BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Who’s Got it Right? Court Finds Aging Corporate Center No Longer Holds Preeminence it Once Did and Was Not a Special Purpose Property
ML Plainsboro LTD Partnership/Gomez v. Plainsboro revolved around the highest and best use of two lots located at 800 Scudders Mill Road in Plainsboro. When the two lots were built by Merrill Lynch from 1985-1994, it was designed to be a premier corporate campus. It featured an office building with a fitness center and cafeteria... Read More
Appeals Court Finds Restaurant on University Campus Tax Exempt Due to Colorful Arguments
On May 31, 2018, the Tax Court of New Jersey held that a restaurant operated on Kean University’s campus did not constitute a university space and therefore was liable for local property taxes. Exactly one year later, an Appellate Division decision reversed the Tax Court decision and ruled that space on Kean University’s campus was... Read More
The App. Div. Says: “No Veteran’s Exemption Upon Remarriage”
The Appellate Division reversed the Tax Court’s judgment conferring a military veteran’s exemption for tax year 2016 as the surviving spouse of her first husband (an honorably discharged, decorated Vietnam veteran who qualified for an exemption) who remarried. The spouse’s exemption qualifies only during widowhood related to the death of the qualifying husband. This right... Read More
Property Tax: Does “Mere Retrofitting or Upgrading” Trigger an Added Assessment?
Judge Vito Bianco, pursuant to R. 2:5-6(c), filed an amplification letter expanding on his reasons for deciding to grant plaintiff, Plaza Twenty Three Station, LLC’s (“Plaza”) motion for summary judgment for tax year 2017 and denied its motion for summary judgment for tax year 2018. Plaza’s motion was to invalidate a 2017 added assessment imposed... Read More
App. Div. To Condemnors: Is This Really Necessary?
A recent New Jersey Appellate Division case focused upon the showing of necessity that a municipality or agency must make to condemn property located in a redevelopment zone and take it from its owners. The panel reversed the trial court’s decision allowing the Borough of Glassboro (“Borough”) to acquire Defendant’s (Jack Grossman, Matthew Roche and... Read More
Specificity is Key When Comparing Hotels
In this matter, Ridgefield Park Lodging Associates (“RPLA”) challenged its 2009 added assessment and 2010 and 2011 property tax assessments. The subject property is improved with a 76,858 square foot Hilton Garden Inn hotel. The Village of Ridgefield Park (“VRP”) counterclaimed that the current assessments were lower than the true value of property. RPLA withdrew... Read More
Which (Valuation Method) Do You Choose?
In a January 11 decision, the New Jersey Tax Court affirmed taxpayer Ortiz’s property tax assessment for years 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Ortiz challenged the assessment of their 2-story colonial-style, single family residence situated on .91 acre of land with a gross living area of approximately 10,346 square feet with an attached accessory dwelling... Read More
The Freeze Act: Waiver and Change in Value
The Tax Court recently addressed issues regarding waiver of the Freeze Act (N.J.S.A. 54:51A-8) as well as differences between an increase in value for Freeze Act purposes and what constitutes an added assessment. The taxpayer, 160 Chubb Properties, LLC (“Chubb”), argued it was entitled to Freeze Act application for the 2017 tax year while Township... Read More
Appraisers Beware: Use Competent Data!
In a recent Tax Court decision, Judge Kathi Fiamingo affirmed the Burlington County Board of Taxation’s judgment of a 2017 assessment of a single family residence where plaintiff’s expert did not present credible and competent evidence from which a true value could be adduced. When presenting evidence in a real estate tax appeal in New... Read More
Tax Court Denies Subpoena Request
A recent Tax Court decision concerned a subpoena regarding a non-party’s appraisal report and income and expense information relating to a 2018 property tax assessment. In Township of Gloucester v. Lakeview Realty Investment Associates, the court denied the municipality’s motion to direct a non-party bank to produce the above information, citing its relevance and plaintiff’s... Read More
