City of New York v. The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations, No. 08-1805 to 08-1806 (2d Cir. Aug. 17, 2010):

Appeal from an opinion and order of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York (Rakoff, J.) granting summary judgment to the Plaintiff the City of New York. The District Court held that property owned by the governments of India and Mongolia that is used to house mission and consular staff was subject to property taxation under international and state law. While this appeal was pending, the United States Department of State issued a Notice pursuant to the Foreign Missions Act, 22 U.S.C. § 4301 et seq., designating as a “benefit” under the Act an exemption from real property taxes on property owned by foreign governments and used to house the staff of permanent missions to the United Nations or the Organization of American States or of consular posts. The Notice states that the benefit determination preempts all inconsistent state and local laws, and also applies to all property taxes that “have been or will be assessed,” on such property. We hold that the Notice issued by the Department of State was a lawful exercise of the Department’s authority under the Foreign Missions Act, and that the Notice operates in this case to render Appellants exempt from the property taxes imposed by the City, and so nullifies the City’s existing tax liens against Appellants.

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(Hat Tip: Bob Kamman.)