BLOG:
Appraiser’s Lack of Support for Adjustments Once Again Dooms Taxpayer’s Appeal
Despite presenting an expert witness at trial, another taxpayer failed to convince the NewJersey Tax Court that its property was over assessed. In Arteaga v. Wyckoff, the taxpayer challenged the original assessments of a single-family home for tax years 2012, 2013, and 2015. Wyckoff underwent a revaluation for tax year 2015. The taxpayer filed appeals... Read More
Relevant Parcel Question on the U.S. Supreme Court Docket for 2016
Last week, the Court granted a cert. petition, which presented the following question: “In a regulatory taking case, does the “parcel as a whole” concept as described in Penn Central Transportation Company v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104, 130-31 (1978), establish a rule that two legally distinct, but commonly owned contiguous parcels, must... Read More
2016 ALI CLE Eminent Domain Conference Around the Corner
This year’s version of the annual ALI CLE Eminent Domain and Land Valuation Conference is just around the corner, and promises to be another good one. The conference will be held in Austin, Texas, includes soup to nuts coverage of the hottest issues in eminent domain law from around the country, and offers prime networking... Read More
Tax Court Reaffirms the Inapplicability of Freeze Act Relief in a Reval Year
Back in July, we summarized the Tax Court’s decision following the trial in Seaboard Landing, LLC v. Borough of Penns Grove, which can be read here. It was a peculiar case where despite the fallacies in the taxpayer’s appraisal report, the Borough still proceeded to present its expert witness who testified that the assessment did... Read More
Challenge to Redevelopment Bonds Untimely
The New Jersey Supreme Court recently affirmed dismissal of a property owner’s challenge to a municipal ordinance that authorized issuance of $6.3M in municipal bonds to fund redevelopment of the famous Edison Battery Building in West Orange, N.J. Opinion here. The owner’s group filed their challenge 53 days after final publication of the bond ordinance.... Read More
Princeton University Unable to Shift the Burden
Rarely do taxpayers file tax appeals challenging an exemption claim of someone else’s property. It is even rarer when that challenge is brought against a private university. In Kenneth Fields, et al v. Trustees of Princeton University, property owners of Princeton Borough filed complaints challenging the property tax exemptions that have been granted by the... Read More
Avon Borough to Challenge Monmouth County Tax Process
The Borough of Avon reportedly will file suit to challenge the relatively new “pilot” program for real estate tax appeals filed before the Monmouth County Tax Board. The Borough Council recently voted unanimously to ask the New Jersey Department of the Treasury to intervene and stop the pilot program, which officials say has created... Read More
Citizens and Property Owners Unhappy about Proposed Penn East Pipeline
As reported by Lehigh Valley Live, Penn East submitted its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late September to install a gas transmission line that would cross through several New Jersey counties and into Pennsylvania. The new pipeline is part of Penn East’s Southern Reliability Link and would connect with the Williams-Transco... Read More
Lacking Credibility, Taxpayer Loses Fight Against Ch. 91 Motion
An intriguing set of facts unfolded in a fight against the Township’s Chapter 91 motion in R&M Manufacturing v. Twp. of Monroe. Normally, Ch. 91 requests by municipalities are composed of a cover letter, an income and expense statement (I&E statement), a “Schedule A” with instructions on how to fill them out, and a copy of the... Read More
Grand Central Sues Over Air Rights Taking
In retaliatory fashion, the owner of Grand Central Station has sued the City of New York, et al. because of a recent approval that would allow its neighbor to construct a 1,000 foot high office tower. The New York Times reported on September 28th that the owner “filed a $1.1 billion lawsuit in United States... Read More
