Connolly v. Board of Assessors

32 A.D.2d 106, 300 N.Y.S.2d 192, 1969 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3931
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedMay 19, 1969
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 32 A.D.2d 106 (Connolly v. Board of Assessors) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Connolly v. Board of Assessors, 32 A.D.2d 106, 300 N.Y.S.2d 192, 1969 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3931 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1969).

Opinion

Brennan, J.

The issues in this case have been discussed in detail with elaborated reasoning in the opinion of Justice Suozzi in C.H.O.B. Assoc. v. Board of Assessors of County of Nassau (45 Misc 2d 184, affd. 22 A D 2d 1015, affd. 16 N Y 2d 779). We concur generally in the well-reasoned opinion in C.H.O.B., but since that case involved a taxpayer’s action pursuant to section 51 of the General Municipal Law and the complaint therein was dismissed for the plaintiff’s failure to establish waste or injury, the observations there relating to the issue of legality are dicta. Nonetheless, we are of the opinion that this very persuasive precedent should apply with equal force at bar and it might suffice to predicate our affirmance on what was said therein, but, by way of caution and in light of the important questions presented, some additional comment appears desirable.

The petitioner commenced this proceeding to review an assessment for taxation on real property pursuant to article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law and alleged that the respondent’s new method of assessment was illegal in that it violated section 306 and subdivision 3 of section 502 of the said statute and section 603 of the County Government Law of Nassau County (L. 1936, ch. 879, as amd.). The petitioner also claimed that her property, which consists of three vacant lots, each 25 feet by 100 feet, has been overvalued and that the assessment for 1967/68 is unequal in that it was made at a higher proportionate valuation than value estimates of other property on the same assessment roll. It appears to be undisputed that prior to 1964 the petitioner’s property was assessed at $340 pursuant to the values listed on a land value map apparently maintained by the respondent since 1938/39. Her property was valued at $1,970 on the 1967/68 assessment roll and she argues that the assessment must be reduced to the level at which it was prior to the adoption of the tax rolls for 1963/64. Her motion for summary judgment was denied and, on re argument, the respondent was granted partial summary judgment dismissing that portion of the petition which claimed illegality in the method of the preparation of the assessments. On this appeal the petitioner argues only the question of illegality.

Until 1964 the respondent assessed improved and unimproved property at 100% of the valuations listed on a land [108]*108value map. The valuations reflected a property’s worth in terms of 1938 prices (County Government Law of Nassau County, § 603; Matter of Mid-Island Shopping Plaza v. Podeyn, 25 Misc 2d 972, affd. 14 A D 2d 571, affd. 10 N Y 2d 966). In 1964 the respondent found that the relationship of assessment to market value as to unimproved property bore considerably less uniformity than the assessment ratio for improved properties. Pursuant to several resolutions enacted that year the respondent adopted a “ Current Market Value Land Map ” and declared that 33%% “represents the fair equalized ratio of assessed value to current market value of vacant and unimproved land in the County.”

The effect of the resolutions was to create two classes of property for assessment purposes.

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Related

Burrows v. Board of Assessors
98 A.D.2d 250 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
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93 A.D.2d 388 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1983)
Linden Hill No. 2 Cooperative Corp. v. Tishelman
107 Misc. 2d 799 (New York Supreme Court, 1981)
Hellerstein v. Assessor of Islip
332 N.E.2d 279 (New York Court of Appeals, 1975)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
32 A.D.2d 106, 300 N.Y.S.2d 192, 1969 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 3931, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/connolly-v-board-of-assessors-nyappdiv-1969.