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Township’s Error Saves Taxpayer from Tax Increase

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
1 Jul 2014
The owner of a mobile home park in Fairfield Township, Cumberland County, challenged the 2011 and 2012 tax assessments on the park in the Tax Court following a Township-wide revaluation. The Township filed a “cross complaint” alleging that it reserved its rights to apply added assessments for each of the tax years. The mobile home... Read More

Pay Now, Litigate Later Upheld

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
20 Jun 2014
New Jersey law requires that property taxes must be paid as a prerequisite to filing an appeal before the Tax Court. The principle that taxes must be paid first is to insure that municipal reviews are not interrupted while tax appeals are litigated by the parties. Municipalities take advantage of this requirement to seek dismissal... Read More

Secretly Recorded Phone Conversation Fails to Support New Trial Claim

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
17 Jun 2014
A very routine tax appeal trial took a very unusual turn after entry of judgment in the matter. Plaintiff filed a tax appeal on his single family home in Barnegat Township before the Ocean County Board of Taxation, which reduced his assessment from $300,000 to $283,000. Plaintiff then appealed to the Tax Court challenging the... Read More

A Tale of Two Cities . . . Wanting to Tax the Same Property

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
6 Jun 2014
In a recent appeal, the property owner – a condominium association – filed a tax appeal for its property which straddles the municipal boundaries of South Orange and Maplewood. The condominiums are located on the Maplewood side of the boundary line, and a 1.46 acre parcel containing a driveway, shrubbery, and plantings are located on... Read More

California Court: Pre-condemnation Entry Statute Unconstitutional

by: Joseph Grather
5 Jun 2014
A California appellate court recently declared its pre-condemnation entry statute unconstitutional. Property Reserve, Inc. v. Dep’t of Water Resources (JCCP No. 4594, March 13, 2014).  While we are not going to recount all the details of the comprehensive opinion here, the State was seeking access to private property pre-condemnation in connection with a proposed tunnel... Read More

Tax Court: Town’s Assessment of Beach Property is a “Lot” of Baloney!

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
4 Jun 2014
A recent decision by New Jersey Tax Court Presiding Judge Patrick DeAlmeida, highlighted the lack of credibility of a creative valuation approach by the Borough of Bay Head.  The appeal concerned a large single family residence with ocean views, for which scant comparable sales evidence existed due to the unique nature of the 5,000 square... Read More

To Conquer, Taxpayer Must Divide

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
27 May 2014
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed the decision of Presiding Tax Court Judge Patrick DeAlmeida, in which the Tax Court affirmed multi-year assessments on six commercial condominium units owned by the same party.  The units were located in a five-story building in the Township of Lyndhurst, all of which were owned by the taxpayer,... Read More

Harrison’s defense denies Red Bulls for a third time

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
23 May 2014
The owner of Red Bull Arena is unable to break through Harrison’s defense in its pursuit of a property tax exemption for its arena that is home to the New York Red Bulls Soccer Club. In two separate 2012 opinions dealing with the 2010 (see Red Card for Red Bull Soccer Stadium) and 2011 (see Red... Read More

Newark Property Owner Snuffed on Damage Claim After Dismissal of Taking

by: Anthony F. Della Pelle
19 May 2014
A New Jersey appellate court recently decided the sequel to a failed condemnation action from 2012 regarding property in Newark.  The property in question was commercial property owned in condominium form by New United Corp. and the Essex County Improvement Authority (“ECIA”), containing five buildings and a parking garage.  Due to prior disputes between the... Read More

Appeals Court: Hearing Was Required Regarding Impact of Wetlands

by: Joseph Grather
14 May 2014
On May 6, 2014, the Appellate Division published its opinion in New Jersey Transit v. Mori (Docket No. A-0122-12T4).  The case involved acquisition of property impacted by wetlands regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers. Plaintiff’s estimate of compensation for the one acre (out of fourteen) partial taking was $61,000 given the presence of wetlands... Read More