Five South Jersey municipalities agree to settlement in class-action lawsuit over vacant property fees

Five Camden County towns could owe some current and former property owners more than half a million dollars collectively as part of a proposed settlement in a class-action lawsuit involving vacant and abandoned properties.

The case alleges that the vacant and abandoned property registration programs previously operated in Barrington, Bellmawr, Runnemede, Voorhees, and Gloucester Township violated New Jersey law. These programs were in place largely to prevent blight by funding the town’s upkeep of vacant properties, but the suit alleges that for a time, the towns were collecting fees unlawfully.

Many of the property owners who were forced to pay fees to these programs had never actually abandoned or vacated their homes, the suit alleges, and the towns unlawfully earned a revenue from these fees as a result.

The settlement proposes a fund of about $545,600. The amount contributed by each town varies based on the total amount collected through program fees, said Stephen DeNittis, an attorney representing plaintiffs in the case.

Here is how much each town will have to pay if the settlement is approved:

Because it is a class-action lawsuit, the proposed settlement still needs to be approved by a court, DeNittis said.

A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 14, and if preliminary approval is granted, notices will be sent out within 30 days informing other potential claimants of the case and providing instructions on how to file a claim if they paid into their town’s vacant property program between 2018 and 2022.

Claimants can file for a simple refund of $200, or they could receive 60% of the total amount they paid into the program if they can provide sufficient documentation and proof of payment, DeNittis said.

As part of the settlement, the towns do not admit any liability or wrongdoing.

Officials with both Voorhees Township and Runnemede Borough independently declined to comment on the case, saying they do not publicly discuss litigation. The other municipalities named in the lawsuit did not respond to a request for comment.

Assuming the court grants preliminary approval of the settlement in August, DeNittis said, a final approval hearing will likely be held later this fall.