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Author Archive | Michael Rikon

February 17, 2022

Independent Appraiser Does Not Mean Biased Assessor

Matthew Clifford, Esq., an outstanding condemnation and tax cert lawyer, was enough to send a recent Putnam County Supreme Court decision, LAK 3, LLC v Board of Assessors, et ano of Town of Carmel, Index No. 501685/2019 Filed 02/14/2022. The case involved a tax reduction petition to reduce the assessment on 41 Averill Drive, a single-family residence near Lake Mahopac.  In 2017, the property had an assessed value of $1,011,000.  In 2018, the assessment was increased to $2,816,500.  In 2019, that assessed value was increased to $2,934,000.  The Petitioner retained… read more

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Posted in Court Rules, Credibility, Independent Appraiser, Tax Assessment
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February 10, 2022

The Inconsistent Rulings of The Second Department: You Can Drive on the Beach – No You Can’t!

The Second Department handed down a decision dealing with driving on the beach in Southampton, Thomas v Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of Southampton, ____ AD3d ____ (February 9, 2022). The Southampton Village Code prohibited the driving on ocean beaches between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm during summer months.  However, the Village Code provides an exception to this general prohibition for a portion of the beach that includes the Thomas’s property, among others.  Plaintiffs alleged several causes of action including a per se unconstitutional taking. One fact stated by… read more

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Posted in Access to Beach, Per Se Taking, Title to Beach
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January 11, 2022

The Appraisal Rule in an Eminent Domain Trial

New York is one of the three states in the union that does not allow a jury trial. When private property is taken for public use, the condemnor must “compensate the owner so that he (or she) may be put in the same relative position, insofar as this is possible, as if the taking had not occurred.”[1]  The award “must reflect the fair market value of the property in its highest and best use on the date of the taking, regardless of whether the property is being put to such… read more

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Posted in Appraisal Rule, Condemnation Trial, Expert Testimony
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December 16, 2021

New Challenge to Takings for Natural Gas Pipelines

An article published by the E&E News written by Niina H. Farah on December 16, 2021 reported an argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.  The lawsuit was brought by homeowners located along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline alleging that it is unconstitutional for the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) to delegate it eminent domain authority to pipeline developers. The legislation at issue in the case is the Natural Gas Act, which extends the federal government’s authority to condemn private land for public… read more

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Posted in FERC, PennEast Pipeline, Pipelines
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December 9, 2021

East River Park Destruction: Not So Fast, The Public Trust Doctrine Controls

On December 7, 2021, I wrote a blog about the legal suit brought to stop the destruction of the East River Park in the Lower Eastside of Manhattan.  I discussed the decision of the Appellate Division, First Department in Matter of East River Park Action v City of New York (Index No. 151491/20) denying an application to annul a vote of the City Council which modified the zoning resolution in order to facilitate the construction of the development of the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. The project adopted by the… read more

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Posted in East River Park, Parkland, Public Trust Doctrine
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