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Owner’s Verdict Potpourri of Condemnation Valuation Principles
Last month, the a New Jersey appellate court affirmed a $3,000,000.00 verdict rendered by a Camden County jury for the taking of an eight story 80,000 s.f. building in Camden City Center. The full text of the opinion is here: Estate of Rubin v. Camden Parking Authority. The Parking Authority appealed arguing the owner’s valuation... Read More
Another Day, Another Sale Not Verified
This matter stems from plaintiffs’, Anthony and Patricia-Miliano Paolo, 2019 appeal of their property in the Borough of Bradley Beach. Plaintiff petitioned to the Monmouth County Tax Board to reduce its assessment from $657,700 to $563,000. The Paolos provided the sales of three residences in the Borough but only relied on one as the best... Read More
Appraiser’s Lack of Verification of Data Leads to Affirmed Assessment
In a recent Tax Court matter, the Plaintiff challenged the 2016 tax year assessment of property currently being occupied by a bank. The Bergen County Tax Board and the Tax Court affirmed the assessment. The Court’s legal analysis began with the well-established principle that the original assessment is entitled to a presumption of validity. MSGW... Read More
No Running From a Chapter 91 Request (It Runs With The Land!)
In this recent tax appeal, plaintiff, Fulton Partners, LLC (“Fulton”) filed an appeal for tax year 2017. The City of New Brunswick (“New Brunswick”) moved to dismiss for Fulton’s failure to provide responses to its Chapter 91 request. The Tax Court granted New Brunswick’s motion in part and dismissed the tax appeal for lack of... Read More
Tax Court Denies Application of Single Economic Unit Doctrine
In this Tax Court matter, Judge Jonathan Orsen denied Rutherford Borough’s (“Rutherford”) motion for partial summary judgement. Rutherford’s motion sought an Order directing that the parcels under appeal be treated and valued as a single economic unit along with two contiguous parcels owned by an unrelated party (not under appeal). Plaintiff, EGDC c/o AM Resurg... Read More
Federal Appeals Court Rules PennEast Cannot Haul State into Federal Court for Pipeline Takings
We may be late to the party, as there has already been a lot of publicity over this decision, but thought we would add a few lines for our readers. The Circuit Court immediately explained that the District Court granted PennEast “orders of condemnation and preliminary injunctive relief for immediate access to the properties.” Slip... Read More
50 Year Old Newark Blight Designation Invalidated
On August 16, 2019, the Honorable Thomas Vena, J.S.C. invalidated a 50-year-old blight designation of Plaintiff Benjamin Moore’s property in Newark, New Jersey. The full text of the opinion is a worthwhile read and can be found here. In one respect, it is a fountainhead decision because the Court invalidated a blight designation that had... Read More
Fore! State-Owned Golf Course Ruled Tax Exempt Due to Public Purpose Law
The New Jersey Tax Court in Cream Ridge Golf, LLC, et. al., v. Township of Freehold examined whether a state-owned golf course (which is tax exempt) loses its exemption by leasing the property to a private entity for profit, then is the private entity also tax exempt? The Court said so long as the golf... Read More
Paying the Pied Piper: Third Circuit Court of Appeals Court Rules That State Law Applies in Federal Eminent Domain Suit
In TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC v. PERMANENT EASEMENT FOR 7.053 ACRES, et als, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit faced an issue of first impression, and held that State eminent domain law must be applied in federal takings matters. Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, a private utility corporation, holds a certificate... Read More
Non-Residential Development Fees: the Plain Language Confirms
The New Jersey Tax Court recently determined 1) whether a subject property was improved for the purposes of calculating the Non-Residential Development Fee (“NRDF”)(N.J.S.A. 40:55D-8.1 to 8.7) and 2) the correct date to use when determining the preexisting value of the subject property for the purposes of computing the NRDF owed. The NRDF is applied... Read More
