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Note 13 - Condemnation
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2013
Disclosure Text Block Supplement [Abstract]  
Legal Matters and Contingencies [Text Block]

13. Condemnation


In early July 2012, the Company received $167,530,657 from the State of New York (the "State") in payment of the judgments in the Company’s favor in the condemnation litigation with the State. The amount received consisted of $98,685,000 in additional damages, $1,474,941 in costs, disbursements and expenses, and $67,370,716 in interest.


Following receipt of the condemnation proceeds by the Company, New York State notified the Company of an error in the interest computation resulting in New York State overpaying interest by approximately $29,000. The Company reviewed the notice in 2012 and remitted payment of the $29,000 in early 2013.


The $167.5 million payment concluded the Company’s case for just compensation, commenced in 2006 for the 245.5 acres of its Flowerfield property in St. James and Stony Brook, New York (the "Property") taken by the State. The State had paid the Company $26,315,000 for the Property in March 2006, which the Company elected, under New York’s eminent domain law, to treat as an advance payment while it pursued its claim for just compensation. The Court of Claims ruled in the Company’s favor in June 2010 when it awarded the Company $125,000,000, thereby requiring the State to pay an additional $98,685,000 plus statutory interest of nine percent from the date of taking on November 2, 2005 to the date of payment. That judgment, as well as a related judgment for costs, disbursements and expenses, was affirmed by the Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals.


The original advance payment of $26,315,000 was successfully reinvested in like-kind property under Section 1033 of the Internal Revenue Code, thereby deferring income tax on the related gain. In accordance with Section 1033, the Company has deferred recognition of the $98,685,000 gain on the condemnation of its real property for income tax purposes. If the Company replaces the condemned property with like-kind property by April 30, 2014 (or such extended period if requested and approved by the Internal Revenue Service at its discretion), recognition of the gain is deferred until the newly acquired property is sold.