Tax Court Requires Inspection Despite Owner’s Prior Protests
The discovery rules for residential tax appeals in New Jersey are very simple. Basically, the municipality must provide a property record card, and the home owner must permit an inspection of the property, and provide a closing statement if there has been a sale within the past three years, any income and expense information is the property is rented, and the costs of improvements if any were made within three years of the assessing date. R. 8:6-1(a)(4). Failure to follow these simple rules, as one property owner without an attorney recently learned, can possibly lead to the dismissal of a tax appeal pursuant to R. 4:23-5(a)(1).
In a recent case involving a residential property appeal in Middlesex County, the appraisal expert for Old Bridge requested an inspection several times following the filing of a tax appeal by the plaintiff in 2013. Following plaintiff’s refusals to permit entry, Old Bridge issued a Notice of Inspection under the court rules, whereafter plaintiff appeared at the Assessor’s Office and announced that he would not permit an inspection. Old Bridge moved to dismiss the tax appeal, and the Tax Court converted the motion to one compelling inspection with an opportunity to move to dismiss if the plaintiff persisted in not granting access for an inspection. The Tax Court noted that the discovery rules apply equally to each party, and that a party may not try to obtain an advantage by concealment or surprise. The Tax Court then entered an order requiring an inspection by May 8, 2014, with the threat of dismissal for the plaintiff if an inspection is not permitted by that time.
A copy of the Tax Court’s unpublished opinion in Henry Lupinski, Pro Se, v. Township of Old Bridge can be found here.
For more on how pro se litigants have fared in property tax appeals in New Jersey, please see the following blog posts:
Wayne Township Owner Misses the Boat on Property Tax Error
Court Rejects Property Owner’s Unverified Sales Evidence at Trial–Affirms City’s Value
