ManvilleToday has been actively monitoring Rustic Mall, LLC v. Borough of Manville (Docket: SOM-L-000869-25) since this new lawsuit was filed on June 11, 2025. The original story can be found here.

A hearing was held on October 24, 2025, where the Court suggested that both parties (Rustic Mall LLC and the Borough of Manville) "initiate dialogue with the purpose of trying to settle or otherwise resolve the matter".

From correspondence written by attorney Anthony F. Dellapelle for Rustic Mall, LLC, dated November 13, 2025, Attorney Dellapelle indicated that counsel for the Plaintiff (Rustic Mall LLC) reached out to counsel for the Defendant (Borough of Manville) shortly after the proceeding on October 24th to attempt to set up mediation.

The letter further indicated that the Plaintiff offered both in-court mediation with a sitting Superior Court Judge and/or mediation with a retired Judge. The Plaintiff even recommended a retired Judge who previously and successfully mediated eminent domain/condemnation matters. In addition, the Plaintiff (Rustic Mall LLC) offered to cover the costs associated with these mediations.

The letter to the Judge concluded that Defendant's counsel informed them that approval from the Borough of Manville's government would be necessary to go forward with mediation.

In response to this correspondence submitted to the court, the attorney for the Borough of Manville responded in a letter also dated November 13, 2025.

In his response, Manville Borough attorney Thaddeus R. Maciag indicated he had spoken with the Plaintiff's counsel via telephone on November 4, 2025, indicating he did not have consent from his client to formal mediation.

However, in his written communication dated November 13th, Attorney Maciag stated:

"based on my discussion with senior Borough officials, they have advised they prefer not to negotiate under the threat of a pending civil rights lawsuit. The municipality, for all of the reasons stated in the filed briefs and at the oral argument, believes that the complaint fails to state a claim based on the fact that the premises have very clearly not been zoned into inutility (in addition to the failure to have timely pursued administrative remedies)". (emphasis was part of the original letter)

The letter continued, "Based on that, the municipality believes that any discussions would be more productive if not conducted by way of negotiations at the proverbial point of a gun with the Borough staring at the threat of a still-pending civil rights lawsuit which my clients respectfully believe is unfounded and respectively believe should not have been filed".

Attorney Maciag informed the Court at the close of his letter that "I have accordingly advised Plaintiff's Attorneys that our next step will be to await the resolution of the recent motion hearing".

As the legal proceedings between Rustic Mall, LLC and the Borough of Manville continue, both parties appear to be holding firm to their positions. The Borough of Manville appears to have declined the offer of mediation, of which Rustic Mall would have covered the costs.

With mediation efforts currently stalled and the next steps hinging on the outcome of the recent motion hearing, the future of the Rustic Mall site -- and its impact on the Manville community -- remains uncertain.

ManvilleToday will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as this case unfolds.