BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
So what does moldy bread have to do with valuing contaminated property?
When I was a boy staying at my grandparents shore house I informed my grandfather that we needed bread because there was mold on the loaf we had. He told me to cut out the mold and eat the “good” bread. Needless to say, I went without bread until later in the week when my grandmother... Read More
Tax Court: No Show, No Go!
In Harshad Patel v. Township of Maple Shade, the New Jersey Tax Court granted Maple Shade’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s 2012 tax appeal complaint for lack of prosecution because plaintiff failed to appear at the scheduled hearing before the Burlington County Board of Taxation. The facts were not disputed by the parties. Plaintiff’s attorney faxed... Read More
Taxpayer Fails to Overcome “Presumption of Correctness”
Another New Jersey property owner learned the hard way that reducing a property tax assessment may not be as easy as it seems. In Stransky v. Township of Howell, the owner filed an appeal from a Monmouth County Tax Board judgment which had affirmed the 2012 assessment on a 13 acre farm containing a single-family... Read More
Property Owners Score in a Chapter 91 Trifecta
In a trio of Tax Court cases dealing with Chapter 91, the Tax Court reaffirmed the obligation of municipalities to adhere to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 if they want the court to dismiss tax appeals under the statute. As has been discussed numerous times on this blog, N.J.S.A. 54:4-34, also known as “Chapter 91,”... Read More
All or Nothing: Appeals Dismissed for Failure to Challenge Overall Assessment by Tenant
Plaintiff/Tenant Brunswick Hills Racquet Club timely filed tax appeals for tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013. East Brunswick Township moved to dismiss all years under appeal after plaintiff conceded that it was not contesting the total assessed value of the shopping mall where it was located, but was instead only challenging the values allocated to... Read More
Bad penmanship not “good cause” to compel production of tax returns
In Robmar Realty Assoc. v. Rockaway Twp. the Tax Court upheld the policy of protecting tax returns from disclosure in litigation unless the information is clearly relevant to the subject matter of the action. In Robmar, the court denied the Township’s motion to compel copies of plaintiff’s tax returns. While not apparent from the moving papers,... Read More
Wegman’s Ducks Landlord’s Attorneys’ Fee Claim Following Successful Tax Appeal
Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is no longer on the hook for nearly $58,000 in attorneys’ fees related to a tax appeal after a two-judge panel from the New Jersey Appellate Division agreed that the owner of shopping center could not collect the fees as additional rent. Another tenant in the shopping center, Lowes Home Center,... Read More
Apartment Complex Wins Assessment Reductions at Trial
A New Jersey Tax Court judge reduced the assessment for two of the three years under appeal on an apartment complex in the Town of Phillipsburg. The Subject Property contained 96 apartment units on a 4.19 acres parcel in a residential zone. At trial, the parties agreed that the highest and best use of the... Read More
Millburn Synagogue Retains Property Tax Exemption
This week a New Jersey appeals court affirmed a property tax exemption which had been granted by the Tax Court concerning a three-story house in Millburn Township that had been used as a synagogue. The dispute focused on the use of the property by Chai Center’s rabbi as his principal residence, although religious services... Read More
The Borgata gives new meaning to the saying that “the house always wins.”
Every day thousands of disappointed gamblers leave Atlantic City with their wallets a little lighter. For most, this makes for a long ride out of town. After a Tax Court ruling earlier this month in favor of the Borgata, Atlantic City officials may wish to take a long ride out of town. As far as... Read More
