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Feds broaden criminal case against Cape Cod state rep
Federal prosecutors expanded the criminal case against Rep. Christopher Flanagan, adding charges that he laundered stolen money through his campaign account, filed false tax returns, and used misappropriated funds for personal expenses.
Taxation – Real estate
Where the owners of real estate located at 52 Sunset Road in Duxbury have challenged the valuation of their property for fiscal year 2024, they introduced insufficient credible evidence to show that the overall assessment of the subject property exceeded its fair cash value as of the relevant assessment date.
Taxation – Real estate
Where a home in Boxborough was valued at $953,700 for fiscal year 2024, the homeowners’ request for an abatement should be denied despite their argument that the building value was “disproportionately assessed” compared to other nearby properties.
Taxation – Sales – Double assessment
Where the commissioner of revenue refused to grant a sales tax abatement to an appellant that operates an auto body business, the appellant taxpayer failed to meet its burden of establishing that any of the amounts of its repair contract charges during the tax periods at issue were not subject to sales tax, but the evidence presented did not indicate that the appellant had run afoul of G.L.c. 62C,[...]
Taxation – Real estate
Where the owners of real property have challenged the valuation of the property by the Egremont Board of Assessors for fiscal year 2024, that valuation should be upheld because other properties advanced by the owners for comparison were not sufficiently comparable with the subject property to provide reliable indicators of its fair cash value.
Cases scheduled to be heard in May
The Supreme Judicial Court has posted its docket for May. Following is a list of the cases to be argued, with summaries of the issues presented in each case.
Taxation – Tax Injunction Act
Where a plaintiff that sought an abatement of local property taxes on the ground that it was using its real property for religious purposes filed a complaint after the state Appellate Tax Board issued an order permitting an inspection of the plaintiff’s property, the complaint should be dismissed as barred by the Tax Injunction Act of 1937 to the extent that the plaintiff is taking issue with th[...]
Taxation – Tobacco – License suspension
Where the commissioner of revenue suspended for 90 days a convenience store’s cigarette and smokeless tobacco retailer’s license and its cigar and smoking tobacco retailer’s license, the suspension should be upheld based on evidence that the store had untaxed items in its possession in violation of G.L.c. 64C, §35 and G.L.c. 64C, §7B(c).
Taxation – Real estate
Where a single-family dwelling in Seekonk was valued at $530,400 for fiscal year 2024, the appellant owner’s request for an abatement should be denied because the owner failed to offer any evidence to establish that the subject property's fair cash value was less than the assessed value for the fiscal year at issue.
Taxation – Real estate
Where a single-family home in Concord was valued at $1,787,000 for fiscal year 2024, an abatement in the amount of $1,825.79 should be granted because $1,650,000 was the fair cash value of the subject property for the fiscal year at issue.
Taxation – Real estate
Where the Ipswich assessors valued a condominium unit at $1,079,600 for fiscal year 2023, an abatement in the amount of $2,124.35 should be granted because the fair cash value for the subject property for the fiscal year at issue was $775,000.
Taxation – Manufacturing corporation – LLC
Where the commissioner of revenue classified a limited liability company as a manufacturing corporation, the LLC was eligible for the property tax exemption under G.L.c. 59, §5, Clause Sixteenth (3)(i).
Verdicts & Settlements
- Injury during baby’s adenoidectomy leads to stroke
- Construction worker’s hand caught in cement mixer
- Worker trapped in freezer, dies during steam cleaning
- Pedestrian, 69, hit by motor vehicle while in crosswalk
- Four-vehicle pileup leaves driver with spinal cord injury
- Nursing home staff blamed for kidney-failure death
- Pharmacy’s late delivery blamed for patient’s death
- Man, 25, drowns after swimming lesson at fitness club
Opinion Digests
- Jurisdiction – Forum selection clause – Non-signatory
- Criminal – Responsibility
- Attorneys – Lien
- Landlord and tenant – Default judgment
- Zoning – Constructive grant – Comprehensive permit
- Fraud – False Claims Act – Settlement share
- Civil practice – Discovery – Cybersecurity
