NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT APPROVAL OF

THE TAX COURT COMMITTEE ON OPINIONS

TAX COURT OF NEW JERSEY

**210 South Broad**  **Street, Fifth**  **Floor**

MARY SIOBHAN BRENNAN **Trenton, New**  **Jersey 08608** 

JUDGE **609 815** 

**- 2922,**  **Ext. 54560** 

**Fax: 609**  **815**

**- 3079** 

**January 19,**  **2024**

**Rodman E.**  **Honecker**

**Attorney for**  **Plaintiff**

**WINDELS MARX**  **LANE &**  **MITTENDORF, LLP** 

**120 Albany Street Plaza**

**New Brunswick,**  **NJ 08901** 

**William J.**  **Maslo, Esq.,** 

**Attorney for**  **Defendant**

**Law Division**

**CITY OF**  **JERSEY CITY** 

**280 Grove Street**

**Jersey City,**  **NJ 07302** 

**Via ECourts** 

RE: 75 JERSEY CITY, L.L.C. V CITY OF JERSEY CITY

Docket Nos.: 003415- 2022

**Dear Counsellors:** 

**This letter** 

**opinion sets**  **forth the**  **court’s findings of**  **fact and**  **conclusions of**  **law on**  **Plaintiff’s**

**R. 4:25-8**  **motion for**  **an Order**  **enforcing litigant’s**  **rights and**  **compelling Jersey**  **City to**  **comply**

**with the**  **terms of a**  **Stipulation of**  **Settlement. R.**  **1:10-3. For**  **the reasons**  **explained below, the**  **court**

**grants Plaintiff’s**  **motion to**  **compel payment of the 2022**  **tax refund**  **as well**  **as any**  **interest accrued** 

**pursuant to**  **N.J.S.A. 54:3-27.2 but denies**  **Plaintiff’s request**  **for attorney’s**  **fees and**  **costs related** 

**to the filing of this**  **motion. 2** 

**I. Background**  **and Procedural**  **History**

**75 Jersey**  **City, LLC**  **(“Plaintiff”) filed**  **four direct**  **tax appeals**  **with the**  **Tax Court of**  **New Jersey** 

**(years 2019 to 2022) in connection with the assessment of real property it owns in Jersey City,**

**more specifically identified as 75 Montgomery Street (Block 14301, Lot 7) (“the Property” ). A** 

**2023 tax appeal was filed with the Hudson County Board of Taxation for tax year 2023 and was**

**not part of the Tax Court filings.**

**After a culmination of negotiations, on August 4, 2023, the parties filed a Stipulation of**

**Settlement with the court in resolution of Plaintiff’s pe nding 2019 through 2022 tax appeals.** 

**Plaintiff agreed to withdraw its appeals for tax years 2019 through 2021 and would receive a**

**reduction in**  **the assessment**  **for the 2022**  **tax year.**  **The Stipulation**  **of Settlement**  **required payment** 

**within sixty (60) days of**  **th e**  **date of**  **Judgment. The Stipulation also addressed**  **proposed relief for** 

**the 2023 and 2024 assessments.**

**On August**  **7, 2023, the Court**  **entered Judgment in**  **accordance with**  **the parties’**  **Stipulation of** 

**Settlement. Payment**  **of the 2022 refund was**  **due sixty**  **(60) days thereafter,**  **which was October**  **6,**

**2023. Jersey City issued the agreed** 

**- upon refund for the 2023 tax year (totaling $53,069.65) and** 

**applied the tax**  **refund for 2024 in the form of a**  **quarterly adjustment.**  **However, Plaintiffs refund**

**for the 2022 tax year (approximately $53,069.65) to date has not been paid.**

**Plaintiff filed**  **this motion, pursuant**  **to R.**  **1.10-3, in**  **aid of**  **litigant’s rights**  **to enforce**  **the**

**settlement agreement**  **and to**  **compel Jersey**  **City to**  **issue the 2022**  **tax refund.**  **Plaintiff also**  **requests**

**accrued interest and reasonable attorney fees.**

**The motion is**  **unopposed. 3** 

**II. Legal**  **Analysis**

**The issue presented to this court is whether Jersey City is in breach of the terms of t he** 

**Stipulation of**  **Settlement, and**  **whether Jersey**  **City owes**  **Plaintiff statutory**  **interest on**  **the 2022**  **tax**

**refund, as well as attorney fees and costs for the filing of the motion.**

**Plaintiff requests the court grant three items in its motion: (1) to compel payment of the**

**refun d due for the 2022 tax year; (2) for Plaintiff to receive accrued and unpaid interest**  **on the**

**2022 refund** 

**pursuant to**  **N.J.S.A. 54:3-27.2, with**  **interest accruing**  **for the period**  **beginning**

**October 6, 2023 up until the**  **refund is**  **received; and**  **(3) for**  **Plaintiff to**  **receive an**  **award of** 

**reasonable attorney fees and costs for having to make this motion to the court.**

Compel Compliance of Parties’ Stipulation of Settlement

**The fully executed Stipulation of Settlement was filed with the court on August 7, 2023,** 

**and is legally binding on both parties. That document provides for a reduction in Plaintiff’s tax** 

**assessment for 2022 tax year, resulting in a tax refund to be paid to Plaintiff agains t past tax** 

**payments. The**  **manner of**  **payment for**  **those refunds is**  **referred to**  **in paragraph**  **4 of the**  **Stipulation**

