A lawsuit alleging Orland Square Mall’s parent company was forced to overpay for its property taxes from 2005 until 2009 could take more than 18 months to resolve if it is not settled outside of court, lawyers said after a hearing Wednesday morning.
Judge Alfred Paul told lawyers for Simon Property Group, the Cook County Treasurer, the Village of Orland Park, the Orland Park Public Library District, Orland Fire Protection District, Orland School District 135 and Consolidated School District 230 that the case would be taken “off the wheel.”
Typically, tax objections follow a standardized process to be completed about 18 months after filing, but lawyers will move at a slower pace because of the large amount of money at stake, said Don Renner, the attorney representing the fire district, village and library.
“It’s going to be a little more loose in terms of how we’re going to appear before the judge,” said Renner, of the Chicago-based Klein, Thorpe and Jenkins LTD.
The case also could be settled out of court, Renner said, but discussions of a settlement have not yet begun. Renner said settlements in tax objections are common, but this case still could go to litigation.
Simon Property Group, which owns the mall, alleges its Orland Square Mall property on 151st Street and La Grange Road is overvalued and it has overpaid for property taxes beginning in 2005. If Simon wins the case, public entities in Orland Park that rely on property taxes could be forced to refund about $11.8 million.
From 2005 to 2007, the Orland Square Mall property was assessed at about $31.8 million, and in 2008 and 2009 it was assessed at about $33 million. Simon contends the property should have been assessed at $22.8 million from 2005 to 2008 and $15 million in 2009.
Simon’s attorney, Mark Davis of O’Keefe Lyons & Hynes LLC in Chicago, declined to comment on the case.
No dates have been set for future hearings.
“It will probably be a longer process than the typical case, which are designed to be resolved within 18 months of filing,” said Ares Dalianis, an attorney representing the school districts. “These cases, given the magnitude of the assessment, exposure and the dollars involved are likely to take longer to resolve one way or the other.”
