2023 New York Laws › RPT - Real Property Tax › Article 7 - Judicial Review › Title 1 - General Provisions › 720 - Action by Court Upon the Pleadings.

§  720.  Action  by  court  upon  the  pleadings.  1. (a) If the court
determines from the pleadings for any of  the  reasons  alleged  in  the
petition  that  the assessment being reviewed is unlawful it shall order
the assessment stricken from the roll or where  appropriate  entered  on
the exempt portion of the roll.
(b)  If  the  court  determines  that the assessment being reviewed is
excessive or unequal, it shall order a revised assessment  of  the  real
property  of the petitioner or the correction of the assessment upon the
roll, in whole or in part, in such manner as shall be in accordance with
law or as shall make it conform to other assessments upon the same  roll
and  secure  equality  of  assessment, provided, however, that except in
cities with a population of one million or more an assessment may not be
ordered reduced to an amount less than that requested by the  petitioner
in a petition or any amended petition verified pursuant to section seven
hundred six of this title. If the real property is partially exempt from
taxation,  and the order does not specify how much of the total assessed
value, as  determined  by  the  court,  is  exempt  from  taxation,  the
exemption  shall  be  reduced  so  as  to  preserve the ratio of taxable
assessed value to the total assessed value that  existed  on  the  final
assessment roll.
(c)  If  the court determines that the real property is misclassified,
it shall order the correction of the class designation upon the roll.
2. If it appears to the court that  testimony  is  necessary  for  the
proper  disposition  of  the matter, it shall take evidence or appoint a
referee to take such evidence as it may direct. The referee shall report
to the court his findings  of  fact  and  conclusions  of  law  and  the
evidence  upon  which  it is based, which shall constitute a part of the
proceedings upon which the determination of the court shall be made. The
report of the referee and the decision  or  final  order  of  the  court
finding  the  value  of  the  property and the proper assessment thereof
shall contain the essential facts found upon which the ultimate  finding
of facts is made.
3. (a) For the purposes of this subdivision:
(1)   "Major   type  of  property"  in  special  assessing  units  for
assessments on rolls completed before January  first,  nineteen  hundred
eighty-two  and  in other than special assessing units means each of the
following:
(i) residential: all  one,  two  and  three  family  residential  real
property  including  such  dwellings  used  in  part for non-residential
purposes but which are used primarily for residential  purposes,  except
such  property  held  in  cooperative  or condominium forms of ownership
provided, however, that in any approved assessing unit which has adopted
the provisions of section nineteen hundred three  of  this  chapter  the
residential  type  shall  be  the  homestead  class  as  defined in this
chapter;
(ii) farm, forest and vacant: all real  property  used  primarily  for
agricultural  or  forestry purposes and all real property which contains
no significant improvement;
(iii) public  utility:  all  real  property  primarily  used  for  the
provision  to  the  public of communications or transportation services,
electric power, water or gas;
(iv) all other: all real property not  included  in  any  other  major
type.
(2)   "Major  type  of  property"  in  special  assessing  units,  for
assessments on rolls completed  after  December  thirty-first,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-one,  shall  mean  classes  one,  two, three and four as
defined in subdivision one of  section  eighteen  hundred  two  of  this
chapter.
(3)  "Stratified  random  sample"  means  the  sorting  of all taxable
parcels except public utility property, on the  assessment  roll  to  be
used  for  the selection of parcels, into a number of mutually exclusive
categories each of which is sampled independently in such a manner  that
each  parcel in each such category shall have an equal opportunity to be
selected.
(b) Evidence on the issue of whether an assessment is unequal shall be
limited to the following as hereinafter provided.
(1) By the selected parcels method as determined by stratified  random
sample.
