Constitutional Law
Jun. 25, 2025
Of pickleball, pretext and prayer
Could a New Jersey township's plan to condemn a church for pickleball courts eventually become the U.S. Supreme Court case that finally defines what constitutes "pretextual" eminent domain?
Michael M. Berger
Senior Counsel
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP
2049 Century Park East
Los Angeles , CA 90067
Phone: (310) 312-4185
Fax: (310) 996-6968
Email: mmberger@manatt.com
USC Law School
Michael M. Berger is senior counsel at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP, where he is co-chair of the Appellate Practice Group. He has argued four takings cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Do you remember the old Joni Mitchell song about paving paradise to put up a parking lot? Sometimes nature imitates art. In the township of Toms River, N.J., the government is preparing to confiscate Christ Episcopal Church and the 11 acres on which it sits. Why, you ask? Is the church a nuisance? Did it do something wrong? Do people not attend its services? Nope.
It is the 11 acres underlying the church that the township covets. You see, the mayor and g...
For only $95 a month (the price of 2 article purchases)
Receive unlimited article access and full access to our archives,
Daily Appellate Report, award winning columns, and our
Verdicts and Settlements.
Or
$795 for an entire year!
Or access this article for $45
(Purchase provides 7-day access to this article. Printing, posting or downloading is not allowed.)
Already a subscriber?
Sign In