Overview
- Suffolk Superior Court denied Boston’s motion to dismiss and authorized targeted discovery to test whether an Add-Back Policy existed.
- The complaint alleges the city raised assessed values for properties with pending tax appeals to match the prior year’s higher figure, affecting at least about 60 owners.
- HS 148SST LLC, owner of an 11-story office at 148 State Street, filed the case and is represented by the Pioneer New England Legal Foundation and Sullivan & Worcester.
- A scheduling hearing is planned, and the plaintiff’s lawyers say discovery in superior court cases often runs eight months to a year before any decision on the facts.
- The judge warned that such a policy, if proven, could deter owners from seeking abatements through the state Appellate Tax Board, which hears challenges to local tax bills.