New Jersey appeals court holds developer's water and sewer hookup fee waivers bind Old Bridge authority
In an unpublished October 21, 2026, ruling, the court enforced decades-old connection-fee waivers, held they passed to buyers of the developer's land and refused to impose a time limit.
In New Jersey, builders who buy land from a developer holding a prepaid water and sewer hookup agreement may be able to rely on it against the local utilities authority. In Midtown Water Co. v. Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority, No. A-2756-24 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Oct. 21, 2026), the Appellate Division, New Jersey's intermediate appeals court, affirmed as modified a summary judgment of the Law Division in Middlesex County holding the Old Bridge Municipal Utilities Authority to agreements, including a 1986 water agreement and a 1995 sewer agreement, that waive connection fees for a developer's property.
Midtown Water Co. v. Old Bridge Mun. Utils. Auth., No. A-2756-24 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. Oct. 21, 2026) (unpublished); N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 40:14B-20(14), -21, -22