BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Farmland assessment denied where non-agricultural activity outweighs farming
The New Jersey Tax Court upheld the municipal tax assessor’s denial of an application for a farmland assessment holding that the agricultural use was subordinate to the taxpayer’s non-agricultural exploitation of the property. In Atlantic Coast LEH v. Township of Little Egg Harbor, the property at issue is a mostly vacant twelve-acre parcel used to house... Read More
Municipal Budget Woes Continue
The impact of decreasing tax revenues and increasing expenses has continued to cause fiscal problems for municipal government agencies not only in New Jersey, but around the entire country. This recent article in the Legal Intelligencer examines the situations for towns in Pennsylvania and California, which have spiked demand for specialized counsel in municipal finance... Read More
Beach Access Plans Trouble New Jersey Property Owners
Beach access plans trouble New Jersey property owners: http://ping.fm/fT1Zx... Read More
Expert’s “Gut Feeling” Survives Dismissal Claim
An expert witness’s “gut feeling” about the cost of a plaintiff’s construction claim was sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss according to a recent New Jersey Appellate Division opinion. The holding in Nevins v. Toll Brothers, Inc., has the potential to affect similar motions in real estate valuation litigation such as eminent domain and real estate... Read More
Expert’s “Gut Feeling” on Costs Survives Dismissal Claim
An expert witness’s “gut feeling” about the cost of a plaintiff’s construction claim was sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss according to a recent New Jersey Appellate Division opinion. The holding in Nevins v. Toll Brothers, Inc., has the potential to affect similar motions in real estate valuation litigation such as eminent domain and real estate... Read More
Wayne Township Owner Misses the Boat on Property Tax Error
Assessor’s Mistake Still Required Filing of Tax Appeal by Property Owner The Appellate Division affirmed a Tax Court judge’s decision to deny summary judgment for a property owner by holding that a tax assessor’s mistake should have been challenged through the standard tax appeal procedure found in N.J.S.A. 54:3-21a. The subject property consisted of .229 acre... Read More
South Carolina: Attorneys' Fees Can't Be "Taken"
Court Holds Appointed Attorneys’ Time is Compensable Property As our colleague from Hawaii, Robert Thomas, recently posted in his excellent blog, inversecondemnation.com, the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that an attorney’s services constitute a property right which entitles the attorney to just compensation under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. An appointed attorney sought removal as appointed counsel... Read More
Owner Takes Action: Taxes are Too Darned High
Historic Home Razed Because Property Taxes Were Too High for Owner The owner of the historic 1924 Dubois estate in Ocean City claims he had to raze the building because he was unable to find a buyer for the property, and he could not continue to pay the property taxes on the estate. The property... Read More
California Town Tries the Back Door
Organizations Claim National City, CA Now Attacking Businesses through Rezoning Rather than Eminent Domain Following a successful challenge by the Community Youth Athletic Center – a club where teenagers train in boxing and receive tutoring for school classes – to a blight designation, National City, California, has decided instead to rezone the redevelopment area. However,... Read More
Harrison Redevelopment: With Slow Going, Fiscal Health Is Questioned
A recent story by Romy Varghese of Bloomberg News questions the economics of the Harrison redevelopment project, which includes the Red Bulls soccer stadium, a new commuter parking deck adjacent to the Harrison PATH station, and one multi-family residential construction project which is now underway. The article, available here, reports that the Town of Harrison... Read More
