Plans for an expanded Wal-Mart in Cinnaminson were halted by a court on this week.

Judge Ronald E. Bookbinder of the Burlington Vicinage found in favor of the plaintiffs, who opposed the retail giant's plan to expand the Wal-Mart at the Marketplace complex off Route 130 into a larger Wal-Mart Supercenter.

Wal-Mart applied last year to demolish and reconstruct additions that would allow the store to accommodate a grocery section.

The Cinnaminson Township Planning Board voted to approve the request last March, but a group of plaintiffs that included Karl W. Eickhoff, objected. Eickhoff owns several ShopRites in the region, including one at the nearby Shoppes at Cinnaminson.

Of the several complaints filed, the judge found only that Wal-Mart failed to properly notify the public about Planning Board meetings.

"The judge's decision was ultimately premised on the faulty notice objection," said Jeffrey Brennan, an attorney representing the residents. "As far as successive meetings, if proper notice hasn't been given, the board doesn't have jurisdiction to consider the application so everything gets dropped and has to start anew."

Despite the setback, Wal-Mart is likely to eventually get the green light for its expansion plans, said Mark Roselli, attorney for the Cinnaminson Planning Board. Judge Bookbinder indicated in a tentative judgment that none of the other complaints lodged by the plaintiffs had merit.

The decision will be final within one to two weeks, Brennan said.

Also on Wednesday, Judge Francis J. Orlando, Jr. of the Camden County Vicinage invalidated plans for a 100-room hotel and banquet center across the street from the future campus of Virtua Hospital's new Voorhees campus.

The judge found that approval for the hotel - to be built by a group of private investors - violated an ordinance that prohibits hotels on that side of Route 73. The suit was brought by Riddhi Siddhi Associates, which owns several hotels in the area including the Wingate Inn on Laurel Oak Road.