"Tax Lightning"

Some of you may have noticed the article in this past Sunday's ABQ Journal about the property tax mess in NM. Specifically, new homeowners are getting hit hard with much higher property tax bills than their neighbors (none as tax lightning). This is something we educate clients on all the time, and have posted about several times here. It is a mess and, in our estimation, completely unethical (at best).
Well, Judge Theresa Baca of the state's 2nd Judicial District apparently agrees as she has deemed this as unconstitutional. So now what? Here are some of the highlights of this article:
1. The ruling only affects Bernalillo County, since that was the district where the ruling took place. So if you are in, say, Rio Rancho then you need to fight.
2. Hopefully others will follow with suits since this has happened. At least the State Legislature should immediately tackle this issue now that this ruling has been handed down.
3. If you bought your home in 2008, then you are about to get your first updated tax bill. You have a 60 day window to fight this. You should immediately protest it. In fact, the attorney who just one this suit in court suggests you "file a lawsuit within 60 days seeking a refund". Do not be ignorant of this window. Deal with it immediately or you will make it more difficult on yourself.
4. If you bought your home prior to 2008, then you should ask the court to roll their assessed value back to what it should be. This is unproven at this point, but with this ruling it is worth the fight.