New Jersey Supreme Court Issues Three Opinions Regarding Dismissal of Property Tax Cases

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently decided that the timelines in relevant statutes and court rules requiring a town to move to dismiss an appeal do not apply when a taxpayer has knowingly provided false or fraudulent information.  In Lucent Technologies, Inc. v. Twp. of Berkeley Heights, __ N.J. __ (2010), the Court held that the New Jersey Legislature did not intend in N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 or R. 8:7(e) to permit a taxpayer to continue to appeal its taxes, after a municipality has learned that the taxpayer has submitted false or fraudulent information even if that information is obtained by the town after the normal time to file a motion to dismiss the appeal has expired.  In the Lucent case, Berkeley Heights discovered that Lucent had provided false information regarding its tenancy on the subject property, and the number of tenants.  However, providing such information did not preclude the availability of a “Reasonableness Hearing,” so the matter was remanded to the Tax Court for that limited purpose.

In two companion cases, the Supreme Court also rejected several taxpayers’ arguments that the dismissal of a tax appeal following a taxpayer’s refusal to provide requested information to the local assessor constituted an excessive penalty or fine.  The Court noted that, while a taxpayer loses its right to appeal its assessment, the taxpayer may still challenge the reasonableness of the assessment based on the information then available to the assessor.  Additionally, the Court adopted the Appellate Division’s reasoning that a tax bill is not a forfeiture or punishment, but is instead an assessment based upon the information available to the assessor.

Copies of the companion cases can be found by following these links:

1717 Realty Assocs., LLC, v. Borough of Fair Lawn, __ N.J. __ (2010).

Davanne Realty v. Edison Twp., __ N.J. __ (2010)

The author wishes to acknowledge the assistance of Cory K. Kestner, Esq., of McKirdy & Riskin, PA, in the preparation of this article.