The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled unanimously in favor of the town of Groton, which was the subject of a class action lawsuit by homeowners in the Long Point neighborhood who claimed the municipality unfairly valued their homes and hiked property taxes.

The state's high court ruled 7-0 that John Tuohy, who led a class action with 10 plaintiffs, failed to make the case that the town's assessor should never have increased the assessment, without first considering things such as the unique characteristics of each home.

There are about 600 properties in the Groton Long Point neighborhood, located in southeastern Connecticut.

At issue is the 2011 revaluation, which Assessor Mary Gardner oversaw and that Tyler Technologies conducted, for Groton's 13 neighborhoods, including Groton Long Point.

After the computer printed out the results of the assessments of Groton Long Point, Gardner felt the numbers undervalued properties in a neighborhood where fair market value assessment has risen 35%. The redo was meant to adjust the assessments to bring them closer to fair market values.

But plaintiffs raised several arguments in their appeal of a Superior Court ruling in the town's favor.

“The application of a fixed percentage factor to increase assessments without making any allowance for individual differences in properties has been widely condemned by the courts of this state,” they argued in court pleadings, claiming the 35% figure the assessor used “is arbitrary, unreasonable and without foundation in fact.”

The town, on the other hand, argued it properly used the 35% assessment number and that the methodology was consistent with the Office of Policy and Management regulations and other standards.

In writing the court's 24-page opinion, Chief Justice Richard Robinson said: “The defendants contend that the plaintiffs failed to prove the valuation of their properties was manifestly excessive because they did not present any credible evidence of the values of their properties. We agree with the defendants and conclude that their application of the 1.35 adjustment (or 35 percent) factor to the Groton Long Point residential properties during the 2011 revaluation was not illegal.”

Robinson continued: “Accordingly, we conclude that the circumstances presented here do not rise to the level of the extraordinary situation that would warrant tax relief.”

In their lawsuit, the plaintiffs had sought injunctive relief, ordering the assessments of their residential properties be reduced to the original value.

Representing the plaintiffs were Hartford-based Robinson & Cole attorneys Linda Morkan and John Peloso. Both attorneys declined to comment on the ruling.

The town's attorney, Eileen Duggan with New London-based Suisman Shapiro Attorneys at Law, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

Gardner, the assessor, was not in the office Tuesday and unavailable for comment.