BLOG: Property Tax Appeal

Another Contract Purchaser Wins Right to Pursue Tax Appeal

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
19 Dec 2013
The New Jersey Tax Court recently held that a contract purchaser had standing to prosecute its tax appeal.  The facts are plain and uncomplicated.  In February 2012, plaintiff entered into a purchase agreement with the property owner that was eventually signed by both parties on March 29, 2012, although the closing did not occur until... Read More

So what does moldy bread have to do with valuing contaminated property?

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
18 Dec 2013
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!

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
12 Dec 2013
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”

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
10 Dec 2013
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
9 Dec 2013
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

New Jersey Dipping Its Toes Into Underwater Mortgage Pool?

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
9 Dec 2013
This week, two separate New Jersey related stories surfaced regarding the potential use of eminent domain to seize “underwater” mortgages. First, the city of Newark has indicated that it will begin researching the viability of a plan to condemn troubled mortgages in an effort to allow struggling homeowners to stay in their homes.  Newark is... Read More

All or Nothing: Appeals Dismissed for Failure to Challenge Overall Assessment by Tenant

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
20 Nov 2013
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
19 Nov 2013
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
15 Nov 2013
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

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
12 Nov 2013
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