(CN) - A New York appellate division rejected landowners' claim that their riverfront property was overvalued, finding that the "comparable" properties used in the assessment are not actually comparable.
Richard Gordon and other landowners in Esopus, N.Y., complained that the state improperly assessed their property from 2002 through 2005. The 108 acres of land include streams, ponds, and more than 2,000 feet of scenic frontage on the Hudson River.
The trial court agreed with the plaintiffs and ordered the town to issue refunds. However, Judge Stein ruled that the petitioners' assessment, which the lower court accepted, were incorrect.
"Whereas all of the comparables used by the respondents' appraiser ... had similar topography and views and were equally accessible to the Hudson River and the State Thruway," Stein wrote, "only two of the petitioners' 17 'comparable' sales were located in Ulster County and none was located adjacent to the Hudson River."
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