Seeking to revive their lawsuit, Brooklyn residents whose homes will be lost to make way for a new arena for the NBA's Nets urged an appeals court Tuesday to let them find out if the developer of the $4 billion Atlantic Yards project got a sweetheart deal.

Matthew D. Brinckerhoff, a lawyer for the families, told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it should return the case to a federal judge in Brooklyn so they can research whether the land is being taken unfairly.

Brinckerhoff said the deal will let the Nets' principal owner, Bruce Ratner, kick longtime property owners out of their homes so he can build what essentially is a private business on public land.

"The notion that a stadium is public use is just wrong," he said. "A stadium is a private, money making enterprise no different than a hotel."