BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Tax Court to Municipality: Enough is Enough!
For the second time in just over one month, a Tax Court Judge has denied a request of a Township to compel production of documents in a tax appeal. Last month the Tax Court admonished defense counsel for seeking discovery that went well beyond the standard discovery questions permitted by the Court. More recently, in HPT... Read More
Changes to Statute Requiring Payment of Taxes Pending Appeal Being Considered
The New Jersey Law Revision Commission has issued a final report recommending to the Legislature that it amend N.J.S.A. 54:3-27, which is the statute that requires payment of taxes at the time of filing a property tax appeal. This recommendation is in response to the 2009 decision of the Tax Court in Trebour v. Randolph,... Read More
Atlantic City Borrowing to Pay Property Tax Refunds
The Atlantic City Council has decided to issue bonds to pay for more than $38 million which is owing to property owners in refunds for successful real estate tax appeals. According to an article in the Atlantic City Press, more than 90 percent of those refunds will be paid to the resort casinos. This is not the first time... Read More
Keystone Pipeline Project Chugging Along
Controversy Continues to Surround Canadian Oil Company Seeking Eminent Domain Authority in United States A recent article on ProPublica.org examined the issues and controversy surrounding the 4,000- mile long TransCanada Keystone Pipeline. We first discussed this project a year ago on Fox News Channel, where McKirdy & Riskin’s Anthony Della Pelle provided commentary – watch the video... Read More
Property Tax Exemption for Sale
In a recent opinion, the New Jersey Tax Court addressed the issue of the sale of a tax exempt property from one nonprofit entity to another nonprofit entity. The transfer of ownership occurred in July 2009. While the City of Newark agreed that under the new owner, the property qualified for a tax exemption in 2010,... Read More
Final Tally for Canceled Tunnel Nearly $600 Million
Nearly $600 million was spent before New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cancelled the ARC Tunnel Project last fall. Only $22 million was spent on actually constructing the project, with the majority of funds going to engineers and consultants. The remainder was spent on real estate related costs like eminent domain suits and negotiating with property... Read More
Bergen County “Group Homes” Entitled to Tax Exemption
Up to $1 Million Refund for Non-Profit Providing Integrated Residential Psychiatric Services The New Jersey Appellate Division recently reversed a decision by the Tax Court, which had denied tax exemptions under N.J.S.A. 54:4-3.6 for a seven-year period to an organization which provides communal supportive housing for psychiatric patients. At issue was whether homes owned by... Read More
Apples and Oranges? Another Tax Appeal Dismissed
Failure to make adjustments between alleged comparable sales and subject property spells doom for property owner’s tax appeal A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the opinion of the Tax Court upholding an assessment on plaintiff’s home. The plaintiff in Roberts v. Newark relied on sales data that he compiled himself and did not offer an... Read More
Brooke Shields to Play Susette Kelo in New Movie
Kelo v. City of New London is moving from a court case of a lifetime to a movie on the Lifetime Channel. The movie is based on the book “Little Pink House” about Susette Kelo and the Fort Trumbull section of New London’s fight against eminent domain for redevelopment purposes. Susette Kelo’s story became famous the United... Read More
Don't Bank On It!
Mortgage Lender’s Rights in Eminent Domain Cases May Outweigh Owner’s Property owners in eminent domain cases rarely own the condemned property outright, without any mortgages or other liens. Typically, the property owner took out a loan from a bank to purchase the property, and the bank obtained an interest in the property in the form of... Read More
