1124 Valley Road

Lawsuits: Three Property Owners Appeal Assessments

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The town last week received three lawsuits filed on behalf of three property owners appealing New Canaan’s decision to uphold assessments finalized during the recent revaluation. The owners of 90 Main Street and 18 Forest Street (a limited liability company whose principal is listed in state records as a Norwalk woman), 1124 Valley Road (the First Taxing District of Norwalk) and 61 Elm St. (an LLC controlled by a Manhattan man) each appealed before the New Canaan Board of Assessment Appeals in March what they determined to be “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful” valuations, according to the suits, filed by attorney Frank Murphy of Norwalk’s Tierney, Zullo, Flaherty & Murphy PC. In each case, the Board upheld the assessments, the lawsuit said. The properties are well known to New Canaanites—90 Main St.

Elm Street Property Owner Sues Town Over Assessment

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The owner of an 8,700-square-foot commercial building on Elm Street last week filed a claim in state Superior Court appealing the town’s decision to preserve its assessment of the property from last fall. 

In its October revaluation, the town assessed the two-story structure at 111 Elm St. at $3,063,480, a figure that is “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” according to a lawsuit filed April 18 by attorneys Gary Klein and Liam Burke of Stamford-based Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey LLP. 

The property owner, a Southport-based limited liability company whose principal lives in Palm Beach, Fla., sought relief from the New Canaan Board of Assessment Appeals but that appointed body made no changes, “thereby denying the relief the Applicant requested,” according to the complaint. “The applicant is aggrieved by the decision,” it said. The property owners is seeking a reduction and to be reimbursed for any tax overpayment with interest, according to the suit. 

Town officials said during the budget season that wrapped up this month that the real estate portion of New Canaan’s Grand List—a tally of all taxable property in the town—is expected to decline by about $37.6 million following post-revaluation assessment appeals. Given New Canaan’s anticipated mill rate of 18.259, that makes for a reduction of about $672,000 in town revenue, officials said.

Board of Assessment Appeals

After Reval, Total Reductions through Assessment Appeals Expected To Be Minor

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Town officials said Tuesday that the value of all taxable property in New Canaan is not expected to change substantially as a result of assessment appeals following the recent revaluation. The Grand List likely will see a reduction of about $20 million after the Board of Assessment Appeals completes its work, according to Sebastian Calderella, the town assessor. During a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Caldarella provided the following history of appeals after a town-wide reval:

 

“It varies, depending on where the market is going,” Caldarella said during the meeting, held at Town Hall. 

First Selectman Kevin Moynihan noted that the figures Caldarella cited are not final since some people appeal local assessment decisions in court. Officials have said New Canaan’s Grand List would decline by some $570 million as a result of the revaluation, to about $7.7 billion overall. Selectman Nick Williams called the $20 million figure is “a proverbial drop in the bucket” as part of the overall Grand List.

Board of Assessment Appeals

Judge Denies Town’s Attempt To Transfer Tax Assessment Appeal Case to New Britain 

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A state Superior Court judge has sustained an objection filed on behalf of a New Canaan business that’s objecting to the town’s valuation of 52 vehicles in its fleet, Connecticut Judicial Branch records show. The town had sought to transfer the case of Hoyt Livery versus the Town of New Canaan to New Britain, saying the state Tax and Administrative Appeals Session located there specializes in appeals such as the one brought in September by the Cross Street business. However, Judge Robert Genuario on Nov. 13 sustained an objection filed on behalf of Hoyt Livery by Danbury-based attorney Candace Fay. Fay noted in her objection that none of the areas over which the Tax Session has exclusive statewide jurisdiction—orders from the Department of Revenue Services, certain decrees of the probated courts and decisions of the Penalty Review Committee, for example—apply in this case.

Government

Business Sues Over Assessment of Motor Vehicles

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The town on Thursday received a civil summons filed on behalf of a local business that’s objecting to the town’s valuation of 52 vehicles in its fleet. New Canaan last year assessed the Hoyt Livery vehicles—mostly newer-model Chevys, Fords, Lincolns and Chryslers, ranging from about $4,000 to $31,000—in a way that was “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” according to the lawsuit, filed by Danbury-based attorney Candace Fay. 

Representatives for Hoyt Livery on Sept. 5 appeared before the Board of Assessment Appeals to make its case, yet that volunteer body “made inconclusive and unsubstantiated changes in the valuations” and notified the plaintiff about them on Sept. 11, the lawsuit said. The legal filing seeks to appeal the Board’s ruling and reduce the assessment, with a reimbursement for overpayment of taxes “with interest and costs.”

New Canaan will undergo a revaluation of real property in town on Oct.