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Nevada's "Area 51" Neighbors Facing Eminent Domain
90 miles north of Las Vegas exists one of U.S. military’s top-secret bases, Area 51. From novels to movies, Area 51 has garnered the public’s curiosities for decades. Unbeknownst to the public, however, a local family owning a 400-acre parcel has lived next door to Area 51 since its inception. For reasons of national security, the government last year initially offered... Read More
Throwin’ a dog a bone – Tax Court reduces assessment on dog kennel despite owner’s sloppy case.
Despite what the Tax Court found to be a sloppy appraisal report by the property owner’s appraiser, the court granted modest reductions on a small warehouse/truck terminal currently used as a dog kennel. In Glow Properties v. Borough of N. Arlington, the court again reiterated its long-standing holding that the income approach is the most... Read More
Luxury Homeowners Lose Tax Appeal at the Appellate Division
The Appellate Division yesterday affirmed the lower court’s decision affirming the 2008 property assessment of a 55,000 sq. ft. estate in Moorestown. The subject property, known as “Villa Collina,” boasts approximately 55,542 sq. ft. of improvements, and 29,236 sq. ft. of living space situated on approximately 7.2 acres, which is part of a larger 44... Read More
Court Denies Two Motions to Dismiss Taxpayers’ Appeals
The Tax Court recently issued decisions denying Franklin Township’s motions to dismiss two taxpayers’ appeals. In 2200 Cottontail Assocs. v. Twp. of Franklin, the Township filed a Chapter 91 motion for plaintiff’s failure to respond to the assessor’s request for income and expense information. As mentioned previously on this blog on numerous posts, a taxpayer’s... Read More
Expert’s Comparable Sales Approach Rejected for Rental Property
In a recent trial before the Tax Court, a taxpayer’s appeal challenging the assessment was unsuccessful due to the taxpayer’s failure to overcome the presumption of correctness. As mentioned many times on this blog, the burden of proving that the assessment is erroneous is on the taxpayer. To overcome that burden, the taxpayer must present credible evidence before... Read More
Failed Redevelopment Site Succeeds in Tax Appeal
Property tax issues arise commonly when a property designated for redevelopment fails to become a reality as originally proposed. In Seaboard Landing, LLC (“Seaboard”) v. Borough of Penns Grove (“Borough”), the Borough envisioned a redevelopment plan to revive a struggling commercial area along the waterfront on the Delaware River. In 2003, the Borough issued final site plan... Read More
Underwater Mortgages – At the Bottom of the Sea?
Here is an excellent recent article on the propriety of attempting to use eminent domain to “take” underwater mortgages in various places around the country. Entitled “Eminent Domain for Underwater Mortgages: Already on the Way to the Bottom of the Sea of Bad Ideas” , our Owners Counsel of America colleague Dwight Merriam summarizes what’s wrong with... Read More
South Plainfield’s Income and Expense Requests Ruled Defective
As discussed many times on this blog, Chapter 91 motions are frequently wielded by municipalities in hopes of dismissing tax appeals on income-producing properties. However, given the extraordinary relief of dismissing a tax appeal, courts have consistently ruled that municipalities must fully comply with all the requirements of N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (“Chapter 91”) in order to warrant... Read More
Horne v. Dept. of Agriculture: Private Property Rights Trump Government's Raisin Reserve
The U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”) recently delivered its decision in Horne v. Dept. of Agriculture on the issue of the reserve requirement for raisins under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 (“AMA”). Our fellow Owners Counsel colleagues from New York and California, Michael Rikon and Robert Thomas, have kept a close watch on the... Read More
Credit agency watching hospital tax exemption case
When we last wrote about the recent decision by the New Jersey Tax Court that stripped Morristown Memorial Hospital of its property tax exemption we said that municipalities and other hospitals across the State would watch closely for the next move in this ongoing battle. Most observers believe that the hospital will most certainly appeal,... Read More
