Candlewood Landing Condominium Ass'n, Inc. v. Town of New Milford, No. 15383

• Court: Appellate Court of Connecticut
• Writing for the Court: EDWARD Y. O'CONNELL
• Citation: 44 Conn.App. 107,686 A.2d 1007
• Parties: CANDLEWOOD LANDING CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., v. TOWN OF NEW MILFORD.
• Decision Date: 14 January 1997
• Docket Number: No. 15383

Page 1007

686 A.2d 1007 44 Conn.App. 107 CANDLEWOOD LANDING CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.,
v.
TOWN OF NEW MILFORD. No. 15383. Appellate Court of Connecticut. Argued Oct. 30, 1996.
Decided Jan. 14, 1997.

Page 1008

Monte E. Frank, Danbury, with whom was David L. Gropins, for appellant (plaintiff).

Kim E. Nolan, Danbury, with whom, on the brief, was Pamela D. Siemon, for appellee (defendant).

Before EDWARD Y. O'CONNELL, HEIMAN and STOUGHTON, JJ.

EDWARD Y. O'CONNELL, Justice.

The dispositive issue in this appeal is whether a condominium association has standing to [44 Conn.App. 108] appeal a municipal tax assessment of the common areas of a condominium. ¹ The plaintiff claims that the trial court improperly granted the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of aggrievement. We reverse the judgment of the trial court.

The record discloses the following facts. The plaintiff Candlewood Landing Condominium Association, Inc. (association), is a nonstock Connecticut corporation organized pursuant to General Statutes § 47-243. ² The association consists of the owners of the thirteen units of the Candlewood Landing condominiums. In addition to their units, members of the association each own an undivided 7.692 percent interest in the common elements of the condominium.

On October 1, 1993, the town of New Milford assessed the condominium's units and the common elements. The plaintiff appealed that assessment to the board of tax review on behalf of the unit owners. The board of tax review reduced the assessed value of the units but refused to reduce the assessment of the common elements. The association appealed to the Superior Court from the board of tax review's decision. The trial court granted the defendant's motion to dismiss for lack of aggrievement and the association appealed to this court.

[44 Conn.App. 109] We are asked to construe various sections of the Common Interest Ownership Act, General Statutes §§ 47-200 through 47-295. It is undisputed that the plaintiff recorded the necessary declaration to bring itself within the ambit of the act. ³ A common

Page 1009

interest community is defined as "real property described in a declaration with respect to which a person, by virtue of his ownership of a unit, is obligated to pay for (A) real property taxes on, (B) insurance premiums on, (C) maintenance of, or (D) improvement of, any other real estate other than that unit described in the declaration." General Statutes § 47-202(7).

The act defines a condominium as "a common interest community in which portions of the real property are designated for separate ownership and the remainder of the real property is designated for common ownership solely by the owners of those portions. A common interest community is not a condominium unless the undivided interests in the common elements are vested in the unit owners." General Statutes § 47-202(8). In a condominium, the term common elements means "all portions of the common interest community other than the units." General Statutes § 47-202(4). "It is elementary to say that what is not a unit is a common element, if it is within the real estate owned by the condominium association." Grey v. Coastal States Holding Co., 22 Conn.App. 497, 503, 578 A.2d 1080, cert. denied, 216 Conn. 817, 580 A.2d 57 (1990). Each unit owner owns an undivided fractional interest in the common elements.

The taxing scheme for condominiums is established by General Statutes § 47-204(b)(2) as follows: "[E]ach unit shall be separately taxed and assessed, and no separate tax or assessment may be rendered against [44 Conn.App. 110] any common elements...." Included in the unit owner's tax assessment is his fractional share of the common elements. The trial court reasoned that because the common elements are taxed to the individual unit owners, only the unit owners may appeal the assessments. This would be a reasonable...