Loading...
Riverview Land Company, LLC SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF DUTCHESS ----------------------------------------------------------------------)( In the Matter of the Application of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., Petitioner, - against - NOTICE OF PETITION Index No. :~~frJ \ b\o The Assessor of the Town of Wappinger, New York, the Board of Assessment Review of the Town of Wappinger, New York and the Town of Wappinger, New York, Respondents, Date Filed: 7~) I -OU For Review of the Assessment of Certain Real Property in the Town of Wappinger, New York. ----------------------------------------------------------------------)( SIR S: PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that upon the petition of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., verified the 19th day of July, 2006, a copy of which is hereto annexed, an application will be made at a Special Term, Part IV of the Supreme Court to be held at the Dutchess County Courthouse, Poughkeepsie, New York, on the 29th day of September, 2006, at 9:30 o'clock in the forenoon of that day or as soon thereafter as counsel can be heard, for the review under Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York of the assessment for the year 2006 on certain real property of the petitioner situated in the Town of Wappinger, County of Dutchess, State of N ew York, appearing upon the assessment roll for the year 2006, being the real property particularly described in said petition, to the end that all proceedings, decisions and actions in the matter of the assessment of said real property may be reviewed and the said assessment corrected and modified on the merits by said Court, that the Court direct that the assessment be rolled back to the original assessment at the time of the purchase by petitioner, and for such other and further relief as to the Court may seem just and proper, together with legal fees, witness fees, costs and disbursements of this proceeding. RECEIVED JUL 3 1 2006 TOWN CLERK Demand is hereby made that an answer hereto be served upon petitioner five (5) days in advance of the return date hereof pursuant to Section 712 of the Real Property Tax Law. DATED: July 19,2006 Yours, etc., /s/ Watkins & Watkins, L.L.P. By: Liane V. Watkins, Esq. Attorneys for Petitioner 175 Main Street White Plains, New York 10601 (914) 428-1292 To: The Assessor of the Town of Wappinger The Board of Assessment Review of the Town of Wappinger The Town of Wappinger SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF DUTCHESS --------------------------------------------------------------------- )( In the Matter of the Application of RNERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., Petitioner, - against - PETITION The Assessor of the Town of Wappinger, New York, the Board of Assessment Review of the Town of Wappinger, New York and the Town of Wappinger, New York Respondents, For Review of the Assessment of Certain Real Property in the Town of Wappinger, New York. -------------------------------------------------------------------------)( The petition of RIVERVIEW LAND COMPANY, LLC., by its attorney respectfully shows: 1. Your petitioner's address is c/o Watkins & Watkins, L.L.P., 175 Main Street, White Plains, New Yark, and petitioner is now, and was during all the times hereinafter mentioned, the owner of, and/or person responsible for the payment of taxes on, certain real property situated in the Town of Wappinger, New York, and further identified in Schedule A, Column 1, annexed hereto. 2. The assessor of said municipality was and now is duly authorized by law to assess real property in said municipality for state, county, town, school, and special district taxes including the property of your petitioner herein referred to. The Board of Assessment Review of said municipality was duly authorized by law to review the action of the said Assessor with respect to complaints filed with them concerning assessments appearing on the assessment roll of the said municipality for the year 2006 and to finally correct and revise any and all assessments on said roll concerning which complaint was made to the said Assessor. 3. Upon information and belief, on or about the 1st day of January, 2006, the said Assessor proceeded to assess the property in said municipality not exempt by law from taxation and made, prepared and claimed to have completed the assessment roll of all real property in said municipality for the year 2006. On ar before May 1 st, 2006, said Assessor deposited the roll in his office and thereupon caused notice of completion of the roll to be published in the official newspapers of said municipality and said notices contained a statement that the roll might be seen and examined by any person from the 1st day of May. 4. The description and assessment on said assessment roll of your petitioner's real property situated in said municipality as the same appeared thereon after the completion thereof as aforesaid is as set forth in Schedule A, Columns 1 and 2, annexed hereto. 5. During the period and at the place specified in said notice for a hearing on said assessments, your petitioner made application to have said assessment corrected and reduced and your petitioner did at said time duly file with said Assessor and the Board of Assessment Review an application, under oath, specifying the respects in which the assessment complained of was incorrect and protesting against the same in accordance with the requirements of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York, and asking for a reduction of such assessment against said real property and said statement was received by, and filed with, said Assessor and Board of Assessment Review and the same was before them within the period appointed as aforesaid for the making of complaints. The said statements contained in said application thus submitted to the said Assessor and Board of Assessment Review were then, and are now true, but said Assessor and Board of Assessment Review refused and still refuse to correct said assessment to the full extent requested by petitioner. 