Susan has handled thousands of cases, resulting in million of dollars of tax savings. Below is a sampling of the many matters she has worked on:
A trial court agrees that 1923 vintage skyscrapers should not be taxed like its modern neighbors, yields multimillion dollar refund.
Susan was one of the trial attorneys and author on the brief that generated a multimillion dollar verdict for its owners. This building — at 25 stories — was part of the first wave of tall buildings being constructed in Manhattan in the early 20th century. Although located directly across from Grand Central Terminal, this building did not share the decorative or design appeal of its vintage neighbors, most notably, the iconic Chrysler Building and lacked the modern amenities of nearby office buildings. Nonetheless, each year the city added generous increases to its assessment. After four years of insufficient offers from the Tax Commission, the case was taken to trial in New York State Supreme Court. After hearing from expert real estate appraisers testifying for the Susan’s client and the City, the Court in its decision agreed that the property was significantly over-assessed over a four-year period, resulting in refunds of several millions of dollars in overpaid property taxes.
New counsel, fresh look, breaks a no-offer streak at the Tax Commission, with $135,000 refund.
Susan was retained as the new counsel for a owner of a retail property located on the premier shopping district of Madison Avenue, which over a span of a decade had periodically challenged its assessment with no results. By taking a deep look into its leases and rent roll, and employing a novel valuation approach, Susan persuaded the the Tax Commission to reduce the assessment, and the City refunded the client $135,000 for overpayments of the year’s tax bill.
A switch in attorneys generates a 35% assessment reduction. Twice.
A frustrated Queens property owner hired Susan after almost giving up on the property tax reduction process. The client had filed tax appeals for fours years without success when he retained Susan to represent his commercial retail property. By taking an in-depth look at the property’s leasing history and the property’s market, Susan presented her case to the Tax Commission, which granted a 36% reduction in the assessment. In the following year, the assessors unfortunately ignored the Tax Commission’s changes, and increased the new year’s assessment even more. Building on the strategy she had developed in the prior year, Susan renewed her argument at the Tax Commission, which granted a second 35% reduction in the assessment.
City agrees to refund $200,000 to unit owners of five-unit Brooklyn condo.
The apartment owners in a building newly converted to a condo were shocked to receive tax bills that were multiple times higher than before the same building became a condominium. Not only that, over the course of a few years, the bills continued to skyrocket to the extent that some owners considered leaving the city. An in-depth analysis of the building’s assessment history and records filed with the buildings department revealed that the city assessors had made several errors, which the Tax Commission did not resolve over several years of appeals. Susan filed a motion in New York State Supreme Court to correct these errors. Rather than oppose the motion, the City’s attorneys agreed to correct the assessors’ mistakes, generating a $200,000 refund for the units owners. The City attorney also agreed that the property should be placed in a special class, which limited future assessment increases. Thus, filing the motion generated refunds for current and prior years, and assured that future assessments would would be capped, with the caps based upon the newly-reduced assessments.
Another instance where representative switch generates 35% assessment reduction.
Susan was retained to represent a Brooklyn retail property. A prior year proceeding was languishing in stalled negotiations with the City’s attorneys. Susan applied to the Tax Commission for an assessment reduction, which reduced assessment by 35%. The client also benefited from a special tax bill adjustment that sometime happens with larger assessment reductions, making total tax savings of 70% off the original tax bill.
A $150,000 refund settles a court proceeding for a modest Bronx professional building.
Susan’s client owned a small professional building not far from Montefiore Medical Center. A new gleaming office building closer to the hospital had begun to take tenants from the client’s property. Filings with the Tax Commission showed the income declining, but the Tax Commission offers failed to adequate reflect this building’s change in fortunes. Susan took the case to court, and after negotiations with the City attorneys, obtained assessment reductions and $150,000 refund for her client.
Court negotiation yields $475,000 in tax benefits.
A key element in securing results for clients is developing a deep understanding of the client’s property’s operation, its tenancies, and the special challenges it faces in its market. This was the case for a pair of apartment buildings in Midtown East. With persistent negotiation, Susan helped overcome certain assumptions of City representatives which caused the City to overstate the properties’ assessments, which generated $475,000 in tax benefits to the client.
Court rebukes assessor for failing to grant full assessment for no-kill animal shelter.
Susan was hired by a no-kill rescue organization, an upstate farm where City carriage horses were retired, three-legged dogs frolicked, along with abandoned pot-bellied pigs, neglected reptiles, exotic birds, and with other pets and farm animals. The assessor had refused to recognize the not-for-profit function of portions of the property, thus denying a full exemption. Susan filed an an Article 78 appeal of the assessor’s decision in New York State Supreme Court, and the court overturned the assessor’s decision. The decision was upheld on appeal.
Client avoids $7 million tax liability asserted by Department of Finance.
In an administrative trial before the New York City Department of Finance Tax Appeals Tribunal, Susan fought a multimillion corporate tax assessment imposed on a New York subsidiary of a national bank. The assessment was based on the Department of Finance’s interpretation of one of its regulations. Generally administrative agencies are given wide latitude to interpret regulations within their jurisdiction. However, the administrative trial judge dismissed the case, agreeing with Susan’s stance that the Department of Finance policy interpretation was arbitrary and capricious. The case was upheld on appeal, preventing the client from a paying $7 million tax liability.