Tax Court: Branchburg Hospitality LLC v. Township of Branchburg, Docket No. 011494-21, opinion by Fiamingo, J.T.C., decided February 24, 2022. For plaintiff – Farhan Ali McCarter & English, LLP, attorneys); for defendant - Wesley E. Buirkle (DiFrancesco Bateman Kunzman, Davis, Lehrer & Flaum, P.C., attorneys).
HELD: Plaintiff timely appealed the decision of the County Board of Taxation which dismissed plaintiff’s petition pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:4-34 (Chapter 91) for tax year 2021. Defendant moved before this court to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint for (a) lack of subject matter jurisdiction; (b) failure to pay taxes pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:51A-1 and (c) failure to respond to a request for income and expense statement pursuant to Chapter 91. The court denied defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The court found that plaintiff’s prior filing and withdrawal of a direct appeal as to which a judgment of dismissal was entered, did not bar plaintiff from filing an appeal at the County Board of Taxation for the same tax year, or from appealing the resultant decision of the County Board of Taxation to the Tax Court. The court however dismissed the complaint for failure to pay real property taxes as required by N.J.S.A. 54:51A-1(b) since plaintiff failed to produce sufficient proofs of the impact of COVID-19 on its ability to pay the taxes due. As a result, the court did not reach the merits defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to comply with Chapter 91.