**of Settlement.**

**Paragraph 4**  **provides:**

**All refunds as a result of the settlement set forth herein shall be**

**payable to**  **and forwarded**  **to ‘75**  **Jersey City,**  **L.L.C.’ within**  **sixty**

**(60) days of the date of**  **Ju dgment.** 

**As the 2022 tax refund was not received within the sixty (60) day period set forth in the**

**Stipulation of Settlement, Plaintiff is entitled to, and the court will issue, an Order compelling** 

**payment of the 2022 tax refund. 4** 

Accrued and Unpaid Interests Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:3- 27.2

**Plaintiff argues**  **Jersey City’s**  **failure to**  **pay the**  **agreed 2022 refund**  **results in**  **the**

**implementation of N.J.S.A. 54:3-27.2,**  **which requires**  **5% accrued**  **interest on**  **tax refunds**  **not**

**issued sixty (60) days**  **from the day of Judgment.**  **The pertinent part of the**  **statute is as follows:** 

**In the event that a taxpayer is successful in an appeal from an**

**assessment on**  **real property, the**  **respective taxing**  **district shall**  **refund**

**any excess**  **taxes paid, together**  **with interest**  **thereon from**  **the date**  **of**

**payment at a rate of five percent per annum or one percentage point**

**above the prime rate assessed for each month or fraction thereof,**

**compounded annually at the end of each year, from the date the tax**

**originally was due or paid, whichever date is later, until the date of**

**actual payment, whichever interest rate is lesser...”**

**[N.J.S.A. 54:3- 27.2]** 

**Although the Stipulation of Settlement is silent on the application of the statute, the Tax** 

**Court has**  **held that**  **N.J.S.A. 54:3-27.2**  **applies to**  **any taxpayer**  **who “is**  **successful in**  **an appeal** 

**from an**  **assessment on**  **real property,” including**  **“cases which**  **have been**  **settled.” Waterview** 

**Village**

**- Community**  **Realty Mgt v. Ventnor**  **City , 4**  **N.J. Tax**  **262, 267 (Tax**  **1982). The**  **Tax Court** 

**has referred**  **to N.J.S.A. 54:3-27.2**  **as the**  **“default rule”**  **which applies**  **whether or not a**  **stipulation**

**of settlement**  **makes direct**  **reference to**  **the statute.**  **Dickerson v.**  **Town , 31 N.J.**  **Tax 541, 559**  **(Tax**

**2020). Parties,**  **however, may**  **agree to**  **waive the**  **default statutory**  **interest through the language**  **of**

**their stipulation of settlement. Id** 

**.**

**Since the**  **parties’ Stipulation**  **of Settlement**  **does not expressly**  **waive statutory**  **interest, the** 

**default rule**  **applies, and**  **Plaintiff is**  **entitled to**  **accrued and**  **unpaid inte**  **rest pursuant**  **to N.J.S.A.** 

**54:3**

**- 27.2.** **5**

Attorney Fees and Costs

**Plaintiff also seeks to recover reasonable attorney’s fees in connection with the filing of** 

**this motion.**  **The court**  **is unpersuaded**  **that Jersey**  **City’s actions**  **rise to**  **a level**  **to permit**  **reasonable**

**attorney fees to be paid to Plaintiff.**

**Rule 1:10-3 provides for** 

**a mechanism**  **for relief**  **when a**  **litigant's preexisting court-**  **ordered**

**rights have been**  **violated. N.**  **Jersey Media**  **Grp. Inc.**  **v. State**  **, 451 N.J.**  **Super. 282, 296, (App. Div.** 

**2017). It**  **permits the**  **“court in**  **its discretion**  **make an**  **allowance for**  **counsel fees**  **to be**  **paid**

**by any**

**party to**  **the action**  **to a**  **party accorded**  **relief under**  **this rule.”**  **R. 1:10-3.**  **The Appellate**  **Division**

**has found**  **that such**  **relief “is**  **not for**  **the purpose of punishment, but is**  **a coercive**  **measure to** 

**facilitate the**  **enforcement of the court**  **order.” Ridley**  **v. Dennison, 298 N.J.**  **Super. 373, 381, (App.** 

**Div. 1997).**  **The particular**  **manner in**  **which compliance**  **may be sought**  **is “left**  **to the court's sound** 

**discretion.” Id.** 

**Plaintiff admits**  **that Jersey**  **City has**  **paid the**  **2023 tax refund of**  **$53,069.65, as well as**  **the**

**2024 tax**  **refund in**  **the form**  **of a tax**  **credit. Unlike the**  **situation where**  **a municipality**  **did not issue** 

**any tax refund and yet sought to vacate the court’s judgment via motion, here Defendant has** 

**already issued**  **the majority**  **of the tax**  **refunds according**  **to the**  **agreement between**  **the parties**  **with**

**only the 2022 tax**  **refund to**  **be forthcoming. Jersey**  **City is**  **not seeking**  **to vacate**  **the Stipulation**  **of**

**Settlement, and it has not opposed this motion. Given Jersey City’s partial compliance with its** 

**negotiated settlement with Plaintiff, through issuance**  **of the 2023 and 2024 tax**  **refunds, the court** 

**finds attorney’s fees are not needed to facilitate enforcement of the 2022 Judgment.**

**III. Conclusion** 

**The court**  **grants Plaintiff’s**  **motion in**  **part and**  **denies in**  **part. The**  **court grants**  **Plaintiff’s motion** 

**to compel**  **Jersey City**  **to pay**  **the refund due to**  **Plaintiff for the**  **2022 tax**  **year, and**  **to pay**  **Plaintiff 6** 

**the entitled**  **statutory interest**  **pursuant to**  **N.J.S.A. 54:3-27.2 with**  **interest accruing**  **from the period** 

**October 6, 2023, until the date of payment. The court, however, denies attorney fees and related**

**costs associates with this motio n.** 

**/s/ Mary Siobhan Brennan**

**Hon. Mary Siobhan Brennan, J.T.C.**