IN THE MATTER OF DONALD E. AXINN COMPANIES, APPELLANT, v. THE BOARD OF
ASSESSORS AND THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW OF THE COUNTY OF NASSAU,
RESPONDENTS.
85 N.Y.2d 838, 647 N.E.2d 1350, 623 N.Y.S.2d 842 (1995).
February 16, 1995
4 No. 25 (1995 NY Int. 036)
Decided February 16, 1995
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This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before
publication in the New York Reports.
Michael A. Ciaffa, for Appellant.
Leon Friedman, for Respondents.
MEMORANDUM:
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs,
and the judgment of Supreme Court reinstated.
Petitioner owns one acre of class 4 property in Oyster Bay, Nassau
County. From 1977 until 1986, when all class 4 property was revalued
and reassessed, petitioner's property was assessed at $64,750 (eight
percent of the stated value of its land and building). In 1986, the
property was valued at $1,377,300-- $1,000,000 for the land and
$377,300 for the building, and the assessment set at $110,200.
Petitioner filed a tax certiorari proceeding, alleging inequality and
overassessment. The parties entered into a settlement stipulated to be
for the tax years 1986 and 1987, reducing the assessment to $92,200
and $99,200, respectively.
As respondents concede, when the handwritten property record cards
were transferred to the computer in 1986, petitioner's property was
erroneously described as four acres. Based on this error, on August
23, 1990, petitioner sought a refund and recalculation for 1989 and
1990, which remained $99,200 with each acre valued at $250,000, for a
total land value of $1,000,000. Respondent Board denied petitioner's
demand on the ground that calculation of the tax owed for 1989 was
based on the settlement stipulation, not the erroneous acreage. The
Department of Assessment, however, corrected the acreage error and
also changed petitioner's land value from $1,000,000 for four acres to
$609,840 for the single acre, and applying the percentage to the
stated value of petitioner's land and building calculated petitioner's
1990 assessment as $99,200.
SNIPPETS:
IN THE MATTER OF DONALD E. AXINN COMPANIES, APPELLANT, v.
ASSESSORS AND THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW OF THE COUNTY OF NASSAU, RESPONDENTS.
This memorandum is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the New York
The order of the Appellate Division should be reversed, with costs, and the judgment of
Petitioner owns one acre of class 4 property in Oyster Bay,
From 1977 until 1986, when all class 4 property was revalued and reassessed, petitioner's
Petitioner filed a tax certiorari proceeding,
The parties entered into a settlement stipulated to be for the tax years 1986 and 1987,
As respondents concede, when the handwritten property record cards were transferred to the
Respondent Board denied petitioner's demand on the ground that calculation of the tax owed
We now reverse.
The undisputed evidence, including the value of nearby properties, supported the trial
We agree, further, with the trial court that reliance on the parties' stipulation was
The evidence in the record does not support a finding that an error in recording the acreage
Petitioner filed a tax certiorari proceeding which resulted in a negotiated settlement for
The assessor corrected the error but denied any refund.
Undeniably there was an error in the size of the land recorded in the computer but in my
the prior litigation addressed the assessment for the 1987 and 1988 tax years and thus the
Because of this, one of two logical conclusions appears inescapable: either the reassessment
It seems obvious that if the error infected the assessment, this sophisticated petitioner, or
Order reversed, with costs, and judgment of Supreme Court, Nassau County, reinstated in a
Judge Simons dissents and votes to affirm in an opinion in which Judge Titone concurs.
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