BLOG: Property Tax Appeal
Doughnut and Coffee With Reversal and Remand
The Appellate Division reversed and remanded a decision of the Tax Court that affirmed the assessment on a Dunkin Donuts property in the City of Elizabeth. The appellate court found that the lower court erred by relying on evidence not in the record. Plaintiff’s appraiser utilized the income capitalization approach to appraise the property. In... Read More
“I Don’t Remember Sending It but Probably Did”…Works to Defeat Chapter 91 Dismissal Motion
We recently summarized Gamma-Upsilon Alumni Ass’n of Kappa Sigma, Inc. v. City of New Brunswick, a case in which the plaintiff’s tax appeal was dismissed due to its failure to respond to the assessor’s request for income and expense Information, in accordance with N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (commonly known as “Chapter 91”). Chapter 91 provides that a... Read More
Fraternity’s creative arguments no match for Chapter 91
Perhaps not since Otter’s impassioned plea to keep Delta House from being kicked off campus in the 1978 classic movie, Animal House, has a fraternity presented such a creative argument. Of course, in Gamma-Upsilon Alumni Ass’n of Kappa Sigma, Inc. v. City of New Brunswick, a recent published opinion of the New Jersey Tax Court, seasoned... Read More
Will it be strike 3 for cost estimating software in the NJ Tax Court? Stay tuned.
In a recent decision, ML Plainsboro Ltd Partnership v. Township of Plainsboro, the Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Tax Court denied a taxpayer’s motion to strike the opinion of the municipality’s appraiser who relied upon cost estimating software to determine reproduction costs as part of a cost approach analysis. While this would appear to... Read More
Two Different Taxpayers Prove Value and Score at Trial
Two recent Tax Court valuation trials have resulted in favorable outcomes for the taxpayer. First, in the trial of 416 Route 10 Associates v. East Hanover, plaintiff’s expert deliberately made no adjustments to his comparable leases in the expert’s income approach. Plaintiff’s expert reasoned that numerical adjustments simply led to more rigorous cross-examination so the... Read More
When it Comes to Farmland Exemption, You Can’t Have it Both Ways
The Tax Court recently issued its opinion following trial in Sam. S. Russo v. Twp. of Plumsted. The central issue at trial was whether plaintiff’s property met the statutory requirements for farmland assessment for tax year 2012. In addition to income and acreage requirements, agricultural or horticultural use must be the dominant use of the... Read More
Stick to the Cost Approach When Valuing Nursing Homes
In two recent decisions, the Tax Court addressed the proper valuation methodology in determining the market value of nursing/rehabilitation facilities. In 962 River Ave., LLC v. Twp. of Lakewood, the property at issue was a 126-unit, 242-bed, skilled nursing facility that provides short-term rehabilitation services, long-term care, and specialty services for Huntington Disease. Plaintiff filed a... Read More
Tax Court Disagrees with Board’s Dismissal, Denies Motion to Dismiss and Preserves Appeal
Under N.J.S.A. 54:51A-1(c), the Tax Court is precluded from reviewing an appeal from the county board of taxation if the appeal to the board was either (1) withdrawn; (2) settled; (3) or dismissed for lack of prosecution. Non-appearance by a taxpayer at a county board hearing will constitute as a failure to prosecute the appeal,... Read More
Township Ordered to Refund Property Owner that Paid Taxes by Mistake
The Correction of Errors statute, N.J.S.A. 54:4-54, provides relief where a taxpayer has mistakenly paid the property taxes of another. Under this statute, in Hanover Floral Co. v. East Hanover Twp., the plaintiff sought a refund of property taxes paid by mistake of property that was not their own. By mistake of the Township’s Tax... Read More
Flawed Highest and Best Use Determination Cripples Taxpayer’s Case
A valuation trial of a retail bank branch was recently heard before the Tax Court. Beneficial Mutual Savings Bank v. Twp. of Mount Laurel involved a one-story retail bank branch that is owner-occupied. The history of the subject property was relevant to plaintiff’s valuation analysis. Approximately 20 years ago, Rt. 38 was widened from four lanes... Read More
