Court denies owners' challenge against city forms.New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of State Supreme Court Justice Martin Schoenfeld has denied a preliminary injunction A temporary order made by a court at the request of one party that prevents the other party from pursuing a particular course of conduct until the conclusion of a trial on the merits. A preliminary injunction is regarded as extraordinary relief. sought by several owners of commercial property who had challenged the New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. Department of Finance's right to collect income and expense data on a streamlined all-purpose form. The form, which was introduced in August 2004, gathers information used by the City to determine property tax assessments and replaces as many as seven forms used for this purpose in the past. The Department simplified the form in order to enhance the accuracy and fairness of assessments, and make compliance more convenient for property owners. The simplified form also makes data processing cheaper and less susceptible to the sort of manual manipulation manual manipulation, n therapies that stimulate or manipulate the body to arrest disease and improve health. Manual manipulation therapies include massage, chiropractic, and osteopathic treatments. that has lead to assessment scandals in the past. Information collected on the form is kept completely confidential. The petitioners had sought to enjoin To direct, require, command, or admonish. Enjoin connotes a degree of urgency, as when a court enjoins one party in a lawsuit by ordering the person to do, or refrain from doing, something to prevent permanent loss to the other party or parties. the City's use of the form, arguing that the Department of Finance had acted capriciously and beyond its authority in issuing it. The petitioners also claimed that the Department had violated various provisions of the State and Federal constitutions. The Supreme Court held that the streamlined form sought proper income and expense information, and ruled that the were not entitled to an injunction, having failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits on the merits adj. referring to a judgment, decision or ruling of a court based upon the facts presented in evidence and the law applied to that evidence. A judge decides a case "on the merits" when he/she bases the decision on the fundamental issues and considers . In balancing the equities the Court took note of the Department of Finance's duty to produce accurate and timely assessments. (Completed forms must normally be returned by Sept. 1st, although this year the Commissioner has extended the due date to Sept. 30st). Martha E. Stark, Commissioner of the Department of Finance, noted: "We are gratified grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. that the Court has upheld the work we've done to innovate our agency. These forms will aid us to exercise our authority and fulfill our obligation to provide fair and accurate assessments of commercial property." Corporation Counsel Michael A. Cardozo of the New York City Law Department said, "The Court's decision protects the Department of Finance's ability to produce timely and accurate assessments of the City's commercial properties and vindicates its efforts to make this process more equitable and efficient. We are very happy with this result." New York City Law Department Tax and Bankruptcy Litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. Division Chief Rita D. Dumain and Senior Counsel Neil Schaier, assisted by Assistant Corporation Counsel Christopher Kubiak, represented the City in this matter. |
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