Answer to Petition Madison Property.pdf
Madison Property Holdings LLC Petitioner Vs. City Of Madison Heights Respondent · 26-001312-TT
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL MADISON PROPERTY HOLDINGS, LLC, Petitioner, MOAHR Docket No: 26-001312 Vv. Parcel No: 44-25-14-229-012 CITY OF MADISON HEIGHTS, Respondent. / LAURA M. HALLAHAN (P42101) LARRY H. SHERMAN (P27805) Attorney for Petitioner SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C. 1750 S. Telegraph Road, Suite 202 Attorney for Respondent Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 30700 Telegraph Road, Suite 3420 (248) 731-3089 Telephone Bingham Farms, MI 48025 lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com (248) 540-3366 Telephone larryhsherman@shermanpc.com / ANSWER TO PETITION NOW COMES Respondent, City of Madison Heights, by and through its Attorneys, SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C., by Larry H. Sherman, Esq., (P27805) and in Answer to the Petition, states as follows: 1. Answering Paragraph 1, Respondent admits the allegations contained therein. 2. N/A 3. Answering Paragraph 3, Respondent admits the allegations contained therein. 4. Answering Paragraph 4, Respondent neither admits nor denies the allegations contained therein and leaves Petition to its proofs.
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5. . Answering Paragraph 5, Respondent neither admits nor denies the allegations contained therein and leaves Petitioner to its proofs. 6. Answering Paragraph 6, Respondent neither admits nor denies the allegations contained therein and leaves Petitioner to its proofs. 7. Answering Paragraph 7, Respondent admits the allegations contained therein. 8. Answering Paragraph 8, Respondent admits the allegations contained therein. 9. Answering Paragraph 9, Respondent neither admits nor denies the allegations contained therein and leaves Petitioner to its proofs. 10. Answering Paragraph 10, Respondent neither admits nor denies the allegations contained therein and leaves Petitioner to its proofs. 11. Answering Paragraph 11, (a) through (d), Respondent denies the allegations contained herein for the reason the same are untrue. WHEREFORE, Respondent respectfully requests that this Honorable Tribunal determine that: 1. That the 2026 taxable value of Petitioner's property is accurately set at $458,510 and the assessed value is accurately set at $467,290. 2. Decline to reduce the 2026 state equalized value of $467,290. SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C. BY: s/ Larry H. Sherman Larry H. Sherman (P27805) Attorneys for Respondent 30700 Telegraph, Ste. 3420 Bingham Farms, MI 48025-4590 (248) 540-3366 Telephone Dated: August 27, 2026
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL MADISON PROPERTY HOLDINGS, LLC, Petitioner, MOAHR Docket No: 26-001312 Vv. Parcel No: 44-25-14-229-012 CITY OF MADISON HEIGHTS, Respondent. / LAURA M. HALLAHAN (P42101) LARRY H. SHERMAN (P27805) Attorney for Petitioner SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C. 1750 S. Telegraph Road, Suite 202 Attorney for Respondent Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 30700 Telegraph Road, Suite 3420 (248) 731-3089 Telephone Bingham Farms, MI 48025 Ihallahan@hallahanlaw.com (248) 540-3366 Telephone larryhsherman@shermanpc.com / AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES 1. Petitioner has failed to allege specific and sufficient facts to set forth a cause of action against Respondent. 2. Petitioner has failed to allege specific and sufficient facts to establish discrimination or illegality on the part of the Respondent or its agents. 3. Petitioner has failed to allege that the mode and method of appraising its property failed to conform with the mode and method applied in the case of all of the properties in the City of Madison Heights in 2026. Further, Petitioner has failed to show that any factor other than fifty (50%) percent was applied to the true cash value of Petitioner's property as well as to all others to arrive at the respective assessments appearing on the 2026 tax roll.
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4. Petitioner requests that this Honorable Tribunal grant it a preference by application of the self-chosen method of assessment, contrary to the intent and purpose of the law of this State. 5. Levy of ad valorem taxes required to be made based upon assessment of fifty (50%) percent of true cash value as ultimately determined by the process of County and State Equalization and subsequent calculation of an annual capped value, the lesser of which provide the property's taxable value (Michigan Constitution of 1963, Article IX, Section 3; MCL 209.4; and MCL 209.5, as amended.) 6. Petitioner's claim would produce the effect of shifting the burden of City, School and County taxes to other property owners in the City of Madison Heights. Petitioner requests that this Honorable Tribunal to make an underassessment based upon an arbitrarily presumed construction of the statutes (General Property Tax Act, PA 206 of 1893; MCL 211.1, et seq, as amended) and on the basis of such construction to render a money judgment in its favor. 7. Petitioner is not entitled to the relief requested for the reason that the subject property does not fall within one of the statutory exceptions set forth in MCL 211.1 et seq. 8. Respondent reserves the right to argue additional Affirmative Defenses during the pendency of this action. SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C. s/ Larry H. Sherman Larry H. Sherman (P27805) Attorneys for Respondent 30700 Telegraph, Suite 3420 Bingham Farms, MI! 48025 August 27, 2026
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STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL MADISON PROPERTY HOLDINGS, LLC, Petitioner, MOAHR Docket No: 26-001312 Vv. Parcel No: 44-25-14-229-012 CITY OF MADISON HEIGHTS, Respondent. / LAURA M. HALLAHAN (P42101) LARRY H. SHERMAN (P27805) Attorney for Petitioner SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C. 1750 S. Telegraph Road, Suite 202 Attorney for Respondent Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 30700 Telegraph Road, Suite 3420 (248) 731-3089 Telephone Bingham Farms, MI 48025 lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com (248) 540-3366 Telephone larryhsherman@shermanpc.com / REQUEST TO PRODUCE NOW COMES Respondent herein, the City of Madison Heights, through its Attorneys, SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C., by Larry H. Sherman (P27805) and submits the following Request to Produce, within twenty-eight (28) days, pursuant to MCR 2.310: 1. Please produce the following: a. Copies of any and all appraisals of the subject property made for any reason within the last five (5) years. b. Copies of any and all current mortgage(s) on the property. Cc. Copies of any and all sale documents, current listings or offerings pertaining to the subject property within the last five (5) years.
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d. Complete copies of any and all leases encumbering the subject property, if not physically occupied by Petitioner, including current lease proposals. e. Copies of any and all income and expense records for the subject property for the prior three (3) years, or in the alternative, comprehensive summaries thereof. f. Complete copies of any and all construction contracts, or in the alternative, comprehensive summaries indicating construction costs for the subject property if built or structurally altered or remodeled within the last ten (10) years. g. Copies of the Declaration Sheet of the casualty insurance current carried on the property listing the amount of coverage. SHERMAN & SHERMAN, P.C. s/ Larry H. Sherman Larry H. Sherman (P27805) 30700 Telegraph, Suite 3420 Bingham Farms, MI 48025-4590 (248) 540-3366 Telephone (248) 540-5959 Fax Dated: August 27, 2026
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CERTIFICATION | hereby certify that on August 27, 2026, | filed an Answer to Petition, Affirmative Defenses Request to Produce and this Certification with the Michigan Tax Tribunal for the County of Oakland, electronically, and sent a copy via email to the Respondent's counsel listed above as follows: lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com. /5/ Roseanne ‘M. Hood. Roseanne M. Hood, Paralegal