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Archive | Valuation

November 9, 2018

CAN A CLAIMANT TESTIFY AS TO THE VALUE OF PROPERTY IN NEW YORK? WHY NOT?

We became intrigued with this question after reading the Amici Curiae brief of Owner’s Counsel of America written by renowned legal scholar Robert H. Thomas in an appeal pending in the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Sabal Trial Transmission, LLC v 3.921 Acres of Land in Lake County, Florida.  I am the New York State representative of Owner’s Counsel of America. The brief makes two main points.  First, the Fifth Amendment requires that an owner recover the “full and perfect equivalent for the property taken.”  And… read more

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Posted in Competency of Witness, Owner's Testimony, Valuation
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September 25, 2017

THE MARKET DATA APPROACH, HOW COMPARABLE DO COMPARABLE SALES HAVE TO BE?

We recently filed a brief in an unusual case dealing with the valuation of a 10 acre parcel of land on the Long Island Sound in Eastern Long Island.  The valuation is premised on a filed subdivision map.  Certainly, this is a rare parcel of land to value.  Both appraisers used the market data approach to value the land.  Utilizing comparable sales is the most common approach to value vacant land.  If the property is income producing, the law in New York requires the income approach, or the capitalization of… read more

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Posted in Comparable Sales, Market Data Approach, Valuation
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March 16, 2016

Tax Assessments are Irrelevant in a Condemnation Matter

We often observe condemnors attempting to use tax assessment records or real estate tax reduction applications to influence a court’s award of just compensation.  It is well-established that tax assessment values bear no resemblance to fair market value and are never relevant in a condemnation case. In a condemnation proceeding, the subject property must be valued at its highest and best use regardless of actual use.  Matter of City of New York (Clearview Expressway), 9 NY2d 439 (1961). The valuation of the subject property is set forth in the parties’… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, Tax Certiorari, Uncategorized, Valuation
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September 30, 2015

There is no Inflexible Formula to set Just Compensation

Eminent domain is not your typical litigation.  The former owner did not ask for its property to be taken for a public purpose. This is the reason that several decisions have pointed out that what may be normal in litigation between private parties does not apply in a condemnation proceeding which involves a claim protected by our constitutions.  As Justice Thomas A. Dickerson stated, in Matter of Irvington v Sokolik, 13 Misc3d 1220 [Sup. Ct. West 2006], “a condemnation proceeding is not a private litigation.  There is a constitutional mandate… read more

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Posted in Appraisers, Eminent Domain, Valuation
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June 25, 2015

Matter of City of New York (Staten Island Land Corp.)

The Supreme Court, Richmond County (Hon. Wayne P. Saitta) recently issued a decision valuing wetlands located in Stated Island that were acquired as part of the New Creek Bluebelt Phase 3 project. The case is Matter of City of New York (New Creek Phase 3), Sup. Ct., Richmond Cty, Hon. Wayne P. Saitta, Index No., 4013/06. The property at issue was acquired by the City on November 3, 2006. The total area taken was 45,208 square feet, which included a non-contiguous lot (lot 14) of approximately 5,203 feet.The property was… read more

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Posted in Eminent Domain, New York, Offer & Compensation, Valuation, Wetlands
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