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Indiana Supreme Court Vacates Judgment on Due Process Grounds

by: Joseph Grather
6 Sep 2022
The Indiana Supreme Court handed a property owner a nice win before the Labor Day Weekend.  The short opinion is a quick read and available here.  The Gary Housing Authority was engaged in redevelopment for affordable housing and it “strictly followed” the statutory and administrative procedures for acquiring private property.  The notice provisions of the... Read More

Jersey City Short Term Rental Regulation Not a Regulatory Taking

by: Joseph Grather
25 Aug 2022
A week ago, the U.S. Third Circuit  Court of Appeals decided that Jersey City’s regulations limiting the ability to use private property for short-term rentals was not a taking. 2022-8-16 Nekrilov v Jersey City Third Circuit.  Our associate Michael Realbuto detailed the lower court’s decision – here – so I’ll get right to why the... Read More

Maryland Appellate Court: Condemnation Jury Trials are the Status Quo

by: Michael Realbuto
24 Aug 2022
Earlier this year, the Maryland Court of Special Appeals reviewed a lower court’s decision that prevented a self-represented property owner from having her valuation case heard by a jury. The primary issue on appeal was whether it was legally correct for the lower court to hold the condemnation trial without a jury. The full decision... Read More

Charitable Property Tax Exemption Upheld by Tax Court Despite Zoning Violations

by: Matthew Erickson
23 Aug 2022
On March 24, 2022, the Tax Court of New Jersey rendered a twenty-five (25) page opinion in Life With Joy, Inc., v. Township of Green (hereafter “Life With Joy”) where the court evaluated whether the subject property was qualified for a charitable exemption to its requirement to pay local property tax.  Here, the Hon. Vito... Read More

Taxpayers and Assessors: Chapter 91 Requests MUST Be Sent By Regular AND Certified Mail

by: Thomas Olson
22 Aug 2022
A recent tax court opinion by Judge Cimino, J.T.C. clarifies whether the service of a tax assessor’s request for income and expense information (“Chapter 91”) by certified mail only was sufficient to satisfy N.J.S.A. 54:4-34. In short, the answer is no. In this matter, on September 15, 2020, the City of Brigantine’s (“City”) Tax Assessor,... Read More

Regulatory Taking Affirmed by Texas Court of Appeals

by: Joseph Grather
16 Aug 2022
On August 1, 2022, the Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas, Texas affirmed a $33 million dollar jury verdict in favor of a property owner on a regulatory taking claim! Dallas v. Trinity East Energy (2022-8-1 Trinity East Energy). In short, the City of Dallas and Trinity East had entered into a Lease Agreement... Read More

Want To File A Property Tax Appeal? You Gotta Pay! Except When…

by: Thomas Olson
11 Aug 2022
Deciding to file a property tax appeal is a major decision… So, you just received your property tax bill and noticed the payment has increased and now want to reduce your property taxes.  Easier said than done, but do you have to pay the higher taxes in order to file the appeal? Usually, the answer... Read More

The Deed is Done: Bruce’s Beach Officially Returned to Family’s Descendants Almost a Century After Pretextual Condemnation

by: Michael Realbuto
10 Aug 2022
In November 2021, we blogged about a story where California’s Governor, Gavin Newsom, signed a law authorizing Los Angeles County to return a beach property taken by eminent domain back to descendants of the original property owners. That blog can be found here. Fast forward to mid-July 2022, an oceanfront ceremony officially marked the first... Read More

Morristown To Undergo Property Tax Revaluation

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
4 Aug 2022
The Town of Morristown recently confirmed that it will be undertaking a municipal-wide revaluation of all properties in the Town, for the first time since a 2004 revaluation was performed. A revaluation program involves the mass appraisal and reassessment of all real property in a taxing district and is performed by an outside professional appraisal... Read More

New Tax Court Rules Proposed

by: Matthew Erickson
1 Aug 2022
On July 15, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a Notice to the Bar which proposed changes to the New Jersey Court rules which would address Appellate Division opinions which are published in the New Jersey Tax Reports.  The proposed changes are open to comments through August 15, 2022. The Notice to the Bar... Read More