SKT Management Limited Liability Company is challenging a local ordinance in New Jersey that restricts the operating hours of convenience stores. On February 11, 2026, SKT filed an appeal in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, against the Township of Irvington and its Municipal Council. The company argues that the ordinance is unconstitutional and was designed to favor a specific competitor.
The controversy centers around an ordinance adopted by the Township of Irvington in September 2017. This ordinance allows only certain convenience stores to operate 24 hours a day, based on specific criteria such as store size. SKT Management operates a gas station with a small convenience store that cannot remain open overnight due to this regulation. They claim that the ordinance’s requirement for a minimum store size of 2,400 square feet is arbitrary and was specifically designed to benefit a proposed 7-Eleven store on an adjacent lot, which would meet this requirement with its planned size of 2,552 square feet.
In December 2017, SKT initiated legal action against the township challenging both the constitutionality and fairness of the ordinance. Despite opposition from SKT and other residents during public hearings, the municipal Planning Board approved variances for the new 7-Eleven site plan. In response, SKT filed another lawsuit seeking to nullify this approval. These lawsuits were consolidated because they both hinged on the validity of the ordinance.
The trial court eventually ruled against SKT in May 2020, stating that they failed to prove that the township enacted the ordinance for improper purposes or without rational basis. Despite these setbacks and after subsequent developments where plans for the competing 7-Eleven were abandoned, SKT continues to contest the legality of this ordinance through their current appeal.
SKT’s appeal raises several arguments: they allege that the township admitted its intent to benefit a specific business in court documents; they argue that there is no rational basis for requiring stores to be at least 2,400 square feet; they claim discrimination against smaller businesses under both federal and state constitutions; and they challenge how burdens were assigned in assessing their claims under existing legal standards.
The plaintiff seeks relief from these alleged injustices by asking for judicial intervention to declare parts or all of this ordinance invalid. They hope for remedies including potentially voiding approvals granted under what they see as an unfair law.
Representing SKT are attorneys James M. Turteltaub and Linda A. Turteltaub from The Turteltaub Law Firm LLC while Eric M. Bernstein & Associates LLC represents Irvington Township with attorneys Eric M. Bernstein and Brian M. Hak involved in defending against these claims before Judges Sabatino Walcott-Henderson Bergman who preside over case ID A-0528-24.
Source: A052824_SKT_Management_LLC_v_Township_of_Irvington_Opinion_New_Jersey_Superior_Court_of_Appeals.pdf