BLOG:

A New Years’ Great Eight: Number 1

by: Joseph Grather
4 Jan 2023
End of year, we all get bombarded with “best of” or “top 10, 20, 100” lists.  So, how about starting the year with eight great condemnation cases? Number 1. Monongahela Navigation Co. v. United States, 148 U.S. 312 (1893). A grand-daddy in its 130th anniversary year! A bountiful feast of elemental principles of just compensation... Read More

South Carolina City Pulls the Plug on Banning U-Haul Rentals

by: Michael Realbuto
3 Jan 2023
A property owner in Mauldin, South Carolina felt some holiday cheer this December when he found out that the city repealed an amortization ordinance that would have banned his long-standing U-Haul rental business. For over a decade, Jeremy Sark and his partner Marie Dougherty operated a U-Haul rental business alongside Sark’s Automotive shop in Mauldin.... Read More

Redevelopment of Famed “Horn Antenna” Site Looming?

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
28 Dec 2022
  The site of the former Nokia property in Holmdel Township could be receiving a makeover if the Township Committee gets its way. On November 22, 2022, the Holmdel Township Committee passed resolution 2022-307, authorizing the Township Planning Board to investigate whether the property at 791 Holmdel Road may be designated as an area in... Read More

Chatham Borough Residents Bracing for 2023 Property Tax Revaluation

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
27 Dec 2022
Chatham Borough has commenced a State-ordered municipal property tax revaluation for the first time in nearly 20 years, and according to this recent article, residents have already started to express concern over the process and how it will impact their property tax bills. A revaluation program involves the mass appraisal and reassessment of all real... Read More

Do Takings Claims Survive Transfer of Title?

by: Joseph Grather
21 Dec 2022
Read an interesting opinion by a California trial court dismissing an inverse condemnation action.NCP Imperial v. L.A. County, 2022 Cal. Super. LEXIS 60513 An inverse condemnation action alleges that private property has been taken for public use without just compensation.  A prevailing plaintiff gets a condemnation valuation case.  The majority of the “inverse” opinions I... Read More

Seasons Greetings – Easements and Partial Takings

by: Joseph Grather
15 Dec 2022
Property has often been described as a bundle of rights, and narratively depicted as a bundle of sticks.  I was recently preparing to try a case involving an easement taking, which was resolved at the 11th hour as many cases do.  Thinking about how best to present the case to a jury, a recurring thought... Read More

Unambiguous PILOT Agreement Upheld by Appellate Division

by: Joseph Grather
12 Dec 2022
A unique characteristic of an “area in need of redevelopment” under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law is that our State Constitution allows properties in the area to be exempted from real property taxation, and instead subject to long-term tax abatements for payments “in lieu of taxes” under agreements between the property owner and the... Read More

7th Cir. Axes “Judicial Takings” Theory in Lakefront Property Case

by: Michael Realbuto
7 Dec 2022
The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decided an interesting takings case this past cycle which involved several Indiana properties that abut Lake Michigan. In Pavlock v. Holcomb, the property owners asserted a relatively novel “judicial takings” theory that was ultimately rejected by the panel. The Court held that the lakefront owners could not sue... Read More

NEW JERSEY ANCHOR PROGRAM DEADLINE EXTENDED AND ELIGIBILITY EXPANDED

by: Thomas Olson
2 Dec 2022
Back in June 2022, and again in September 2022, we informed you of a big change coming to the New Jersey property tax scene, the ANCHOR program (Affordable NJ Communities for Homeowners and Renters). Designed as a replacement to the Homestead Rebate Benefit program, ANCHOR officially kicked off in September with mailers being sent to... Read More

New Senate Bill Looks to Revise Personal Property Tax on Telecommunications Infrastructure

by: Matthew Erickson
1 Dec 2022
On October 17, 2022, State Senator Holly Schepisi introduced Bill S3209, a bill designed to revise the State’s Business Personal Property Tax as it is applied to telecommunications infrastructure.  This bill, which is still pending before the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, would remove some language from the current law which has been the... Read More