Baldwin Construction Co., Plaintiffs-Respondents v. Essex County Board of Taxation and City of East Orange…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed the lower court's judgment vacating the county board's assessment increases for the plaintiffs, holding that the board's selective revisions were discriminatory and violated both the Fourteenth Amendment's equal protection clause and New Jersey's constitutional and statutory requirement that property be assessed at true value. The Court remanded for the board to conform future assessments to the true‑value standard. Justice Vanderbilt dissented, arguing that the majority limited relief to equal‑protection concerns and failed to enforce the statutory true‑value mandate.