Ryan v. Mayor & Council of Demarest
New Jersey Supreme Court
319 A.2d 442 (1974)

- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Beechwood Farms was a development straddling the Borough of Demarest (defendant) and the Borough of Alpine. Approximately half of the development’s 30 homes were in Demarest and half in Alpine. Frank Ryan and the other owners of the Beechwood Farms homes in Demarest (the homeowners) plaintiffs) filed a petition to disconnect their homes from Demarest to enable them to join Alpine. Demarest denied the homeowners’ petition. The homeowners appealed to state court. At trial, Demarest presented evidence that the borough’s operating costs, such as costs for police officers and firefighters, would not decrease as a result of the disconnection. However, Demarest would lose all the homes’ tax revenue, which was relatively significant given that the homes were valued higher than the average Demarest home. There was also evidence that the homeowners participated in social and political activities in Demarest. The trial court ruled in the homeowners’ favor. The appellate court affirmed. Demarest appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Clifford, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 815,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.