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50 Year Old Newark Blight Designation Invalidated
On August 16, 2019, the Honorable Thomas Vena, J.S.C. invalidated a 50-year-old blight designation of Plaintiff Benjamin Moore’s property in Newark, New Jersey. The full text of the opinion is a worthwhile read and can be found here. In one respect, it is a fountainhead decision because the Court invalidated a blight designation that had... Read More
Fore! State-Owned Golf Course Ruled Tax Exempt Due to Public Purpose Law
The New Jersey Tax Court in Cream Ridge Golf, LLC, et. al., v. Township of Freehold examined whether a state-owned golf course (which is tax exempt) loses its exemption by leasing the property to a private entity for profit, then is the private entity also tax exempt? The Court said so long as the golf... Read More
Paying the Pied Piper: Third Circuit Court of Appeals Court Rules That State Law Applies in Federal Eminent Domain Suit
In TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC v. PERMANENT EASEMENT FOR 7.053 ACRES, et als, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit faced an issue of first impression, and held that State eminent domain law must be applied in federal takings matters. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a private utility corporation, holds a certificate... Read More
Non-Residential Development Fees: the Plain Language Confirms
The New Jersey Tax Court recently determined 1) whether a subject property was improved for the purposes of calculating the Non-Residential Development Fee (“NRDF”)(N.J.S.A. 40:55D-8.1 to 8.7) and 2) the correct date to use when determining the preexisting value of the subject property for the purposes of computing the NRDF owed. The NRDF is applied... Read More
Exempt From Taxes? Not if You Fail to Answer the Chapter 91 Request!
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed a Tax Court decision dismissing Alcatel’s complaint, which challenged the 2015 denial of a farmland assessment because Alcatel failed to respond to the tax assessor’s request for Chapter 91 data. NJSA 54:4-34 (“Chapter 91”) requires every real property owner “on written request of the assessor to render a... Read More
TAKE THAT!! N.J. Legislature and Governor Fire Back at Recent Judicial Decisions Critical of Land Banking Processes
Last week, Governor Phil Murphy signed the “New Jersey Land Bank Law”, which now allows municipal agencies in New jersey to create “land banks” and “land banking” agencies to address and potentially revitalize “vacant, abandoned, and other problem properties” within their boundaries. This law, P.L. 2019, c. 159, takes effect immediately, and appears to be... Read More
Who’s Got it Right? Court Finds Aging Corporate Center No Longer Holds Preeminence it Once Did and Was Not a Special Purpose Property
ML Plainsboro LTD Partnership/Gomez v. Plainsboro revolved around the highest and best use of two lots located at 800 Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro. When the two lots were built by Merrill Lynch from 1985-1994, it was designed to be a premier corporate campus. It featured an office building with a fitness center and cafeteria... Read More
Appeals Court Finds Restaurant on University Campus Tax Exempt Due to Colorful Arguments
On May 31, 2018, the Tax Court of New Jersey held that a restaurant operated on Kean University’s campus did not constitute a university space and therefore was liable for local property taxes. Exactly one year later, an Appellate Division decision reversed the Tax Court decision and ruled that space on Kean University’s campus was... Read More
Knicks Win Big in Court, and on Court
Last week ended with big takings news for Knicks in both Pennsylvania and New York. In New York, the Knicks professional basketball team “took” former Duke University star R.J. Barrett with the third pick in the NBA draft. Barrett is thought by many to have been the best all around prospect in the draft, and... Read More
Appellate Court Affirms Favorable Owner Verdict Where Owner Did Not Present Appraisal Expert
The Appellate Division recently affirmed a judgment awarding a property owner $4,500,000 where the only appraisal expert testimony was the condemning agency’s expert, who opined that the property in question was only worth $2,830,000. The case was captioned Township of Manalapan v. Gentile and was commenced in August of 2010 to acquire a 45 acre... Read More
