Various news articles discussing the case and outcome:

Ouch-Tabor Total Adding Up!
SHORE PUBLISHING  -  12/20/07

"In a sobering reminder of the cost that the recent court decision concerning the Tabor Drive legal matter has been to taxpayers, the RTM last week appropriated another $1 million to help pay the expected litigation costs. The RTM set aside the necessary funds in a unanimous vote, but town officials are vowing a fight to reverse the shocking decision rendered against Branford this past summer, when a circuit judge ordered the town to cough up more than $18 million to compensate the developers and owners of the 75-acre parcel. ..."


Superior Court denies Town motion to set aside jury verdict
SUPERIOR COURT  -  12/12/07

"The motion to set aside the verdicts and for a new trial having been heard by the court are denied as this court has already ruled on the arguments presented by the Town of Branford in support of these motions. The motion for remittitur having been heard by the court if is hereby denied..."


Judging Eminent Domain
THE NEW YORK TIMES  -  12/02/07

"THE recent $12.4 million jury verdict against the Town of Branford for eminent-domain abuse signals the public’s heightened sensitivity to the issue, said lawyers for both sides in the case.

The September verdict, which the town is expected to appeal, should serve as a warning to municipalities trying to appropriate privately owned land without a legitimate public purpose. It can be “a high-risk proposition,” said Timothy S. Hollister, a lawyer for the development company and landowners who sued the town in Superior Court in Waterbury..."


A Lesson In Misuse Of Power
THE HARTFORD COURANT  -  11/11/07

"If only local officials would concentrate on their easy promises. Encourage economic development. Run the town like a business. Raze old schools. Build new ones. Instead, there lurks about them the temptation of power.

Some of last week's victors will mistake success at the polls with a license to abuse power in the name of the people. Stay alert for signs that the humble are acquiring a taste for the grandiose. Watch for the ones who enjoy hearing themselves addressed by their titles..."


Bad Faith In Branford?
THE HARTFORD COURANT  -  09/14/07

"A private development company and the former owners of a 77-acre parcel have secured a staggering $12.4 million verdict against the town of Branford in an eminent domain abuse case that appears to be unprecedented nationally.

A Superior Court jury in Waterbury determined that Branford officials acted in bad faith when they voted in 2003 to take the land, which has been earmarked by the Monroe-based New England Estates development group for multiple-family housing in the range of 268 to 354 units..."