Township Council Meeting — Agenda

the extent any other lawyer, law firm or other professional seeks fees and expenses, RELEASOR shall indemnify RELEASEES from any such claims. 13. The RELEASOR agrees to cooperate fully and sign any and all supplementary documents and take all additional actions necessary to give full force and effect to the terms of this Release and Settlement Agreement. 14. Waiver of Fee Recovery. Except as set forth herein, both RELEASOR and RELEASEES waive any and all rights to recover attorney’s fees or costs. 15. Entire Agreement. This Release and Settlement Agreement constitutes the entire agreement by and among the Parties. This Release and Settlement Agreement shall not be modified or altered except in writing signed by the Parties. This Release and Settlement Agreement may not be changed orally. This Release and Settlement Agreement is the result of a negotiated settlement and may not be construed as having been prepared by the Parties. 16. Jurisdiction and Governing Law. The Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex Vicinage shall have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate matters arising out of or in connection with this Release and Settlement Agreement. The Parties hereby consent to the jurisdiction of such court and waive any right they may otherwise have to challenge the appropriateness of the forum. This Release and Settlement Agreement shall be governed exclusively by and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws of the State of New Jersey. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the RELEASOR, intending to be legally bound, has executed this Release and Settlement Agreement consisting of seven (7) pages this _______ day of July, 2022. [continued on the next page] 5

KEVIN MALANGA STATE OF NEW JERSEY ) ) SS: COUNTY OF __________ ) On the _______ day of July, in the year 2022, before me personally came KEVIN MALANGA, to me known, who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and say that he is the person described in and who executed the foregoing Release. Attorney or Notary Public of the State of New Jersey 6

JOINDER BY LAW OFFICES OF WALTER M. LUERS, LLC AND COHN LIFLAND PEARLMAN HERRMANN & KNOPF, LLP With regard to the Civil Action, the Law Offices of Walter M. Luers LLC (“Luers”) and Cohn Lifland Pearlman Herrmann & Knopf, LLP (together, “Firms”) waive and release any claim for legal or other fees and expenses. The Firms represent and warrant that to the best of their knowledge, information and belief no other attorney or other professional has been involved in the pursuit of this matter. LAW OFFICES OF WALTER M. LUERS, LLC By: ___________________________________ Walter M. Luers COHN LIFLAND PEARLMAN HERRMANN & KNOPF LLP By: ___________________________________ Walter M. Luers A Member of the Firm STATE OF NEW JERSEY ) ) SS: COUNTY OF __________ ) On the _______ day of July, in the year 2022, before me personally came WALTER M. LUERS, to me known, who, being by me duly sworn, did depose and say that he is the person described in and who executed the foregoing Release. Attorney or Notary Public of the State of New Jersey 7

COHN LIFLAND PEARLMAN HERRMANN & KNOPF LLP Walter M. Luers, Esq., No. 034041999 Attorneys for Plaintiff Park 80 West - Plaza One 250 Pehle Avenue, Suite 401 Saddle Brook, New Jersey 07663 (201) 845-9600 Our File No. 41072-1 KEVIN MALANGA, SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION Plaintiff-Appellant, DOCKET NO. A-002287-19 v. Civil Action TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE AND Sat Below: KAREN J. CARNEVALE IN HER HON. BRIDGET A. STECHER, J.S.C. CAPACITY AS MUNICIPAL CLERK AND RECORDS CUSTODIAN OF THE Docket No. Below: TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE, ESX-L-2761-19 Defendants-Appellants. PLAINTIFF’S APPENDIX (PA001 to PA069)

Appendix Table of Contents Page May 3,, 2022 Opinion of the Court. . . . . . . . . . . Pa001 Law Offices of Walter M. Luers Invoice . . . . . . . . Pa031 Opinion, Gannett Satellite Information Network v. Township of Neptune, MON-L-2616-17 . . . . . . . . . . Pa033 Opinion, Montez v. Town of Morristown, MRS-L-300-20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pa042 Affidavit of Services, The Evening Journal Association v. City of Bayonne, HUD-L-2103-17. . . . . Pa058 Opinion, One Journal Square Partners Urban Renewal Company LLC v. City of Jersey City, HUD-L-3888-18. . . Pa063 Philadelphia Community Legal Services Survey . . . . . Pa068 i

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3. SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-2287-19 KEVIN MALANGA, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. TOWNSHIP OF WEST ORANGE and KAREN J. CARNEVALE in her official capacity as Municipal Clerk and Records Custodian of the Township of West Orange, Defendants-Respondents. ____________________________ Submitted October 12, 2021 - Decided May 3, 2022 Before Judges Fasciale and Vernoia. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Essex County, Docket No. L-2761-19. Walter M. Luers, attorney for appellant. Trenk Isabel, PC, attorneys for respondents (Richard D. Trenk, on the brief). Pa001

