Nov 20, 2014 2 min read

Washington Crown Center is appealing its property tax assessment for the second time in five years.

The mall located in North Franklin Township last month appealed its 2015 assessment of $4.92 million – close to the same figure since its last appeal in 2010 – and was rejected by the county’s Board of Tax Assessment during an Oct. 16 hearing.

That prompted lawyers for Washington Crown Center to file a lawsuit Monday asking Washington County Court to overturn the board’s decision and reduce the tax assessment for next year. The lawsuit claims the assessment is “excessive, improper, unjust and contrary to law” because it doesn’t represent the value of the property, lacks uniformity and is inequitable and discriminatory.

The same words were used when the mall appealed its 2010 assessment and then sued in court to have it reduced. The court ordered its assessment in 2012 and 2013 to be $4.92 million, tax records show, which is nearly identical to the current figure.

It was not known what prompted this most recent appeal, and the mall’s attorney, Philip Giannuario of Montclair, N.J., did not return phone messages seeking comment on the case. However, the lawsuit claims the tax assessment office should use the State Tax Equalization Board’s standards ratio and not the county’s own predetermined ratio.

John Rheel, chairman of the Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals, said he could not comment on the case because he could not recall the individual appeal.

The mall’s parent company, Washington Crown Center Associates, pays about $726,500 in annual property taxes. Trinity Area School District is expected to receive the most money in 2015, about $530,000, while North Franklin Township and Washington County will receive $73,829 and $122,557, respectively.

Solicitors for Trinity and North Franklin could not be reached for comment to discuss whether the school district and township plan to intervene in the lawsuit.