Another Taxpayer Bites the Dust, This Time For Being One Day Too Late
A Tax Court judge dismissed a complaint that arrived by regular mail one day past the statutory filing deadline. The property owner initially appealed his assessment to the Monmouth County Board of Taxation, who affirmed the judgment and mailed a copy to the parties on September 20, 2011. The property owner’s Tax Court complaint was then received on November 18, 2011.
The Township filed a motion to dismiss the appeal as untimely. The property owner opposed the motion by arguing that he mailed the complaint on November 8, 2011, which should have arrived before the deadline. The Tax Court calculated that, pursuant to R. 8:4-1(a)(2) (45 days to file after service of judgment) and R. 1:3-3 (3 additional days when service by regular mail), the property owner had until November 17, 2011 to file the complaint. The Tax Court recognized that it must have taken longer than usual for delivery of the complaint, but noted that “having waited until the end of the appeal period to mail the complaint, it was the responsibility of the plaintiff to ensure its arrival at the Tax Court before the statutory deadline, using means other than ordinary mail if necessary.
Historically, the Tax Court has strictly enforced the filing deadline prescribed by the Legislature. Appeals of tax assessments greater than $1,000,000.00 must be filed with the Tax Court by April 1st for the year under appeal, while those properties with assessments under $1,000,000 must be filed with the County Board of Taxation by the same date. Appeals in municipalities that have undergone a revaluation may be filed by May 1st.
A copy of the Tax Court’s unpublished opinion in Healey v. Aberdeen Twp., Docket No. 018628-2011 (Tax Ct. January 23, 2012) can be found here.
For more blog posts where the municipality filed to dismiss the property owner’s appeal, please see the following:
Property Owner’s “False” Responses Lead to Dismissal of Tax Appeal
Calendaring Mistake By Attorney Not Worthy of Dismissal at County Board Hearing
