The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) appealed a decision of the Assessment Review Board that reduced the current value assessments of several commercial properties.
MPAC argued the Board made legal errors by presuming the properties' current use was their highest and best use, by requiring annual determinations of highest and best use, and by failing to follow previous Board precedent.
The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding no errors of law.
The Court held that the presumption of current use merely reflects MPAC's statutory burden of proof, that annual assessments correctly account for changes in a property's state or condition, and that the Board is not strictly bound by its own prior decisions.
