John Shahdanian Quoted in NorthJersey.com on Bergen County Blue Laws

John Shahdanian II, Co-Chair of Trenk Isabel Siddiqi & Shahdanian’s Government Representation practice and Chair of the Firm’s Employment Law practice, was quoted in the NorthJersey.com article “As American Dream pushes back on blue laws, is their end at hand?” regarding the longevity of Bergen County’s centuries-old laws that prohibit retail operations on Sundays.

The article notes that there have been recent disputes in which businesses have started pushing back on the laws, citing exceptions for businesses operating on state-owned land. The American Dream megamall is one of these businesses that has advertised its more than 120 retailers as being open on Sunday. However, in August 2025, Paramus filed a lawsuit against American Dream for violating the county’s blue laws by allowing its stores to open on Sunday.

As the current borough attorney for two neighboring Bergen County municipalities, Shahdanian commented that a possible outcome could be that Bergen County or the New Jersey Sports and Expansion Authority, which owns the land that American Dream sits on, would enforce the rules requiring businesses to follow the blue laws.

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