Tricare Lawsuit Postponed to September

Denis Driscoll, the litigation counsel for Chatham Borough in the ongoing lawsuit against Tricare Treatment Centers LLC, said attorneys for Tricare and the borough will appear before the Hon. David Rand on Sept. 6.

"There are a number of pending motions," Driscoll said, though trial is several weeks off.

Depositions and other discoveries have been ongoing for over a year, since before Driscoll came on as the borough's attorney. Several Chatham residents have given depositions in the case already.

Tricare, the plaintiff in the case, and the borough were scheduled to appear before Rand last week, but the judge was ill and the lawsuit was postponed for two weeks.

Tricare, a gambling addiction treatment company, filed a lawsuit in state Superior Court in Morristown May 13, 2010, against the borough's Zoning Board of Adjustment, Planning Board, council and then-Mayor Nelson Vaughan.

The suit was filed after Tricare attempted to establish a gambling addiction treatment center at the Parrot Mill Inn.

The borough's Zoning Officer, Vincent J. DeNave, said of the pre-existing non-conforming Parrot Mill Inn since it would be used for lodging. The Tricare's waiver application of a site plan review to change some of the bedrooms into offices in February 2010.

Residents reacted angrily, however, and to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, which said to allow it to exist inside the building without a variance at its March 24, 2010 meeting.

The complaint alleged all parties acted unlawfully in a variety of ways, and that the Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment "violated principals [sic] of fundamental fairness." 

It also alleges the parties violated the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Act, and demands judgment for damages and attorney's fees.