A Bergen County town denies in a court filing that for years it unfairly discriminated against an Orthodox Jewish group seeking to expand its house of worship or buy property to build a new one.

The U.S. attorney's office filed a federal lawsuit in June against Woodcliff Lake. The suit alleges the town modified zoning laws to prevent Valley Chabad from buying property and improperly rejected the group's numerous requests for zoning modifications so it could expand its existing facility.

In a court filing Tuesday, the town denies the charges and contends the Orthodox group's plans failed to meet zoning requirements governing the size of lots and how many people would be using the facility at one time.