Post by Anthony S. Bocchi

Winning cures everything. Bocchi Law represents the City of North Wildwood in what we believe is an extraordinary case: a New Jersey municipality suing the State of New Jersey for the collapse of a major federally authorized shore protection project. This morning, we secured a major victory in Cape May County Superior Court before Assignment Judge Susan Sheppard. This case arises from the collapse of the $54 million Hereford Inlet to Cape May Inlet Coastal Storm Risk Management Project, a congressionally authorized, federally funded shore protection project that was designed to protect the barrier island communities of Five Mile Island from coastal erosion and storm damage. All that funding is now gone. The United States Army Corps of Engineers suspended the Project and redirected its funding in November 2025 after NJDEP failed to secure the real property interests necessary for construction of the project. North Wildwood performed every obligation asked of it. It donated its easements, spent approximately $28.5 million in emergency shoreline protection measures to keep its beaches and infrastructure intact while waiting for the federal Project to be delivered, and consistently reaffirmed its commitment to the Project at every stage. The City did everything right. The Project failed anyway because the State could not deliver. We filed suit on behalf of the City and the New Jersey Attorney General's Office moved to dismiss the City's claims on multiple grounds, including failure to state a claim, collateral estoppel, third-party beneficiary bars, the New Jersey Contractual Liability Act, and a request for a more definite statement. The Court rejected every one of those arguments and denied the motion. The case will now proceed to discovery—and we intend to move aggressively regarding the NJDEP's efforts, or lack thereof, to obtain the necessary easements, preserve the Project, and fulfill its contractual obligations. We feel blessed to have earned the trust and confidence of the City of North Wildwood in this monumental litigation. Tens of millions of dollars are at stake, and the stakes extend beyond money: they go to the long-term viability of a coastal community that has been left exposed by the State's failure to deliver a Project it committed to sponsor. #litigation #NewJersey #shoreprotection #northwildwood #victory #coastalresilience #BocchiLaw #WinWithUS