Opinion
May 6, 1996
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Dutchess County (Palella, J.).
Ordered that the order is affirmed, with costs.
Real Property Tax Law § 525 (2) (a), provides, in relevant part, that on the date set for a hearing and determination of a complaint concerning a property tax assessment, "[i]f the person whose real property is assessed, or his agent or representative, shall willfully neglect or refuse to attend and be so examined, or to answer any question put to him relevant to the complaint or assessment, such person shall not be entitled to any reduction of the assessment subject to the complaint" (Real Property Tax Law § 525 [a] [emphasis supplied]; see, Matter of Doubleday Co. v. Board of Assessors, 202 A.D.2d 424; Matter of Hyacinthe v Glaser, 104 A.D.2d 651). Under the circumstances of this case, where the petitioner failed to appear at the hearing, or to supply any witnesses, a finding of willful neglect was implicit in the rejection of the petitioner's grievance complaint by the Board of Assessment Review, Town of LaGrange (hereinafter the Board). This is especially true in view of the fact that when the Board first set the date of the hearing it informed the petitioner that "failure to appear to testify or to produce * * * documents will be considered willful neglect" (emphasis supplied). Accordingly, the court properly dismissed the petition on the ground of willful neglect.
The petitioner's remaining contentions lack merit. Balletta, J.P., Sullivan, Copertino and Krausman, JJ., concur.