Judge dismisses ethics lawsuit against county, former freeholders

MOUNT HOLLY — A Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit accusing two former Burlington County freeholders of violating state ethics laws when they voted in 2018 to authorize county road closures for the construction of a controversial natural gas pipeline.

Superior Court Judge Kathi Fiamingo granted a motion dismissing the lawsuit against the Burlington County Board of Freeholders and former freeholders Kate Gibbs and Latham Tiver, finding that neither official violated the Local Government Ethics Law when they voted in support of a resolution allowing the closure of routes 528 and 664 for the construction of New Jersey Natural Gas’ Southern Reliability Link pipeline.

The 30-mile, high-pressure line is planned to run through Ocean, Monmouth and Burlington counties, where it will connect with a new compressor station in Chesterfield.

Work has already been completed in Ocean and Monmouth counties, leaving the Burlington County section as the final work left to complete before the company can put the project into service after years of delays due to regulatory and permitting issues, as well as several court fights with environmental groups.

The ethics lawsuit was brought by the nonprofit Pinelands Preservation Alliance. It sought to have the freeholder board’s December 2018 vote declared “null and void” because Gibbs and Tiver are employed by a building trades union that advocated for the pipeline.

The freeholder board was still under Republican control at the time, and the GOP majority of carried the 3-2 vote over the Democrats. Since then Democrats have taken control of all five freeholder seats.

Construction of the pipeline through Burlington County also started this week, though without either of the road closures authorized in 2018. Instead, traffic is being permitted to travel on both highways while the utility work is being performed using alternate lanes of travel.

The lawsuit alleged Gibbs and Tiver were in conflict when they voted because of their connections to the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 825, a building trades union that had advocated in support of building the pipeline and whose members were hired to help construct portions of it in Ocean County.

Gibbs, who is no longer a freeholder, is director of business development for the Engineers Labor-Employer Cooperative 825, which helps find work for members of IOUE Local 825. Tiver, who lost his seat on the board during last year’s election, is a business representative for the union. Both were named as co-defendants in the lawsuit.

During the Dec. 12 vote, Gibbs, who was director at the time, said the county solicitor and outside attorneys reviewed the issue and determined there was no conflict.

In her decision, Fiamingo cited the fact the two Republicans received advance legal advice on the issue. She also rejected an argument from the alliance that the road closures were essential to the pipeline’s construction and that the union would likely benefit from the approval of the road closures.

“Having considered (Pineland Preservation Alliance’s) submissions and assertions, the court perceives a significant disconnect between PPA's argument that Local 825 supported the construction of the (pipeline) and its conclusion that Tiver and Gibbs vote on the resolution furthered that interest such that there was a conflict of interest on their part,” Fiamingo wrote in her decision.

“The only matter before the Freeholders on December 12, 2018 was the issuance of a road occupancy permit that would permit NJNG to engage in road closures during the construction affecting various roads in Burlington County. Neither an affirmative vote nor a denial would have affected the actual construction of the SRL. That decision was not within the purview of the Freeholders,” the judge added.

Fiamingo also noted that at the time of the vote, the utility company had no contracts for construction of the pipeline through Burlington County.

Medford attorney, Paul Leodori, who represented the alliance in the case, said the judge’s decision was disappointing. He said no decision has been made yet about whether the organization will file an appeal.

Gibbs, who is currently running for the 3rd Congressional District seat held by Democrat incumbent Andy Kim, mentioned the lawsuit’s dismissal on Tuesday night during her debate against GOP primary opponent David Richter.

Richter had cited the lawsuit while raising questions about Gibbs ethics, but the former freeholder responded it had just been dismissed.