BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Limited sales data and lack of reasonable adjustments does not doom plaintiff’s appeal
In this appeal, Belview Crossing v. Lopatcong Twp., the court considered a challenge to the assessments on 32 vacant building lots. The Township of Lopatcong did not submit any affirmative proofs, but instead, it rested on the assessment, meaning that it relied on the doctrine under the law that all assessments are presumed to be valid. Under... Read More
Comparable Sales From Neighboring Town Not Persuasive Evidence
A Tax Court judge affirmed a property owner’s assessment because the owner only provided comparable sales information from a neighboring municipality without demonstrating how the real estate markets in the two municipalities were either alike or different. Specifically, the property owner presented four comparable sales from neighboring Ocean Township, which was “six steps” away from... Read More
You Gotta Be In it To Win It: Kentucky Court Stops Pipeline Taking
A Kentucky court recently stopped a utility company from utilizing eminent domain to build an underground gas pipeline to transport natural gas liquids through the Commonwealth. The case, Kentuckians United to Restrain Eminent Domain, Inc. v. Bluegrass Pipeline Company, LLC (Civil Action No. 13-CI-1492), involved the challenge by plaintiff, a non-profit agency formed for the purpose of... Read More
Town Gets Taste of Own Medicine: Not Permitted to Pursue Counterclaim After Deadline
In an unusual case, a Tax Court judge denied a municipality’s attempt to file a counterclaim in a tax appeal almost two years after the statutory deadline for filing such a claim. Typically, municipalities file motions to dismiss taxpayer appeals with citations to case law and court rules which strictly enforce the prescribed filing deadlines. ... Read More
Correction of Errors Statute Wrong Way to Correct County Tax Board Judgment
Several property owners recently asked the Tax Court to correct judgments entered by the Middlesex County Board of Taxation after receiving judgments showing a different value than the County Tax Board commissioner hearing the matters had determined. Specifically, the commissioner indicated that he had determined the market value of the properties was $420,000, which placed... Read More
Homeowner’s Reduced Assessment Upheld by Appeals Court
Long Branch City unsuccessfully appealed the decision of a Tax Court judge which reduced the assessment on a residential home. The home at issue was built in 2008. At trial, the property owner’s valuation expert testified that he relied primarily on comparable sales from Deal Township, a neighboring municipality which he considered more desirable, and... Read More
Sisters Get Only Some Mercy From Tax Court on Exemption Claim
Last week, another property exemption case was decided by the New Jersey Tax Court, this one in partial favor of the property owner, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americans Mid-Atlantic Community, Inc. (the “Sisters”). The Sisters own two parcels of property in Sea Isle City, Cape May County, which are located one block from... Read More
Country Club’s Exemption Claim Lands In The Rough
A Tax Court judge has rejected a claim by Sakima Country Club for a real property tax exemption under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6. Sakima Country Club is a private club located in Carney’s Point Township. Sakima was originally incorporated in 1931 as the Dupont Penns-Grove Country Club, a non-profit entity. Sakima’s organizational documents explicitly provide that the... Read More
Another Taxpayer Fails to Overcome Presumption of Correctness
A recent New Jersey Tax Court trial regarding a single-family riverfront residence in Monmouth County resulted in a judgment affirming the assessment because the property owner, representing herself pro se, failed to overcome the presumption of correctness afforded to New Jersey local property tax assessments. The taxpayer owned a home on the Manasquan River. At... Read More
Taking Underwater Mortgages: Condemned to Failure?
Taking Underwater Mortgages: Condemned to Failure? Check out this post from our own Anthony DellaPelle which was just published in the American Bar Associations “In Limine” Blog. This story comes close to home to us in New Jersey as the cities of Newark and Irvington are currently studying the feasibility of using eminent domain to... Read More
