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Georgia Supreme Court Halts Abandonment, Reinstates Property Owner Award
The Georgia Supreme Court recently reversed a decision of the Georgia Court of Appeals and reinstated a special master’s award of $5,187,000 in favor of the property owner for the taking of its property by eminent domain. Full text of Dillard Land Investments, LLC v. Fulton County opinion here. In short, the Supreme Court held... Read More
Site Improvements on Vacant Land Fair Game for Tax Assessment
A decision this week by New Jersey Tax Court Presiding Judge Patrick DeAlmeida affirmed that the market value of site improvements on a vacant parcel of land must be included in the assessments on the undeveloped parcels. The case involved an appeal by the owner, Hovbros Cinnaminson Urban Renewal, LLC, the designated redeveloper of a... Read More
Turnpike Liable for Roll-back Taxes on Farmland Assessed Property
Under the Farmland Assessment Act, a “roll-back” tax is imposed when farmland assessed property is converted to a non-agricultural or horticultural use. See N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.8. The rollback provision of the Farmland Assessment Act is intended to protect municipalities from land speculators who may try to receive a reduced assessment until the time is right to... Read More
Reasonableness Hearing Requires Access to Assessor’s Files
In a recent appeal, the Borough of Lincoln Park moved to dismiss a property owner’s 2012 tax appeal after the Borough claimed the owner failed to respond to a “Chapter 91” request for income and expense information. Chapter 91, N.J.S.A. 54:4-34, allows a municipal tax assessor to request income and expense information to use in... Read More
California Supreme Court to Review Pre-Condemnation Entry
Updating our recent entry on the Property Reserve case (here), the California Supreme Court has decided to review the Appellate Court’s finding that the Water Resource Board’s preliminary entry constituted a taking under California’s law of the eminent domain. The appellate court ruling meant that the State was going to have to pay just compensation to... Read More
Township’s Error Saves Taxpayer from Tax Increase
The owner of a mobile home park in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, challenged the 2011 and 2012 tax assessments on the park in the Tax Court following a Township-wide revaluation. The Township filed a “cross complaint” alleging that it reserved its rights to apply added assessments for each of the tax years. The mobile home... Read More
Pay Now, Litigate Later Upheld
New Jersey law requires that property taxes must be paid as a prerequisite to filing an appeal before the Tax Court. The principle that taxes must be paid first is to insure that municipal reviews are not interrupted while tax appeals are litigated by the parties. Municipalities take advantage of this requirement to seek dismissal... Read More
Secretly Recorded Phone Conversation Fails to Support New Trial Claim
A very routine tax appeal trial took a very unusual turn after entry of judgment in the matter. Plaintiff filed a tax appeal on his single family home in Barnegat Township before the Ocean County Board of Taxation, which reduced his assessment from $300,000 to $283,000. Plaintiff then appealed to the Tax Court challenging the... Read More
A Tale of Two Cities . . . Wanting to Tax the Same Property
In a recent appeal, the property owner – a condominium association – filed a tax appeal for its property which straddles the municipal boundaries of South Orange and Maplewood. The condominiums are located on the Maplewood side of the boundary line, and a 1.46 acre parcel containing a driveway, shrubbery, and plantings are located on... Read More
California Court: Pre-condemnation Entry Statute Unconstitutional
A California appellate court recently declared its pre-condemnation entry statute unconstitutional. Property Reserve, Inc. v. Dep’t of Water Resources (JCCP No. 4594, March 13, 2014). While we are not going to recount all the details of the comprehensive opinion here, the State was seeking access to private property pre-condemnation in connection with a proposed tunnel... Read More
