Political powerbroker George Norcross is appealing last week’s decision to throw out a lawsuit seeking to shut down the Murphy administration’s scrutiny of New Jersey’s now-expired, corporate tax break program.
An attorney for Norcross – who has been at the center of the task force’s scrutiny over how companies close to him may have unfairly won incentives – filed the appeal Monday against Mercer County Judge Mary Jacobson’s July 31 decision.
Jacobson tossed the plaintiff’s arguments with prejudice, meaning they would be barred from again bringing those allegations against the state.
“Defendants have indicated they intend to continue their unlawful public investigation of plaintiffs,” reads the 11-page notice. “There is no potential to settle the matter or simplify the issues.”
Ted Wells, representing the administration, on June 17, 2019 called the Norcross group’s lawsuit a “brazen attempt” to bury the Murphy task force’s findings. – AARON HOUSTON
The attorneys are also arguing that Jacobson made a procedural error by “converting the defendants’ motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment.”
Ted Wells, the attorney for the task force and Murphy administration, said the lawsuit was simply an effort to block the investigation, describing the move as “arrogance.”
The plaintiffs argued Murphy did not have the authority to create such a task force with the powers he gave it, that the task force was unlawfully going after Norcross-tied companies to settle a political score for the governor, that it was not a legitimate investigation, and that they be given the chance to cross-examine task force witnesses and provide their own evidence; Jacobson disagreed with all their arguments.
“The people are entitled to know what this investigation is revealing about the [Economic Development Authority],” Jacobson read from the bench.
The appeal was filed by Herbert Stern, the attorney for Cooper University Health Care, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, where Norcross is an executive.
They filed an application for the court to hear the appeal right away, known as an “emergent motion,” but were denied by the court because the attorney could not demonstrate a “threat of irreparable injury or a situation in which the interests of justice otherwise require” if the case was not immediately settled.
A spokesperson for the governor’s office and Norcross could not be reached for comment.
Stern – NJBIZ FILE PHOTO
The other plaintiffs, all of which have also been scrutinized by the task force over how they may have unfairly won corporate tax breaks, are insurance firm Conner Strong & Buckelew where Norcross is an executive, NFI and The Michaels Organization.
Parker McCay – a law firm where George’s brother Philip is a partner, that did not win any tax breaks, but which allegedly wrote many of the incentive-creating bills – is also a plaintiff.
Gov. Phil Murphy convened the task force in January to investigate how businesses applied for Grow New Jersey tax breaks, and how the program was crafted, following a state audit that found glaring holes in the Economic Development Authority’s oversight of the program.
Murphy let the program expire, arguing it was “rigged” and provided questionable economic benefits to the state.
