Law360, New York ( December 9, 2015, 5:51 PM EST) -- On Nov. 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential decision reversing the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey in connection with a land use dispute that evolved into an antitrust complaint. In Hanover 3201 Realty LLC v. Village Supermarkets Inc., 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 19694 (3d Cir. Nov. 12, 2015) (approved for publication), the Third Circuit held that plaintiff Hanover Realty had standing to pursue a claim for attempted monopolization against Village Supermarkets, which allegedly attempted to thwart Hanover Realty's plans to develop its property with a competitor supermarket. The court also determined that the "sham litigation" exception to the Noerr-Pennington doctrine stripped away any immunity that may have protected Village from suit. This case stands as a stark reminder that an aggressive campaign to use land use proceedings as a vehicle to gain a competitive advantage could, under some circumstances, result in potential liability under federal antitrust law....