George M. Brewster & Sons v. Borough of Bogota
| Decision Date | 18 September 1951 |
| Docket Number | No. L--3954,L--3954 |
| Citation | 83 A.2d 554,15 N.J.Super. 404 |
| Parties | GEORGE M. BREWSTER & SONS, Inc. v. BOROUGH OF BOGOTA et al. |
| Court | New Jersey Superior Court |
Major & Carlsen, Hackensack (James A. Major, Hackensack, appearing), attorneys for plaintiff.
Walter H. Jones, Hackensack, attorney for Borough of Bogota.
Bayard Allen, Mount Holly, attorney for Township of Westampton.
Benjamin Warmer, Moorestown, attorney for Township of Mount Laurel.
Theodore D. Parsons, Atty. Gen., pro se.
Plaintiff seeks a declaratory judgment (R.S. 2:26--66 and 69, N.J.S.A.) of its rights, status and legal relations under the statute authorizing the assessment and taxation of tangible personal property (R.S. 54:4--9, as amended L.1942, c. 281; L.1943, c. 120; L.1945, c. 163, N.J.S.A.), and more particularly, whether under said statute the Townships of Westampton and Mount Laurel in Burlington County have the right to assess and tax plaintiff's personal property consisting of mobile road building equipment and machinery.
The facts not being in dispute, the cause was submitted to the court without a jury by consent.
The plaintiff is a large contracting company specializing in highway and bridge construction. It was incorporated in 1923 and its principal executive and registered offices, plant, repair shops, garage and storage space for its equipment, trucks and machinery are located at 275 Fort Lee Road, Bogota, Bergen County, New Jersey. It owns and utilizes a large amount of mobile equipment which has been assessed for taxes by the Borough of Bogota over the years, including those of 1949 and 1950.
Plaintiff has been and presently is engaged under contract with the New Jersey Turnpike Authority in building a major portion of the Turnpike, with the necessary bridges and culverts, from the George Washington Bridge across the Hudson River in Bergen County to the bridge across the Delaware River in Salem County. One of the contracts, designated as Section 3, provides for the construction of the turnpike for a distance of 21.7 miles, part of which is in the Townships of Westampton and Mount Laurel in Burlington County. On October 1, 1950, various units of plaintiff's equipment were physically located in each of the defendant townships, being used pursuant to the contract. It is agreed the equipment was to remain in the respective townships until the work there was completed and then taken elsewhere. It is conceded that when plaintiff completes a contract the equipment used is either returned to Bogota for storage or overhaul, or transported to the location of a new job.
Each of defendant townships levied an assessment for taxes on the equipment 'found' in its district on October 1, 1950 as tangible personal property. Plaintiff is therefore concerned over the conflicting claims of defendant municipalities to tax its equipment, and the probability of claims by other taxing districts along the projected route.
R.S. 54:4--9, as amended, N.J.S.A., provides: 'The tax on all tangible personal property in this State shall be assessed in and for the taxing district where the property is found.' The assessment date is October 1 (R.S. 54:4--1, as amended, N.J.S.A.) and the assessor has plenary power to ascertain the ownership and value of the property (R.S. 54:4--12, 16, N.J.S.A.).
The defendant townships argue vigorously that the word 'found' as used in the statute means 'physically present,' without more; or, to put it another way, 'discovered by means of the eye or other senses.' And since...
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George M. Brewster & Son v. Borough of Bogota
...taxable situs of the equipment and machinery on the assessing date being in that borough. Judgment was entered for the plaintiff, 15 N.J.Super. 404, 83 A.2d 554. The defendant townships Plaintiff is a large contracting company specializing in the construction of roads, bridges, aqueducts an......