A public-private partnership used by some towns to deal with vacant and abandoned "zombie houses" is "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable," a New Jersey judge has ruled.

The ruling clouds the future of contracts between local governments and ProChamps of Melbourne, Florida, which compiles records of foreclosed homes and imposes hefty registration fees on their owners. On Monday, Assignment Judge Julio Mendez of Atlantic County Superior Court granted summary judgment to a company owning foreclosed properties in its suit against ProChamps, three towns and the Atlantic County Improvement Authority.