PER CURIAM Plaintiff Kevin Malanga filed a verified complaint claiming defendants Township of West Orange and Karen J. Carnevale, in her official capacity as the Township's municipal clerk and custodian of records, violated the Open Public Records Act (OPRA), N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 to - 13, and his common law right of access to government records by denying his request for unredacted copies of thirty-three emails. The Township claimed the emails are protected from disclosure under the attorney-client privilege and the advisory, consultative, and deliberative exception to the definition of government records under OPRA. Plaintiff appeals from a December 27, 2019 order granting defendants summary judgment dismissal of the complaint and denying his cross-motion for summary judgment. We reverse in part the court's order granting defendants summary judgment, vacate in part the court's order granting defendants summary judgment, affirm the court's order denying plaintiff's cross-motion for summary judgment, and remand for further proceedings. A-2287-19 2 Pa002

I. We glean the following undisputed material facts from the parties' respective statements of material fact submitted in accordance with Rule 4:46- 2(a) and (b) in support of their respective summary judgment motions.1 Plaintiff is a resident and property owner in the Township. The Township "is a 'public agency'" under OPRA. See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 (defining "public agency" in part to include "any political subdivision of the State"); see also Fair Share Hous. Ctr. Inc. v. N.J. State League of Municipalities, 207 N.J. 489, 504 (2011) (noting municipalities are "political subdivisions" of the State) . "The law firm of McManimon, Scotland & Baumann, LLC, through its attorneys, Richard D. Trenk, Esq.[,] . . . Mark Y. Moon, Esq.[,] . . . and Tiena M. Cofoni, Esq.[,] . . . act[ed] as" the Township's counsel at all times pertinent to plaintiff's claims. Defendant Karen "Carnevale is the [m]unicipal [c]lerk of the Township and, in that capacity, is the designated records custodian of the Tow nship for purposes of OPRA." See N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1.1 ("'Custodian of a government 1 Plaintiff admitted each of the facts in defendants' statement of material facts supporting their summary judgment motion. Defendants admitted three of the seven assertions of fact set forth in plaintiff's counterstatement of material facts that was submitted in opposition to defendants' motion and in support of plaintiff's cross-motion. In our view, the disputed facts are not material to the disposition of the issues presented on appeal. A-2287-19 3 Pa003

record' or 'custodian' means in the case of a municipality, the municipal clerk . . . ."). In separate resolutions adopted by the Township Council on November 27, 2018, and January 8, 2019, the Township directed the West Orange planning board (planning board) "to conduct a preliminary investigation . . . to determine whether [the Township's public library] should be designated as an area in need of redevelopment" pursuant to the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 to -89. See N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-5 (outlining the criteria under which "[a] delineated area may be determined to be in need of redevelopment"). In the November 27, 2018 resolution, the Township authorized the planning board to retain Heyer, Gruel & Associates (HGA) — a professional planning firm — to prepare a report concerning whether the Township library "met the criteria of an area in need of redevelopment." 2 "Jack Baree . . . and Susan Gruel . . . are professional planners employed by HGA." 2 The record on appeal does not include the Township Council's November 27, 2018 resolution authorizing the planning Board to retain HGA to prepare the report. The transcript of the November 27, 2018 Township council meeting includes a discussion of the resolution and, during the meeting, the Township's attorney Richard D. Trenk explains the Township is permitted to authorize the planning board to hire HGA to provide the planning board with the "tools to" A-2287-19 4 Pa004

In a March 12, 2019 resolution, the planning board noted HGA had been "engaged to conduct a study and make recommendations as to whether the [library] met the criteria as an area in need of redevelopment." The planning board's resolution further stated HGA "conduct[ed] a study and prepare[d] a report dated February 6, 2019," and that, based on the report and testimony provided by Susan Gruel, the planning board recommended the Township Council designate the library as an area in need of development. One week later, the Township Council adopted a March 19, 2019 resolution explaining it had directed the planning board to conduct a preliminary investigation as to whether the library was an area in need of redevelopment and finding HGA had presented its study to the planning board "for its consideration in determining whether the [library] should be designated an [a]rea in [n]eed of [d]evelopment." The Township Council's March 19, 2019 resolution further stated the planning board had completed its investigation, conducted a hearing, and recommended the Township Council find the library was an area in need of redevelopment, and that the Township Council accepted the planning board's recommendation. perform its function of considering, and making a recommendation, whether the library was an area in need of redevelopment. A-2287-19 5 Pa005