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Drive-By Appraisals "Approved" in New York!
Property owners have won a battle in a long simmering dispute in New York over pending real estate tax appeals. The case was reported in the BuffaloNews.com. In short, eight property owners with pending tax appeals against the City refused to let the City’s appraiser in their homes in connection with the preparation of the... Read More
North Carolina Court Finds "Map Act" Filing Equates to a "Taking"
Under North Carolina statute, once the department of transportation files a map depicting a future taking, “no building permit shall be issued for any building or structure or part thereof located within the transportation corridor, nor shall approval of a subdivision . . . be granted with respect to property within the transportation corridor.” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 136-44.51(a).... Read More
Griepenburg v Township of Ocean: Inverse Claim Denied For Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies
Last week, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided a case brought by property owners to challenge a municipal ordinance that “down-zoned” their property. (A full copy of the decision is here). The property owners lost before the trial court, won before the Appellate Division, but lost in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held: “We... Read More
Ramsey v. Commissioner of Highways: Is there a Santa Claus in Virginia?
Coming to you from Virginia – care of our Owner’s Counsel colleague Robert Thomas – is the case of Ramsey v. Commissioner of Highways, which involves Virginia DOT’s attempt to change its valuation position at trial. Thomas’ Blog entry here. In a nutshell, DOT offered the owner $246,292 before trial (based on an appraisal prepared by... Read More
Federal Judge Restrains Government Action On Dune Project in Margate
Yesterday, a United States District Court judge restrained the U.S. Army Corps and NJDEP from any further action towards their joint Little Egg Inlet to Barnegat Inlet Storm Damage Reduction Project pending further hearings to be held in two weeks time. The City of Margate, which owns the beach west of the State’s public trust... Read More
Ocean County Court: Challenge to Redevelopment Plan Ordinance Premature
Ocean County Assignment Judge Vincent Grasso dismissed a declaratory judgment action filed by a redeveloper against the Township of Ocean finding that the redeveloper had to exhaust its administrative remedies before coming to the Court for relief. Alternatively, it appears that the redeveloper was seeking to partially invalidate or revise an ordinance that had been... Read More
Sometimes Good Fences Don't Make Good Neighbors – Bubis v. Kassin – 20 Years Later
Almost twenty years ago, a new neighbor moved in across from Sophie Bubis’ house at 1 Ocean Place in Loch Arbour. At that time, in 1995, the new neighbors, Jack and Joyce Kassin bought the entire beachfront lot consisting of four + acres. Soon thereafter, the Kassins erected an eight foot high sand berm covered... Read More
Hoboken Property Freed from "In Need Of Rehabilitation" Designation
The historic Neumann Leather building sits on Observer Highway in Hoboken and long ago ceased operating as a tannery. Its industrial zoning clearly outmoded in today’s Hoboken. As recounted by the Hudson Reporter, residential and commercial developers have been salivating over the property for years, but the City has refused to modify the zoning to... Read More
Summary Judgment Affirmed Where Causation Supplied by Net Opinion
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment dismissing a negligence action where plaintiff’s theory of causation was only supported with an expert’s net opinion. Sayta Sankalp, LLC v. Five Star Auction (opinion here). In the case, plaintiff sued defendant for damages to real property caused by fire. The parties were... Read More
City of Pasadena Potentially Liable for Property Damage Caused by Its Trees
On August 14, 2014, the Second Appellate District Court of Appeal of California issued its landmark decision in City of Pasadena v. Superior Court of Califorina (Docket BC491467). The case arose out of a windstorm that occurred in November 2011. A City owned tree fell and damaged a residence insured by Mercury Casualty Company, which paid $293,000... Read More
