Tax Court Denies Phillipsburg’s Chapter 91 Motion to Dismiss

In Town of Phillipsburg v. ME Realty, L.L.C., decided on April 8, 2011 (approved for publication), the New Jersey Tax Court denied the town of Phillipsburg’s motion to dismiss ME Realty’s property tax appeal for failure to respond to Phillipsburg’s request for income and expense information pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (“Chapter 91 Request”). The Tax Court held that the municipal assessor’s Chapter 91 Request was “deficient since it does not clearly and unequivocally indicate what information is sought.” The Tax Court held also that Phillipsburg’s motion was untimely. Court Rule 8:7(e) governing the filing of motions in the Tax Court requires that a motion to dismiss for failure to comply with a Chapter 91 Request “shall be filed no later that the earlier of (1) 180 days after the filing of the complaint, or (2) 30 days before the trial date.” In this matter, Phillipsburg filed its motion 195 days after the filing of its complaint. Phillipsburg argued that the 180-day time period commenced upon the filing of the taxpayer’s counterclaim. The Tax Court disagreed, holding that plain language of the rule makes clear that the trigger date for the 180-day time period is the date the complaint is filed.

A copy of the Tax Court’s opinion is available here.

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