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Assessment on Condo Common Elements Nullified by Tax Court, Affirmed on Appeal
The Appellate Division recently considered the New Jersey Tax Court’s invalidation of assessment placed by South Orange on the common elements of a condominium property. Plaintiff, The Top Condominium, was established as a condominum association under New Jersey’s Condominium Act. The master deed establishing the condominium consists of 93 units located in the Township of... Read More
CRDA Denied Authority to Take – Birnbaum Wins on Reconsideration
On August 5, 2016, Judge Mendez reversed himself issuing an Order holding that the Casino Reinvestment Development Corp.’s condemnation of the Birnbaum property was a “manifest abuse of the eminent domain power” and exceeded CRDA’s statutory authority. Thereby dismissing the case commenced over two years ago. Initially the Court denied the Birnbaum’s challenge to the... Read More
Veterans Fight City Hall…And Win!
Congratulations to the Veterans who are members of the Cedar Grove VFW hall on regaining the property tax exemption for their property, and to M&R’s Rich DeAngelis for taking on this case and his important win! Read the article here.... Read More
New Jersey’s Stance on Eminent Domain Since Kelo v. New London
The United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Kelo v. City of New London in 2005 served as a wake-up call for eminent domain usage and abuse, as the Court affirmed that, depending upon any state or local laws to the contrary, it was and is permissible for government agencies to seize private property as a... Read More
Sales Approach Rejected in Valuing Rental Property
In reviewing a recent decision by the Honorable Patrick DeAlmeida, the Presiding Judge of the New Jersey Tax Court, the first thing that jumps out is the large reductions — approximate $1.84 million in reduced assessments for each of the years under appeal. The appeal involved a free-standing Barnes & Noble store in Evesham Township brought by the retailer, a... Read More
Taxpayer Forced to Disclose Bank’s Mortgage Appraisal in Tax Appeal
In the context tax appeals, municipalities and taxpayers will often bump heads about the disclosure of an appraisal report prepared by a mortgage lender. Although these reports cannot be utilized at trial for determining the market value of the property in a tax appeal, municipalities may still demand the taxpayer to disclose the report. This... Read More
Intervention by Taxpayer Denied in New Jersey Tax Appeal
In another recent opinion, Farmland Dairies, Inc. v. Bor. of Wallington, the Tax Court of New Jersey addressed the actions of a non-party private taxpayer who filed a motion to intervene in a pending appeal of Farmland Dairies, Inc. Farmland Dairies, Inc. filed direct appeals to the tax court for tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016. A private... Read More
Partial Exemption Issue Addressed by Tax Court of NJ
In a recently published opinion, the Tax Court of New Jersey addressed the applicability of the partial exemption statute. In Savage Mills Enterprises, LLC v. Bor. of Little Silver, the plaintiff argued that it was entitled to a partial exemption on a portion of its property that was subject to a 99-year ground lease to a... Read More
Residential Taxpayers in Franklin Lakes Pick Up Win in Tax Court
The Tax Court recently issued an opinion following the trial in Givant v. Franklin Lakes, wherein owners of a single family home filed complaints challenging their assessments for the 2012 and 2013 tax years. The property subject of the appeal is a colonial-style single-family home, built around 1984 with a gross living area of 4,160 sq.... Read More
Former Governor weighs in on property tax exemptions
In a recent opinion piece, former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean criticized the decision of the New Jersey Tax Court that found Morristown Memorial Hospital is a for-profit enterprise and upheld the denial of a local property tax exemption on all but a few areas of the hospital’s facilities. Governor Kean referred to the decision... Read More
