plaintiff’s application at a consideration comparable to prior grants to persons situated similarly to plaintiff. The second count of the complaint alleged that the unresolved tidelands claim by the State had improperly clouded plaintiff’s title. Plaintiff correspondingly demanded that title to the tract be quieted solely in plaintiff. Venue in the action was changed from Hudson County to Bergen County in February 1976.

In April 1976 plaintiff moved for partial summary judgment on its second count. On July 9, 1976 this court entered partial summary judgment in plaintiff’s favor and quieted title in the tract in plaintiff, except for clearly defined watercourses. The property description in the July 1976 order was amended by an order of December 13, 1976.

In June 1977 plaintiff moved to compel the deposition of James Hyde, the Director of Eight of Way in the Department of Transportation, in order to prosecute the first count of the complaint. Hearing on this motion was adjourned until September 15, 1977. Defendant State of New Jersey also moved on September 15, 1977 to dismiss the first count or, in the alternative, for summary judgment on that Count. The court heard argument on September 15, 1977 only as to the State’s motion to dismiss, since a determination in the State’s favor would obviate the necessity of compelling Hyde’s deposition.

The State’s contention is that the court cannot compel the Executive Branch, as proprietary holder of tide-flowed lands, to convey a tidelands interest to a private person. More specifically, the State contends that the Natural Be-source Council’s original approval of a conveyance to plaintiff for $160,000 is immaterial because the Council, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Governor are each statutorily required to exercise discretion and to give independent approvals. Conceding that the Council [392]*392alone can set the consideration, the State holds that any consideration is meaningless without the Governor’s approval.

Plaintiff, on the other hand, contends that once the Natural Resource Council has concluded that the public interest will only be served by a conveyance of a certain tidelands interest, the Council, the Commissioner and the Governor must convey at fair market value. Plaintiff cites N. J. S. A. 13:1B-13.9 for the proposition that the fair market value is the figure approved by the Council as the necessary consideration. In the alternative, plaintiff contends that equal protection of the law permits the court to determine fair market value.

The statutory requirements for the conveyancing of the State tidelands located within meadowlands are primarily contained in chapter IB of Title 13 of the New Jersey Statutes Annotated. A person desiring a conveyance of the State’s interest in any tidelands must make an application to the Natural Resource ouncil. N. J. S. A. 13 :1B-13.7; N. J. S. A. 13 :1B-I3.1(d); N. J. S. A. 13:lD-3(b).

The Council must forward copies of the application to various state agencies. N. J. S. A. 13:1B-13.8. Then, subject to the recommendations of the various state 'agencies, the Council must determine if the conveyance will be in the public interest. N. J. S. A. 13:1B-I3.9. If the conveyance is in the public interest, the Council “shall” approve the application. N. J. S. A. 13:1B-13.9. Thereafter,

"* * * [t]he council shall further determine the fair market value, of the property at the time of the * * * conveyance * * * and shall fix the proper consideration to be charged * * [N. J. S. A. 13: IB-13,9]

However, no grants shall be allowed “except when approved and signed by the Governor and the. Commissioner” of Environmental Protection. N. J. S. A. 13:1.B-13; N. J. S. A. 13 :lB-2. Upon payment off the consideration, the Council “and "the appropriate State officers” shall convey [393]*393the premises by deed under seal of the State. N. J. S. A. 13:1B-13.9. See generally, N. J. S. A. 13:1B-13.14; N. J. S. A. 12:3-7; N. J. S. A. 13:1B-I3.7(c).

Prior to the enactment of chapter IB of Title 13, the Attorney General, along with the Council and the Governor, was responsible for fixing the consideration for any tideland grant. N. J. S. A. 12:3-7. Under chapter IB of Title 13, the Attorney General is still responsible, regarding tidelands located in meadowlands, for preparing the deed and along with the Secretary of State, for attesting it. See N. J. S. A. 13:1B-14; N. J. S. A. 13 :1B-13.9; N. J. S. A. 12:3-7. See also, LeCompte v. State, 128 N. J. Super. 552, 561 ,(App. Div. 1974), cert. den. 66 N. J. 321 (1974).

Plaintiff contends that once the Council has determined the conveyance would be in the public interest, the Governor can be compelled to approve the conveyance at the fair market value determined by the Council. This is contradictory to the statute itself, which says that a grant will not be allowed “except when approved and signed by the Governor.” N. J. S. A.

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Bluebook (online)
379 A.2d 1051, 153 N.J. Super. 389, 1977 N.J. Super. LEXIS 1124, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/b-p-oil-inc-v-state-njsuperctappdiv-1977.