Docket No. 03-22636.001-C-3 & 04-21196.001-C-3
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valuation report for year 2003 that supported the assessment or
established an alternative market value.
Dost provided a critical review of the Ryan report for the year
2003. The Board finds Dost failed to refute the credibility of
the Ryan report. Dost appeared on behalf of the intervenor to,
as he explained, "review the report for the quality of data,
completeness of the analysis, really to determine the reliability
and credibility of the report." From the Transcript of the
Proceedings, page 135, In Re the Matter of: Lord & Taylor, No.
2003-22636.001-C-3 and 2004-21196.001-C-3. The witness, in
applying the relevancy of the data used by the Ryan report made
the following observations: the witness disagreed with Ryan's
use of several comparables based upon age, size, highest and best
use, and location.
The witness testified that the conditions of the sale in one
instance were not sufficiently provided. The witness also
testified that one comparable was located in Springfield,
Illinois which is a smaller market than the subject's market, and
is, therefore, not comparable. Another sale was too old to be
useful, the witness further testified. One sale was purchased
for redevelopment and one was purchased through a bankruptcy
sale, the witness testified.
As testified to on cross-examination, however, Dost only reviewed
the Ryan report a few days before the hearing and provided no
written review report to the PTAB. Moreover, Dost was unaware if
the Ryan report contained any inaccuracies and he did not check
for any possible inaccuracies. Dost further testified that he
did not verify the information provided by Ryan since that was
not part of the scope of his assignment. Again, the witness was
unaware if the Ryan report contained correct information and did
not verify said information.
As for one of the comparables, the witness testified that the
sale was too remote in time. However, he did admit that an
appraiser could adjust for such an element, as Ryan claimed he
adjusted for the differences between the comparables and the
subject. In another case, Dost testified that his information on
a comparable in Yorktown Mall, located in the western suburban
area of Chicago, was obtained from a website. Thus, Dost did not
interview any of the parties to the transactions for accuracies
in the reporting data provided. The PTAB finds such a review to
be lacking in credibility and does not diminish the reliability
of the Ryan report.
In yet another comparable sale, Dost testified that he obtained
his information from CoStar Comparables. Again, he did not
verify the reporting information as accurate. Additionally, the
