Overview

• Paramus filed suit in Bergen County Superior Court alleging 120 American Dream retailers sold nonessential goods on Sundays in violation of county law.
• The complaint cites signage and website messages such as "All Stores Open Sundays" and claims violations have occurred hundreds, if not thousands, of times since January.
• Plaintiffs ask the court to declare the operation a public nuisance and to levy escalating fines of $250, $1,000, $2,000, and $5,000 for successive Sunday offenses.
• American Dream says blue laws do not apply on state-owned Meadowlands property and calls the case a meritless political stunt.
• The suit also names Bergen County, East Rutherford, and the NJSEA; county leaders say the mall had previously promised to keep retail closed on Sundays, while NJSEA and the state attorney general declined comment.