6. Upon information and belief, on or about the 1st day of July, 2006, there was published and posted as required by law, a notice that the assessment roll of said municipality for the year 2006 had been filed on or about the 1st day of July, 2006. That on or about the 1st day of July, 2006, the assessment roll for the said municipality for the year 2006 was finally completed, verified and certified and the same was filed with the Clerk of said municipality on or about the 1st day of July, 2006. 7. The assessment of your petitioner's property upon said assessment roll is as set forth in Schedule A, Column 2, annexed hereto. 8. Upon information and belief, real property in said municipality is generally placed and assessed on said assessment roll for the year 2006 at 30% of the full value thereof and the respondents, in arriving at and fixing the several assessments appearing on said roll, generally equalized the same at such percentum of the full value as determined by them, and in this connection reference is hereby made to all the assessments appearing upon said roll. 9. Upon information and belief, the assessment of petitioner's said real property as finally made as aforesaid, being the assessment thereof as it appears on said roll as finally completed and filed as aforesaid, is illegal, unjust, excessive and erroneous for the following reasons: (a) Petitioner's said property is not assessed at a fair and proper rate of equalization compared with assessments generally on said roll. In fact, a proper and fair assessment of said property at the rate of 30% equalization at which property is generally assessed on such roll would be as set forth in Schedule A, Column 3, annexed hereto. (b) The assessment of petitioner's said property has been made at a higher proportionate valuation than the assessment of other taxable real property of the same major type on said roll. ( c) Said assessment is void and illegal because all properties in the assessing district are not assessed at the same percentage of full value as required by law. (d) Said assessment is void and illegal because all classes of property in the assessing district are not assessed at the same percentage oftrue value as required by law. ( e) Said assessment is void and illegal because the assessor has purported to re-assess only certain properties on the assessment roll thereby creating unequal assessments. 1 O. Your petitioner is aggrieved and injured by the said excessive and unequal assessment and is injured thereby in that if the same is permitted to remain, your petitioner will be required to pay a greater portion of the taxes required to be raised in said municipality than it would be required to pay if said assessment had been made correctly and properly. 11. Thirty (30) days have not elapsed since the final completion and filing of said assessment roll and publication of notice of completion as required by law. 12. Annexed to this petition and made a part hereof is a written authorization authorizing that this petition be signed and verified by an agent of petitioner designated therein. 13. No other application has been made to this or any other court for the relief asked for herein. WHEREFORE, your petitioner prays that said assessment roll be corrected and the assessment against your petitioner's aforesaid real property be reduced to a proper amount and properly equalized with the assessments of other real property on the same roll; that the Court take evidence or cause the same to be taken to enable your petitioner to show the illegality, inequality, overvaluation, and error of said assessment against petitioner's said real property; that the Court direct that the assessment be rolled back to the original assessment at the time of the purchase by petitioner; and that the petitioner have such other and further relief as may be just and proper, together with the legal fees, witness fees, costs and disbursements of this proceeding. DATED: July 19, 2006 /s/ Watkins & Watkins, L. L.P. By: Liane V. Watkins, Esq. Attorneys for Petitioner 175 Main Street White Plains, New York 10601 (914) 428-1292 3 STATE OF NEW YORK ) )ss.: COUNTY OF WESTCHESTER ) LIANE V. WATKINS, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That she is the duly authorized agent of the petitioner herein; that she has read the petition and knows the contents thereof; that the same is true of her own knowledge, except as to those matters therein stated to be alleged on information and belief, and as to those matters she believes the same to be true; that the grounds of her belief as to all matters not stated upon knowledge are books and records and investigations made. /s/ LIANE V. WATKINS Sworn to before me this 19th day of July, 2006. /s/ Column 1 6056-01-174862-0000 Column 2 $536,000 SCHEDULE A Column 3 $180,000 5 --. -- ~._w~ ~(~~J~ ::J~q'ul:Sq J. t!.,) (,.JATKINS .& (I)ATk.:ms PAGE 02/02 Authoriza.tion of Agent PUrSURl1t to Sections of the Real. Property Tax La.w The .'ldcrsjgned hereby appoint, Willkin5 &. Watkins, L.I,'p. or any attorney employed by thaJ flnn .. .gem ond alllhon""" them to "/ill, """""Ie, vetifY and file any and all gtiev."ce application., protest. ond or 'mn plaints , '0 reviell' the real pn,perty ... ..,.....OIl! on property OWllcd oy the undersIgned l1l1d identified below. They are furthet aut.bonzcd 10 verifY any petition, to =ence . 'pecial PCOcecding PllrstlAnt to Article 7 of the Real Property Tax Law with respect to ,aid property. He i, aJso furth", .uthnrized to act as asenl for the under'igned with '"specl to .11 hcarinli', conferences and "'<<ting' witll regard to thi. prOperty .. .it appears on the tax roll including My prior proCeeding' pr""""tly pending .nd .ny alld .11 ,ubsequent ye.r,' until such agency anrl antl1otizatioo are revoked in writing. ~:erVI'~.(jfLC Steven Tulehin Propelory Mentlfled As: 157 River Road N. Tnx n~!!llgnntlOll~ 60,56-01.174862.0000 J\-hmfrlpafity: TOwn of'Wappinger Dated: Ma.y 2, 2006