Tax Assessment Challenge Denied

Facts: Landlords sued the Town of Islip, challenging the town's denial of landlords' applications for changes in the tax assessments of three properties for the tax years 1995–96. Landlords claimed their properties were assessed at a higher percentage of full market value than other residential property on the assessment roll. The court ruled against landlords, and landlords appealed. The appeals court ruled for landlords and sent the matter back to the town to recompute and reduce the assessed fractional valuation of the properties. The town then appealed. Court: Town wins. Landlords had to prove that their properties were assessed at a higher percentage of full market value than the average of all residential property on the same assessment roll. Landlords instead presented information that certain properties sold in the same neighborhood were assessed at a lower percentage of full value than the percentage at which they claimed their properties were assessed. This isn't the same as showing that the average assessment ratio for all residential properties on the assessment roll was lower than the assessment ratio on landlords' properties, which is the correct test.

Pace v. Assessor of Town of Islip: NYLJ, p. 25, col. 3 (1/6/99) (App. Div. 2 Dept.; Miller, JP, Copertino, Pizzuto, Santucci, JJ)