Appeal of Home

816 A.2d 944, 149 N.H. 96, 2002 N.H. LEXIS 220
CourtSupreme Court of New Hampshire
DecidedJanuary 27, 2003
DocketNos. 2002-178; 2002-179
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 816 A.2d 944 (Appeal of Home) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Hampshire primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Appeal of Home, 816 A.2d 944, 149 N.H. 96, 2002 N.H. LEXIS 220 (N.H. 2003).

Opinion

Nadeau, J.

The petitioner, the Taylor Home, appeals decisions by the New Hampshire Board of Tax and Land Appeals (BTLA) denying as untimely its appeals of the denials of charitable tax exemptions by the City of Laconia (Laconia) and the Town of Sandwich (Sandwich). We have consolidated these cases for decision. We affirm.

The record reveals the following facts. On August 31, 2001, the petitioner filed with the BTLA two documents entitled, “Petition for Abatement of Real Estate Taxes.” One document pertained to Laconia’s refusal to abate the petitioner’s real estate taxes for the 2000 tax year; the other document pertained to Sandwich’s refusal to abate the petitioner’s 2000 tax year taxes. Each petition asserted that it was filed “pursuant to Chapter 76, Section 16-a of the Revised Statutes Annotated.” Each petition alleged that the valuations used by the municipalities failed “to properly assess the true fair market value of the premises based upon its condition, location, charitable status, encumbrances and particular circumstances.” Each petition alleged that, as a result of the faulty valuations, the petitioner’s property had been “assessed at a value far in [98]*98excess of its true market value and ha[d] been treated disproportionately to other similar properties,” thus entitling the petitioner to an abatement.

Each document was accompanied by a form entitled, “RSA 76:16-a PROPERTY-TAX APPEAL TO BOARD OF TAX AND LAND APPEALS.” In section F of the form, which asked the petitioner to state the reasons for its appeal, the petitioner stated as follows:

Please see the taxpayers [sic] Petition attached hereto and incorporated herein as if fully set forth. The property is encumbered by life care contracts, other charitable obligations and governmental controls which impact the marketability and value of the property. The taxpayer asserts that the municipality has erroneously assessed this property. The Taylor Home is a non-profit, charitable organization providing elderly housing and resources for the senior population in the lakes region. The taxpayer reserves the right to rely upon legal arguments and legal data submitted in connection with its prior appeals and companion appeals against [the municipality].

In section G of the form, which asked the petitioner to state the market value of its property, the petitioner stated, “n/a tax exempt.”

On October 31, 2001, the petitioner moved to reform its August 31, 2001 petitions to state that it also appealed the failure of the municipalities to grant charitable tax exemptions for the 2000 tax year. The BTLA denied the petitioner leave to reform its petitions and its subsequent motions for rehearing. This appeal followed.

To prevail on its appeal, the petitioner must show that the BTLA’s decisions were “clearly unreasonable or unlawful.” RSA 541:13 (1997); see RSA 71-B:12 (1991). The BTLA’s factual findings are deemed prima facie lawful and reasonable. RSA 541:13.

The petitioner argues that it timely appealed the failure of the municipalities to grant charitable tax exemptions for the 2000 tax year. The petitioner concedes that RSA 72:34-a (Supp. 2002) required it to file these appeals by September 1, 2001, but contends that its August 31, 2001 petitions were appeals of the failure of the municipalities to grant charitable tax exemptions. We disagree.

“Our task is not to determine whether we would have found differently than did the board, or to re-weigh the evidence, but rather to determine whether the findings are supported by competent evidence in the record.” Appeal of Land Acquisition, 145 N.H. 492,496 (2000) (quotation omitted).

There is competent evidence in the record to support the BTLA’s finding that the August 31, 2001 petitions appealed the municipal [99]*99abatement decisions, not the municipal charitable exemption decisions. The forms accompanying each petition were entitled, “RSA 76:16-a PROPERTY-TAX APPEAL TO BOARD OF TAX AND LAND APPEALS.” On each form, the petitioner stated that the reason for the appeal was that the respective municipality had “erroneously assessed this property” in light of the encumbrances on the property “which impact the marketability and value of the property.” In the petitions themselves, the petitioner stated that it sought “an abatement of real estate taxes” assessed by the respective municipality because the municipality had failed to assess the property’s true fair market value.

Although the petitions referred to the petitioner as a “non-profit, charitable organization” and stated that its market value was “n/a tax exempt,” the petitions did not state that the petitioner had been denied a charitable exemption. Nor did the petitions state the grounds for appealing the denial of an exemption. The only reference to an appeal of the denial of a charitable exemption was the following: “The Petition [sic] has filed, by separate appeal to the BTLA, a claim for exemption of real estate taxes on this property for 2000 and ... prior exemption appeals are pending before the BTLA for the years 1997 through 2000.”

Given this evidence, we hold that it was reasonable for the BTLA to treat the August 31, 2001 petitions as appeals of the municipalities’ failure to abate taxes, rather than as appeals of the municipalities’ failure to grant charitable tax exemptions.

The petitioner argues that by treating the August 31, 2001 petitions as appeals of the abatement decisions, the BTLA violated its own procedural rules. The petitioner asserts that the BTLA should have treated the August 31, 2001 petitions as non-conforming documents and, pursuant to New Hampshire Administrative Rules, Tax 201.17 (Rule 201.17), should have returned them and given the petitioner time to file conforming documents.

We agree with the BTLA that Rule 201.17 does not apply to the August 31, 2001 petitions. Rule 201.17 applies only to documents that do not comply “with any statute or board rule.” N.H. Admin. RULES, Tax 201.17. It is undisputed that the petitions complied with the statutes and rules governing abatement appeals. Thus, they were not “non-conforming” documents under Rule 201.17.

The petitioner next asserts that the August 31, 2001 petitions complied with the statute governing appeals of exemption decisions, and, thus, as a matter of law, the BTLA should have considered them to be appeals of the municipalities’ failure to grant the petitioner charitable exemptions.

[100]*100“On questions of statutory interpretation, we are the final arbiter of the intent of the legislature as expressed in the words of a statute considered as a whole. When a statute’s language is plain and unambiguous, we need not look beyond the statute for further indication of legislative intent.” Appeal of Meunier, 147 N.H. 546, 548 (2002) (citations omitted). “[W]e interpret statutes in the context of the overall statutory scheme and not in isolation.” Appeal of Brady, 145 N.H. 308, 310 (2000) (quotation omitted).

RSA 72:34-a (Supp. 2002) provides, in relevant part:

Whenever the selectmen or assessors refuse to grant an applicant an exemption... to which the applicant may be entitled under the provisions of RSA 72:23 ... the applicant may appeal in writing, on or before September 1 following the date of notice of tax under RSA 72:l-d, to the board of tax and land appeals or the superior court----

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Appeal of Kadle Properties Revocable Realty Trust
157 A.3d 825 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2017)
Appeal of Johnson
13 A.3d 315 (Supreme Court of New Hampshire, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
816 A.2d 944, 149 N.H. 96, 2002 N.H. LEXIS 220, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/appeal-of-home-nh-2003.