Case Law Summaries

DKM Residential Properties Corporation v. The Township of Montgomery

UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE; ENFORCEMENT—(NOTE: Decision Reversed by the New Jersey Supreme Court on January 24, 2005) The means of enforcing the Uniform Construction Code after completion of construction and passing of title is to cite the owner of the property, not the builder, and to let the owner file an action against the builder.

• Opinion Date: September 15, 2003
• Real Property Law

Gitto v. Bureau of Regulatory Affairs

UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE; CONFLICTS OF INTEREST—A building code official has a conflict of interest if she or he receives periodic payments from a contractor who took over the inspector’s business in the municipality, even though the payments may be denominated as rent or lease payments.

• Opinion Date: December 10, 2003
• Real Property Law

Franco v. Rampello

TIME OF THE ESSENCE—In connection with a court ordered closing, a seller may not need not wait beyond the normal close of the business day for its buyer to have its funds available, and the buyer may lose its right to close under such circumstances.

• Opinion Date: October 30, 2003
• Real Property Law

Bennett v. Mixson

TENANCY IN COMMON; PARTITION—If a co-tenant in possession of a commonly owned property demands contribution toward operating and maintenance expenses, then the rule that such a tenant has no obligation to pay for use and occupancy is set aside.

• Opinion Date: May 15, 2003
• Real Property Law

Carabellese v. On Ping Trust Fund

TAX SALES; VACATION—A tax sale foreclosure judgment for vacant land cannot be reopened on the grounds that the property is worth significantly more than the taxes owed and the certificate holder thus received a windfall.

• Opinion Date: June 27, 2003
• Real Property Law

Betty Simon, Trustee, LLC v. Chicago Title Insurance Company

TAXATION; TAX SALES; REFUNDS—Where a tax assessor mistakenly places a formerly tax exempt property on the taxable rolls without telling the property owner and without the property owner ever knowing, and then sells the property at a tax certificate sale because the taxes were unpaid, the sale is void and the municipality is required to refund the purchase price even though the original property owner timely failed to appeal the mistaken determination.

• Opinion Date: November 6, 2003
• Real Property Law

Varsolona v. Breen Capital Services Corp.

TAXATION; TAX SALES—The buyer of a tax sales certificate from a municipality has the right to enter into a private payment plan with the affected property owner and to include an interest obligation in that plan.

• Opinion Date: May 21, 2003
• Real Property Law

Township of Frelinghuysen v. Block 201, Lot 31

TAXATION; TAX SALES—Notwithstanding a statute that purports to impose a three month time limit on reopening a tax sale judgment, a court, under the court’s rules, has the inherent power to reopen a tax sales judgment, but should take the statutory three month time limit into account when deciding what constitutes a reasonable delay by a taxpayer in making such a request.

• Opinion Date: December 9, 2003
• Real Property Law

Ferry Plaza Urban Renewal, L.P. v. City of Newark

TAXATION; SILOTS—If a property owner paying Service in Lieu of Taxes on a percentage of gross revenue basis collects those charges from its own tenants, the amount collected is to be included within the owner’s gross revenue, and doing so is “not double-dipping” by the taxing authority.

• Opinion Date: April 14, 2003
• Real Property Law

Essex County Board of Taxation v. Township of Caldwell

TAXATION; REVALUATION—Just because a Tax Court’s order that a municipality revalue all of it property goes unenforced for fifteen years doesn’t mean that it cannot then be enforced, arguments of estoppel and laches notwithstanding.

• Opinion Date: January 17, 2003
• Real Property Law