BLOG:
Dropping the Ball: Another "Oops" Moment for the Condemnor
Last week, a New Jersey Superior Court judge granted a landowner’s summary judgment motion to dismiss the Township of Lakewood’s (“Township”) condemnation actions. In Tp. of Lakewood v. Garzo, the Township instituted four condemnation actions after designating areas as being “in need of” redevelopment. The Township initially believed that it had owned the subject properties... Read More
“Oh Sandy” – No relief from Superstorm’s destruction on residential assessment
Two and one-half years after Superstorm Sandy, many New Jerseyans are still wrestling with the destruction wrought by that storm. Thousands of New Jersey property owners received some relief from reduced property tax assessments to reflect the damage to their properties, although some local assessors were more realistic in assessing the damage to property values. ... Read More
Will the Latest New Jersey Supreme Court Property Rights Decision Revive the Redevelopment Market?
Last week, a divided New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that condemning agencies do not have to prove that properties within an area “in need of redevelopment” have a deleterious effect on the surrounding area in order for those properties to be taken via eminent domain. The 3-2 majority opinion, authored by Justice Barry Albin, concluded... Read More
Stick to the facts (but first, know them!)
In Gravers v. Scotch Plains Township, a residential tax appeal, we are reminded of the importance of hiring appraisers with experience in tax appeals and to ensure that they are familiar with the facts relevant to the subject property and the comparable property sales. Here – on appeal from a judgment of the County Board... Read More
One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for West Orange Taxpayer
Last week, the Tax Court of New Jersey dismissed a multi-year tax appeal filed by a commercial property owner in the Township of West Orange that challenged the assessment on a retail property in that municipality, which assessment had been set by a town-wide revaluation in 2011. The plaintiff WKJ Realty Co., Inc. relied upon... Read More
Contaminated property is worthless (almost)
In an opinion that has been approved for publication, the New Jersey Tax Court has ruled that for purposes of real property taxation, a heavily contaminated property warranted only a nominal assessment. In Methode Electronics, Inc. v. Township of Willingboro, the subject property is a small parcel improved with a 6,800 square foot concrete slab... Read More
Presumptions Foil Municipality
In another case where a municipality took an appeal to trial and rested on the assessment, the strategy backfired as the tax court ruled in favor of the taxpayer. We have written before (Township Punts, Loses at Trial and on Appeal) about municipalities forcing an appeal to trial only to rest on the presumption of correctness. ... Read More
Tax Court stops Grinch who tried to steal tax exemption from local charity
In these consolidated tax appeals, the Tax Court recently dismissed the City of Hackensack’s challenge to the decision by the Bergen County Board of Taxation awarding an exemption from local property taxes for three properties owned by affiliates of Community Housing in Partnership, commonly referred to as CHIP. CHIP and its affiliates provide housing and... Read More
Municipality Swings and Misses on Chapter 91 Motion
Like a baseball player trying to knock one out of the part, local tax assessors try to knock tax appeals out of court with their mighty “Chapter 91” bats. You remember Chapter 91 it is the statute (N.J.S.A. 54:4-34) that allows tax assessors to request income and expense information from owners of commercial properties. Failure... Read More
Expert’s Opinion Off Track in Appeal Near Train Station
A New Jersey Tax Court judge recently concluded that a plaintiff’s expert failed to make several adjustments which impacted the expert’s credibility with the court. The appeal involved a residential property located less than a mile from the train station in Summit, New Jersey. At trial, plaintiff’s expert presented five comparable sales, while the town’s... Read More
