BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
To Conquer, Taxpayer Must Divide
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the decision of Presiding Tax Court Judge Patrick DeAlmeida, in which the Tax Court affirmed multi-year assessments on six commercial condominium units owned by the same party. The units were located in a five-story building in the Township of Lyndhurst, all of which were owned by the taxpayer,... Read More
Harrison’s defense denies Red Bulls for a third time
The owner of Red Bull Arena is unable to break through Harrison’s defense in its pursuit of a property tax exemption for its arena that is home to the New York Red Bulls Soccer Club. In two separate 2012 opinions dealing with the 2010 (see Red Card for Red Bull Soccer Stadium) and 2011 (see Red... Read More
Newark Property Owner Snuffed on Damage Claim After Dismissal of Taking
A New Jersey appellate court recently decided the sequel to a failed condemnation action from 2012 regarding property in Newark. The property in question was commercial property owned in condominium form by New United Corp. and the Essex County Improvement Authority (“ECIA”), containing five buildings and a parking garage. Due to prior disputes between the... Read More
A Taxpayer’s Burden
In Hertrich v. Township of Middletown, a copy of which may be found here, the plaintiff challenged the assessments for tax years 2009 through 2013 on Chevrolet car dealership located on Route 35 in Middletown. While the appraisal experts for the plaintiff and the defendant agreed that the optimal size of an automobile dealership is... Read More
No Relief for Castle on the Sand
In this appeal challenging the assessment of an 8,772 sf residence on nearly 2 acres overlooking the Atlantic Ocean with 8 bedrooms, 6 full and 2 half baths, solarium, salon, billiard room, exercise room, limestone patios, a pool and two pool houses, the New Jersey Tax Court found that the owner lacked one thing: credible... Read More
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... Read More
Limited sales data and lack of reasonable adjustments does not doom plaintiff’s appeal
In this appeal, Belview Crossing v. Lopatcong Twp., the court considered a challenge to the assessments on 32 vacant building lots. The Township of Lopatcong did not submit any affirmative proofs, but instead, it rested on the assessment, meaning that it relied on the doctrine under the law that all assessments are presumed to be valid. Under... Read More
Comparable Sales From Neighboring Town Not Persuasive Evidence
A Tax Court judge affirmed a property owner’s assessment because the owner only provided comparable sales information from a neighboring municipality without demonstrating how the real estate markets in the two municipalities were either alike or different. Specifically, the property owner presented four comparable sales from neighboring Ocean Township, which was “six steps” away from... Read More
You Gotta Be In it To Win It: Kentucky Court Stops Pipeline Taking
A Kentucky court recently stopped a utility company from utilizing eminent domain to build an underground gas pipeline to transport natural gas liquids through the Commonwealth. The case, Kentuckians United to Restrain Eminent Domain, Inc. v. Bluegrass Pipeline Company, LLC (Civil Action No. 13-CI-1492), involved the challenge by plaintiff, a non-profit agency formed for the purpose of... Read More
Town Gets Taste of Own Medicine: Not Permitted to Pursue Counterclaim After Deadline
In an unusual case, a Tax Court judge denied a municipality’s attempt to file a counterclaim in a tax appeal almost two years after the statutory deadline for filing such a claim. Typically, municipalities file motions to dismiss taxpayer appeals with citations to case law and court rules which strictly enforce the prescribed filing deadlines. ... Read More
