JUDGE FAILS TO RULE CURRAN REASSESSMENT WAS “FAIR ACCURATE, RELIABLE” AND DIRECTS THAT SETTLEMENT CANNOT BE USED AGAINST HOMEOWNERS IN ASSESSMENT CASES
Mineola, NY – Recently, a group of homeowners filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of 236,000 of the 386,000 residential property owners in Nassau that had filed assessment grievances against the new assessed values stemming from County Executive Laura Curran’s reassessment.
Earlier this month, during questioning of County Assessor David Moog by Legislator Steve Rhoads as part of the Legislature’s Rules Committee, it was revealed that the four homeowners reached a tentative settlement with Nassau, but that the Curran Administration was insisting as part of the settlement for the judge to issue a ruling that the reassessment was "fair, accurate and reliable”, despite the Court having never considered the issue. Rhoads argued that such a ruling was improper as it could have been used as evidence to deny resident’s tax grievances in the future, including the nearly 13,000 residents who are still in the process of challenging their 2020-21 assessment SCAR petitions still pending before the Court.
Yesterday, Nassau Supreme Court Justice Stephen Bucaria agreed and refused to issue any such ruling as part of the settlement. Justice Bucaria went even further, requiring the settlement documents to expressly state that the Court made no findings as to the fairness, accuracy and reliability of the disputed County Assessment Roll created by County Executive Curran’s 2018 Reassessment and must also state that the Settlement may not be used in any way in pending or future Assessment challenges or SCAR proceedings. It is anticipated that the Settlement will be confirmed under those terms on Tuesday, October 27th.
“Today is a victory for taxpayers,” Said Legislator Steve Rhoads “I’m grateful that the Supreme Court joined me in recognizing the proposed settlement for what it was - a thinly-veiled attempt to use the Court to stack the deck against taxpayers exercising their right to fight for fairness in County Executive Curran’s flawed reassessment”.