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****************************************************** The ``officially released'' date that appears near the beginning of each opinion is the date the opinion will be published in the Connecticut Law Journal or the date it was released as a slip opinion. The operative date for the beginning of all time periods for filing postopinion motions and petitions for certification is the ``officially released'' date appearing in the opinion. In no event will any such motions be accepted before the ``officially released'' date. All opinions are subject to modification and technical correction prior to official publication in the Connecticut Reports and Connecticut Appellate Reports. In the event of discrepancies between the electronic version of an opinion and the print version appearing in the Connecticut Law Journal and subsequently in the Connecticut Reports or Connecticut Appellate Reports, the latest print version is to be considered authoritative. The syllabus and procedural history accompanying the opinion as it appears on the Commission on Official Legal Publications Electronic Bulletin Board Service and in the Connecticut Law Journal and bound volumes of official reports are copyrighted by the Secretary of the State, State of Connecticut, and may not be reproduced and distributed without the express written permission of the Commission on Official Legal Publications, Judicial Branch, State of Connecticut. ****************************************************** LUELLA W. DAVIS ET AL. v. TOWN OF WESTPORT ET AL. (AC 19685)
Lavery, C. J., and Schaller and Dupont, Js. Argued November 2, 2000--officially released February 20, 2001 Counsel

Walter A. Flynn, Jr., with whom, on the brief, was Jo-Ann R. Sensale, for the appellant (named defendant). Robert H. Rubin, for the appellee (named plaintiff).
Opinion

DUPONT, J. The defendant town of Westport1 appeals from the judgment of the trial court reducing the assessment of certain of the real property of the plaintiff Luella W. Davis.2 The defendant claims that (1) the court should have held a hearing on its objection to the report of an attorney trial referee, (2) the plaintiff could not prevail on her claim of an unjust tax and unfair share of the municipal tax burden in the absence of fair market value evidence, (3) the plaintiff could not appeal except in a revaluation year and (4) the court improperly awarded expert testimony costs. We set aside the award of appraisal fees and affirm the judgment of the

trial court in all other respects. The parties do not dispute the relevant facts or procedural history. In 1993, the plaintiff and her husband, Martin S. Davis, purchased the property known as 60 Beachside Avenue in Westport. The property contained approximately 2.92 acres and had an assessed land value of $917,840. In 1995, the plaintiff and Martin S. Davis acquired the immediately adjacent property known as 62 Beachside Avenue, containing about three acres. The town assessor determined that the assessed land value of that parcel was $1,309,000. The value assessments represented the fair market values for the land that the assessor had determined for the grand list of October 1, 1985, which was when the last revaluation of all real property in Westport occurred. The Davises then filed an application with the Westport planning and zoning commission (commission) to build a new single family residence comprised of nearly 13,000 square feet that would straddle the boundary line of the two lots. On June 15, 1995, the commission issued a resolution concerning the Davises' application. The commission conditioned its coastal area management approval of the application on a merger of the two lots. The Davises abided by the condition and merged the two properties into one 5.39 acre lot. They demolished the existing structures on the two lots and constructed one new home. This appeal does not involve the fair market value of the new home, but involves, rather, the 1985 assessment of the consolidated lot. The lot is a premier piece of shorefront property with 1000 feet of frontage on Long Island Sound.3 The assessor combined the properties into one on the grand list of October 1, 1995, and modified the assessment map to depict the plaintiff's property as one lot. For the 1995 tax year, the assessor determined that the new assessed value of the larger, merged lot was $2,226,840. That figure represents the simple addition of the two 1985 assessed values of the separately purchased lots ($917,840 plus $1,309,000). The plaintiff objected to the assessed value and requested that the town board of tax review (board) reduce the assessment. The board denied the request and approved the assessed value. The plaintiff then appealed to the Superior Court pursuant to General Statutes

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Connecticut Law