The town on Thursday received a civil summons filed on behalf of a local business that’s objecting to the town’s valuation of 52 vehicles in its fleet.
The lot at Hoyt Livery on Cross Street. Credit: Michael Dinan
New Canaan last year assessed the Hoyt Livery vehicles—mostly newer-model Chevys, Fords, Lincolns and Chryslers, ranging from about $4,000 to $31,000—in a way that was “grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful,” according to the lawsuit, filed by Danbury-based attorney Candace Fay.
Representatives for Hoyt Livery on Sept. 5 appeared before the Board of Assessment Appeals to make its case, yet that volunteer body “made inconclusive and unsubstantiated changes in the valuations” and notified the plaintiff about them on Sept. 11, the lawsuit said.
The legal filing seeks to appeal the Board’s ruling and reduce the assessment, with a reimbursement for overpayment of taxes “with interest and costs.”
New Canaan will undergo a revaluation of real property in town on Oct. 1, with new assessments—70 percent of a property’s value—to be mailed out in early December.