Government

In Court Filing, Lukes Wood Road Homeowners Appeal Town’s Tax Assessment

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The owners of a four-acre property on Lukes Wood Road last week filed papers with state Superior Court to appeal New Canaan’s valuation of their house and land. 

According to an amended complaint filed July 23 by New Canaan-based attorney JT Hoffman LLC on behalf of Rebecca and Ori Bukai of 260 Lukes Wood Road, the total appraised value of $3,576,300—upheld by the Board of Assessment Appeals in March—is “unreasonably excessive, disproportionate and unlawful.” 

The figure makes its assessed value about $2.5 million. The homeowners are “aggrieved” by the assessment and “provided” recent and relevant comparables and evidence demonstrating the real and current value of the subject property to be at or below $2 million. The property had been purchased last August for about $1,987,500, tax records show. It includes a 1996-built, 7,700-square-foot Colonial. Hoffman in the complaint calls for the valuation “to be reduced to 70 percent of its true, current and actual value.”

The town, assessor and Board of Assessment Appeals are listed as defendants, represented by Westport-based Berchem Moses PC, firm of Town Attorney Ira Bloom.

Government

Ponus Ridge Homeowner Appeals Assessment in Court

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The town last week received a civil summons from the owners of a Ponus Ridge home, seeking a reduced assessment of their property. Filed May 2 on behalf of the owners of 1480 Ponus Ridge by attorneys at Stamford-based Wofsey, Rosen, Kweskin & Kuriansky, LLP, the citation calls for town officials to appear later this month in state Superior Court in Stamford. According to the legal notice, the property’s owners had sought “relief against a wrongful assessment of real property for taxation” but no change in valuation was made after appearing before the Board of Assessment Appeals. Town records show that 77 property owners appeared before the board through four hearings in March. The Ponus Ridge homeowners’ property—a nearly 10,000-square-foot, 2007-built home on 3.24 acres—was valued at about $6.6 million, meaning its assessed value (70 percent of that figure) was about $4.6 million following an Oct.

News

Four New Canaan Property Owners Appeal Assessments

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Town officials in the past few weeks have received notifications that four homeowners in New Canaan are appealing their property assessments from last fall. Calling the assessments “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” the property owners’ attorneys are seeking a reduction and reimbursement for tax overpayments, according to lawsuits filed between April 13 and 29 in Superior Court. In one of the four cases, the original 2015 valuation was reduced following a hearing before the Board of Assessment Appeals. That was at 25 Parker’s Glen, when an initial valuation whose fair market value came to $3,405,570 was reduced to $3,328,500. Here’s more information:

Government

13 New Canaan Property Owners File Lawsuits after Reval, Assessment Appeals

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Calling their property assessments following last year’s town-wide revaluation “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” 13 property owners separately have filed lawsuits against the New Canaan Board of Assessment Appeals, according to documents at the Town Clerk’s office. The tally—eight residential properties plus five commercial—marks a significant drop since the last revaluation, said New Canaan’s highest elected official. “What lawsuits we have are more than 50 percent less than in 2008,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said. On the residential side, the lawsuits Information on the properties in question can be found below. Mallozzi and Assessor Sebastian Caldarella declined to comment on the lawsuits specifically, citing the active litigation.