26000714 Pontiac Answer - VAB Senior Limited Dividend Housing Association.pdf
Vab Senior Ltd Dividend Housing Assn Petitioner Vs. City Of Pontiac Respondent · 26-000714-TT
Text extracted from the reviewed PDF, organized by page. OCR and reading order may contain errors; confirm details in the PDF below.
Page 1
CLARKHILL\18836\1032826\288855282.v1-8/7/26 STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL MTT Docket No. 26-000714 Parcel No. 64-19-05-102-010 VAB SENIOR LTD DIVIDEND HOUSING ASSOCIATION, Petitioner, v CITY OF PONTIAC, Respondent. / Laura M. Hallahan (P42101) HALLAHAN & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Representative for Petitioner 1750 S. Telegraph Road, Suite 202 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302-0179 (248) 731-3090 lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com Elizabeth White McDonnell (P62561) Sean P. Fitzgerald (P60654) CLARK HILL PLC Attorneys for Respondent 200 Ottawa Avenue NW, Suite 500 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 608-1131 ewhitemcdonnell@clarkhill.com sfitzgerald@clarkhill.com / RESPONDENT’S ANSWER TO PETITION Respondent, City of Pontiac, by and through its attorneys, Clark Hill PLC, hereby answers the Petition filed by Petitioner, VAB Senior Limited Dividend Housing Association, and states as follows: 1. Respondent admits the allegations in paragraph 1 of the Petition, as to Parcel Number, Address, Classification, County and School District. As to use of the property, Respondent lacks the knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of that allegation. 2. Respondent lacks the knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in paragraph 2 of the Petition. 3. Respondent admits the allegations in paragraph 3 of the Petition.
Page 2
2 CLARKHILL\18836\1032826\288855282.v1-8/7/26 4. Respondent lacks the knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in paragraph 4 of the Petition. 5. Respondent lacks the knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in paragraph 5 of the Petition. 6. Respondent lacks the knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations contained in paragraph 6 of the Petition. 7. Respondent admits the allegations in paragraph 7 of the Petition. 8. Respondent admits that the values set by Respondent’s Board of Review are: TCV AV TV 14,555,360 7,277,680 7,115,440 9. Respondent denies the allegations in paragraph 9 of the Petition as untrue. 10. Respondent denies the allegations in paragraph 10 of the Petition as untrue. 11. Respondent denies the allegations in paragraph 11 of the Petition as untrue. WHEREFORE, Respondent respectfully requests that the Tribunal dismiss the Petition, sustain the assessed, taxable and true cash values with respect to the property as established by Respondent, award the costs and fees, including attorneys’ fees, incurred by Respondents in the defense of this matter, and grant such other and further relief as the Tribunal deems just and proper. Dated: August 7, 2026 Respectfully submitted, CLARK HILL PLC By: Elizabeth White McDonnell (P62561) Sean P. Fitzgerald (P60654) Attorneys for Respondent
Page 3
3 CLARKHILL\18836\1032826\288855282.v1-8/7/26 AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES TO PETITIONER’S PETITION NOW COMES Respondent, City of Pontiac, by and through its attorneys, Clark Hill PLC, and hereby offers the following Affirmative Defenses to Petitioner’s Petition as follows: 1. Petitioner fails to allege specific and sufficient facts to set forth a cause of action against Respondent and to support its claim of relief. 2. Respondent has properly and lawfully classified Petitioner’s property and established its taxable and assessed value in accordance with local ordinances, state regulations, statutory and constitutional requirements. 3. Respondent reserves the right to add other affirmative defenses as they become known. Dated: August 7, 2026 Respectfully submitted, CLARK HILL PLC By: Elizabeth White McDonnell (P62561) Sean P. Fitzgerald (P60654) Attorneys for Respondent
Page 4
CLARKHILL\18836\1032826\288855281.v1-8/7/26 STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL ________________________________________________ MTT Docket No. 26-000714 Parcel No. 64-19-05-102-010 VAB SENIOR LTD DIVIDEND HOUSING ASSOCIATION, Petitioner, v CITY OF PONTIAC, Respondent. / Laura M. Hallahan (P42101) HALLAHAN & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Representative for Petitioner 1750 S. Telegraph Road, Suite 202 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302-0179 (248) 731-3090 lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com Elizabeth White McDonnell (P62561) Sean P. Fitzgerald (P60654) CLARK HILL PLC Attorneys for Respondent 200 Ottawa Avenue NW, Suite 500 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 608-1131 ewhitemcdonnell@clarkhill.com sfitzgerald@clarkhill.com / APPEARANCE Clark Hill PLC hereby enters its Appearance on behalf of Respondent, City of Pontiac. Dated: August 7, 2026 Respectfully submitted, CLARK HILL PLC By: Elizabeth White McDonnell (P62561) Sean P. Fitzgerald (P60654) Attorneys for Respondent
Page 5
CLARKHILL\18836\1032826\288973945.v1-8/7/26 STATE OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF LICENSING & REGULATORY AFFAIRS MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL ________________________________________________ MTT Docket No. 26-000714 Parcel No. 64-19-05-102-010 VAB SENIOR LTD DIVIDEND HOUSING ASSOCIATION, Petitioner, v CITY OF PONTIAC, Respondent. / Laura M. Hallahan (P42101) HALLAHAN & ASSOCIATES, P.C. Representative for Petitioner 1750 S. Telegraph Road, Suite 202 Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302-0179 (248) 731-3090 lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com Elizabeth White McDonnell (P62561) Sean P. Fitzgerald (P60654) CLARK HILL PLC Attorneys for Respondent 200 Ottawa Avenue NW, Suite 500 Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 608-1131 ewhitemcdonnell@clarkhill.com sfitzgerald@clarkhill.com / PROOF OF SERVICE The undersigned certifies that on the date below, a copy of Respondent’s Answer to Petition and Appearance was served via electronic mail, upon: Laura M. Hallahan lhallahan@hallahanlaw.com Date: August 7, 2026 /s/ Bailey Dettloff Bailey Dettloff