River House-Bronxville v. Gallaway

100 A.D.2d 970, 475 N.Y.S.2d 291, 1984 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 18119
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedApril 30, 1984
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 100 A.D.2d 970 (River House-Bronxville v. Gallaway) 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
River House-Bronxville v. Gallaway, 100 A.D.2d 970, 475 N.Y.S.2d 291, 1984 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 18119 (N.Y. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

In consolidated proceedings pursuant to article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law to review assessments for the years 1976,1977 and 1978 on real property improved with a cooperative apartment building, the appeal is from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Sullivan, J.), entered July 15, 1982, which, inter alia, reduced the assessments. 11 Judgment affirmed, without costs or disbursements. 11 Petitioner has previously appealed (1) from a judgment of the Supreme Court, Westchester County (Sullivan, J.), dated October [971]*97119, 1979, which determined the fair market value of the property, applied stipulated equalization ratios, sustained the assessments under review and dismissed the petitions; and (2) from an order of the same court, dated November 19,1979, which denied petitioner’s motion, inter alia, to reopen the case. By order dated January 12, 1981 (Matter of River House-Bronxville v Gallaway, 79 AD2d 990), this court reversed the judgment and order appealed from and granted petitioner’s motion to the extent of remitting the matter to Special Term for further proceedings consistent with our memorandum decision on the appeals. 11 The assessments under review are for the tax years 1976,1977 and 1978 and relate to a cooperative apartment building containing 52 apartments plus a superintendent’s apartment in the basement. The building was constructed in 1959. H When the original trial was held on June 4, 1979, in reported cases involving the review of assessments on cooperative apartment buildings, the experts employed by the litigants generally utilized the capitalization of net income approach to value, determining estimated annual gross income by treating the property as though it were a commercial venture (i.e., a conventional apartment property) and imputing rental value to the cooperative building by comparison to rental properties (see Matter of Milton Harbor Co. v Assessor of City of Rye, 47 AD2d 632; Matter of880 Fifth Ave. Corp. v Tax Comm., 20 AD2d 879, affd 17 NY2d 794). Accordingly, at the original trial the experts for both the petitioner and the appellants used the income approach (Matter of River House-Bronxville v Hoffman, 101 Mise 2d 422, 423, revd 79 AD2d 990, supra). 11 On advice of counsel, the appraiser for the municipalities also utilized a market data approach and relied upon it as the primary indicator of value. Under that method the market values of the individual cooperatives in the building were determined by examination of the actual sales of cooperative apartments on the property and in comparable cooperative buildings (Matter of River House-Bronxville v Hoffman, 101 Mise 2d 422, 423, supra). The method as used at the original trial was subjected to various adjustments, including a 20% discount factor that an investor would demand for the risk and expense of holding the property prior to its sale. H The trial court noted in its decision after the original trial (Matter of River HouseBronxville v Hoffman, 101 Mise 2d 422, 423, supra): 11 “As counsel for the respondent, Village of Bronxville, states in his posttrial brief, ‘The issue presented by this case is one of first impression so far as research has disclosed for the Courts of this State, which is: Is it proper to use a market data approach in tax certiorari proceedings to determine the full value of a cooperative building based upon the values of the individual cooperative units and relying upon actual sales of the units in the subject property and sales of comparable units in the immediate area?’ 11 “This presents a question of first impression because in the reported cases involving the review of assessments on cooperative apartment buildings, the experts employed by the litigants utilized the income approach to value. (See Matter of Milton Harbor Co. v Assessor of City of Rye, 47 AD2d 632; Matter of [880] Fifth Ave. Corp. v Tax Comm, of City ofN. Y., 20 AD2d 879, affd 17 NY2d 794.)” 11 The court found that the sales of units within the petitioner’s cooperative and comparable cooperative apartment buildings in the immediate vicinity “more accurately reflect[ed] the value” of the subject “than does an income approach which is not even partially based upon reality” (Matter of River House-Bronxville v Hoffman, 101 Mise 2d 422, 424, supra). Note was also taken of the statutory limitation pertaining to assessment of condominiums. The court declared (Matter of River HouseBronxville v Hoffman, 101 Mise 2d 422, 424-425, supra): “The petitioner urges that in view of section 339-y of the Real Property Law and Matter of Marks v Pelcher (58 AD2d 812) and the subsequent decision upon retrial by Mr. Justice Farley, reported in the New York Law Journal (June 14, 1978, p 16, col 4), [972]*972that the court must adopt an income approach to value. Subdivision 1 of section 339-y provides that with respect to condominiums, ‘In no event shall the aggregate of the assessment of the units plus their common interests exceed the total valuation of the property were the property assessed as a parcel’ ”. The court then concluded that the statutory ceiling on condominium valuations did not apply to cooperatives and that the market data approach — with certain adjustments — could be used and the assessments sustained based on that method (Matter of River House-Bronxville v Hoffman, 101 Mise 2d 422, 425-426, supra): H “First of all, this court holds that section 339-y of the Real Property Law does not apply to co-operative apartment buildings and Matter of Marks v Pelcher (supra) does not require condominium treatment for co-ops. 1i “This court was concerned with using a market approach to valuing a co-op for the very reason referred to by Mr. Justice Farley in his decision upon the retrial of the Marks case, namely, the lack of a margin of profit to a prospective purchaser and the problems and expenses incurred in maintaining such property during a sell out. In the case now before the court, Mr. Albert’s approach to value has made allowances for these items by discounting the values he found in his market approach by 20% to cover these items. The court finds from the record in this case that the Albert approach more accurately reflects the true market value of the subject property in keeping with the realities of the marketplace and without indulging in extensive speculation by valuing it under an income approach as an entity which it clearly is not, never has been, and probably will never be. I “ For all of the foregoing reasons, the court finds that the fair market value of the subject property during the years under review was that found by Mr. Albert under his market approach to value: for 1976, $3,346,700; for 1977, $3,496,400; and for 1978, $3,658,500. $ “Upon application of the stipulated equalization ratios for both the town and village to the afore-mentioned fair market values of the property as found by the court, the assessments on the subject River House for each of the years under review are sustained.” 11 On appeal this court reversed the judgment and order appealed from and remitted the matter for a hearing consistent with our memorandum decision (Matter of River House-Bronxville v Gallaway, 79 AD2d 990, supra). The remittitur was for the purpose of receiving further evidence on the issue of the percentage of discount to be taken for specified factors on the market data approach and also on the issue of the reproduction cost less depreciation ceiling on building value. Thereafter, in Matter of 200 Country Club Assoc, v Board of Assessors (83 AD2d 637), we expressly approved the market data method for valuing cooperatives.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

W.O.R.C. Realty Corp. v. Board of Assessors
100 A.D.3d 75 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 2012)
Interlaken Owners, Inc. v. Assessor of Eastchester
225 A.D.2d 696 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1996)
Southern Westchester Associates v. Assessor of Yonkers
122 A.D.2d 212 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1986)
South Bay Development Corp. v. Board of Assessors
108 A.D.2d 493 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1985)
Johnson v. Town of Haverstraw
102 A.D.2d 451 (Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
100 A.D.2d 970, 475 N.Y.S.2d 291, 1984 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 18119, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/river-house-bronxville-v-gallaway-nyappdiv-1984.