The  parties  shall  mutually  agree on the methods of stratification,
computation of ratio and selection of the parcels to be  appraised,  the
number  of  such  parcels  and  the number of witnesses to be heard with
respect to  such  issue.  Such  parcels  shall  be  selected  so  as  to
constitute  a  stratified  random sample of all locally assessed taxable
parcels on the assessment roll containing the assessment under review or
the latest assessment roll sampled by  the  board  in  establishing  the
state   equalization   rate   for  such  roll;  provided,  however,  for
assessments on rolls completed  after  December  thirty-first,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-one,  in  special  assessing  units  such  parcels shall
constitute a stratified random sample of all  locally  assessed  taxable
property  in  the  major  type  of  property in which the property under
review is classified; provided further, however,  for  assessment  rolls
completed  after  December thirty-first, nineteen hundred eighty-one, in
special assessing units public utility property shall be sampled as  the
parties agree, or if the parties fail to agree, as the court directs. In
special  assessing units for assessment rolls completed prior to January
first, nineteen hundred eighty-two and in other than  special  assessing
units public utility property shall be added to the parcels selected for
the stratified random sample when such property is a significant portion
of  the  total  locally assessed taxable assessed value of the assessing
unit; in such case, representative parcels shall be agreed upon  by  the
parties or selected by the court if no such agreement is reached. In the
event  that  proceedings  for  more  than  one year are consolidated for
trial, evidence may be introduced to adjust the ratio derived  from  the
selected  parcels  provided  for  in this subdivision so as to make such
ratio  applicable  to  the  other  assessment  rolls  included  in  such
consolidation. For the purpose of this subdivision, stratification shall
be  based  on major type of property and assessed value within each such
major type; provided however, that for assessments  on  rolls  completed
after  December  thirty-first,  nineteen  hundred eighty-one, in special
assessing units stratification shall be based on the assessed  value  of
parcels  within the major type of property in which the assessment under
review is classified. Nothing in  this  subdivision  shall  prevent  the
parties  from  agreeing, with approval of the court, to any other method
of stratification in place of or in addition to major type  of  property
or   assessed  value  of  property.  Stratification  shall  be  made  in
accordance with the information contained on the  assessment  roll  from
which  the  parcels  to  be appraised are to be selected. The assessment
under review shall be excluded from the stratification and the sample.
In addition to the  selected  parcels,  additional  parcels  shall  be
selected  in the same manner for use as substitutes for selected parcels
for which the parties agree that an appraisal cannot  be  made.  If  the
parties fail to agree on the feasibility of appraising a selected parcel
or an appropriate substitute the court shall make such determinations.
In  the  event  the  parties fail to agree on such methods or selected
parcels or on the number of witnesses, upon application of either  party
the  court  or referee shall select a qualified expert, who shall devise

such methods and select the parcels to be appraised, or shall  determine
the  number  or  witnesses,  or  both,  as  the  case may be. Before any
testimony is given by either party as to the value of such parcels, each
party  shall  simultaneously  file  with the court or referee, on a date
fixed by the court or referee, a written statement or tabulation of  the
appraised  values  placed  upon  such  parcels  by  the witnesses of the
respective parties, and each party shall serve on the other at the  same
time  a  copy  of  such  statement or tabulation of values stated by his
witnesses.
(2) By actual sales of real property within the assessing  units  that
occurred during the year in which the assessment under review was made:
(3) By other methods.
The parties shall be limited in their proof on the trial of such issue
to  such parcels and witnesses, except that in any event, whether or not
parcels are selected as hereinabove provided, evidence may be  given  by
either party as to the following:
(a)  in  all  assessing  units  other  than special assessing units as
defined in section eighteen hundred  one  of  this  chapter,  the  state
equalization  rate  established  for  the roll containing the assessment
under review;
(b) in all special assessing units  as  defined  in  section  eighteen
hundred one of this chapter, only for proceedings commenced with respect
to  assessment  rolls completed prior to January first, nineteen hundred
eighty-two, the latest applicable equalization rate established for  the
roll containing the assessment under review; or
(c)  in  all  special  assessing  units as defined in section eighteen
hundred one of this chapter, only for proceedings commenced with respect
to assessment rolls  completed  after  December  thirty-first,  nineteen
hundred  eighty-one,  the  latest applicable class ratio established for
the roll containing the assessment under review; or
(d) in all assessing units, the uniform percentage of value stated  on
the tax bill for the roll containing the assessment under review.
4.  Notwithstanding  the  enactment  of  a  local  law  as provided in
subdivision three of section fourteen hundred two  of  this  chapter,  a
village shall be deemed an assessing unit for purposes of this section.