The high court won’t take up the state’s appeal of a ruling that ordered the Economic Development Authority to issue millions in tax incentives. (Getty Images)
New Jersey’s Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to reexamine a lower court ruling that found the state Economic Development Authority improperly sought to rescind tax incentives awarded to energy company Holtec International.
The high court’s action will keep in place a November 2023 appellate ruling that affirmed a trial court decision ordering the authority to issue disputed tax incentives it had paused over alleged faults in the energy firm’s tax incentive applications.
The authority awarded Holtec $260 million in tax incentives to relocate its offices from Marlton to Camden in 2014 under the Christie administration. The company dismantles nuclear power sites.
Under Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration, the agency sought to pause those incentives, which were to be paid out over 10 years, alleging the firm had failed to disclose in applications a 10-day debarment it received in Tennessee in 2010 and had misrepresented an offer of free land from South Carolina.
Holtec sued the authority in March 2020, alleging breach of contract and related offenses over the stalled incentives.
Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy ruled in the firm’s favor, finding the authority knew a tax incentive application question on debarment was vague.
It was unclear, he wrote, whether the question required applicants to disclose only current debarments, and it was implausible that Holtec would attempt to conceal the Tennessee debarment because information about it was readily available online.
He found land costs were not a material factor in the Economic Development Authority’s handling of Holtec’s tax incentive application.
Scrutiny of Holtec’s $260 million tax incentive award began after a task force convened by Murphy accused the firm and others with ties to Democratic power broker George Norcross of falsely threatening to leave the state to obtain voluminous tax incentives from New Jersey. Norcross was a longtime Holtec board member until last year.
Holtec in January agreed to pay the state a $5 million penalty and install a monitor to oversee its use of state funds to avoid criminal charges over an unrelated $1 million tax incentive award. The settlement agreement did not include an admission of guilt.
Spokespeople for the company and the Economic Development Authority did not immediately return requests for comment.
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