Atlantic Shippers of Texas, Inc. v. Jefferson County

363 S.W.3d 276, 2012 WL 746299, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 1821
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 8, 2012
Docket09-10-00511-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 363 S.W.3d 276 (Atlantic Shippers of Texas, Inc. v. Jefferson County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Atlantic Shippers of Texas, Inc. v. Jefferson County, 363 S.W.3d 276, 2012 WL 746299, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 1821 (Tex. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

HOLLIS HORTON, Justice.

Following a summary judgment hearing, Jefferson County obtained a money judgment against Atlantic Shippers of Texas, Inc. (Atlantic), recovering delinquent property taxes, along with accrued penalties, interest, and costs. In ten appellate issues, Atlantic contends the trial court erred by granting Jefferson County’s cross-motion for summary judgment and denying its summary judgment motion. After reviewing the summary judgment evidence before the trial court, we affirm the trial court’s judgment in part; but, having concluded that the evidence is insufficient to support the trial court’s award of attorney ad litem fees, we reverse the judgment with respect to the amount the trial court awarded in attorney ad litem fees, and we remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Background

Atlantic’s facility, known as the Atlantic Terminal, was damaged by a tropical storm in 2004 and by Hurricane Rita in 2005. In October 2005, Atlantic’s president, Robert Pastore, sent a letter to the Jefferson County Appraisal District, notifying the District that Atlantic’s facility had suffered serious damages, and requesting the Appraisal District’s assistance in reducing Atlantic’s property taxes. The Appraisal District responded, informing Atlantic that the Atlantic Terminal’s appraisal value was based on the property’s market value as of January 1 of each tax year, but promising to “review your property to assess any damage effective January 1, 2006.” In February 2006, after receiving Atlantic’s tax bill which did not reflect any adjustments, Pastore sent a follow-up letter to the Appraisal District. In that letter, Pastore stated that he was disappointed that Atlantic’s tax bill did not reflect any adjustment, and he included a disk containing digital images showing that the Atlantic Terminal had suffered storm related damage. Pastore requested the Appraisal District to contact him and advise how it should proceed. 1

By July 2006, after Atlantic’s 2005 tax bill was several months overdue, Atlantic received a letter from Jefferson County’s counsel, the Linebarger Firm, demanding payment of Atlantic’s 2005 tax bill, together with accrued penalties and interest. In response to the July 2006 letter, Pastore contacted the Linebarger Firm. According to Pastore, the firm’s paralegal informed him that the firm would not proceed with its collection efforts on Atlantic’s 2005 taxes pending Atlantic’s further discussions with the Appraisal District. While Atlantic disputes that the County complied with its promise to conduct further discussions regarding Atlantic’s payment of property *280 taxes, and contends that Atlantic raised fact issues on its claim of estoppel, Atlantic and the County failed to reach an agreement to resolve their dispute, which resulted in the parties seeking a resolution in court.

In 2007, the County filed suit, and Atlantic answered. In its original petition, the County sought to recover taxes, penalties, interest, and costs related to Atlantic’s failure to pay taxes. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 33.41 (West 2008). In addition, the County sought to foreclose on its tax lien. Atlantic’s answer asserts several affirmative defenses, including equitable estoppel. Atlantic also asserted counter-claims, which generally outline Atlantic’s complaints about the County’s failure to adjust Atlantic’s appraisals and the County’s collection efforts. At various times, before the lawsuit was filed and while the lawsuit was pending, the Appraisal District reduced the appraised values on the Atlantic Terminal for tax years 2005, 2006, and 2007 in corrected tax bills, which in turn reduced Atlantic’s tax obligation for each of the years at issue. Nevertheless, the County continued to seek penalties and interest for each respective tax year that Atlantic’s taxes were not paid before February 1, claiming penalties and interest on the County’s respective corrected tax assessments.

In 2010, Atlantic moved, for summary judgment, and the County filed a cross-motion, asking the trial court to grant a summary judgment in its favor. During the summary judgment proceedings, Atlantic did not dispute that it had failed to protest the Appraisal District’s 2005, 2006, and 2007 property tax appraisals. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. §§ 41.41 (providing for property owner’s right to protest with Appraisal Review Board), 42.09 (providing that the procedures for adjudicating grounds of protest are an exclusive remedy) (West 2008); Act of May 25, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 1106, §§ 4(b), 5, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 3738, 3739-740 (amended 2011) 2 (providing that property owner must file a written notice of protest with the Appraisal Review Board); Act of June 1, 1997, 75th Leg., R.S., ch. 1039, § 41, Tex. Gen. Laws 3396, 3916 (amended 2011) 3 (providing right to appeal order of Appraisal Review Board). With respect to Atlantic’s motion for summary judgment, Atlantic asserts that it timely paid its property taxes for the years at issue after receiving adjusted tax statements, and its motion argues the County was not entitled to recover penalties or interest. In contrast, the County’s motion for summary judgment argues that Atlantic’s failure to follow the procedures of Chapter 41 of the Texas Tax Code, requiring the filing and appeal of tax protests, allowed Atlantic’s taxes to become delinquent. According to the County, to avoid paying penalties and interest, Atlantic should have paid the taxes and then sought a refund.

The County’s summary judgment evidence includes, among other things, two affidavits by Susie James, the Chief Deputy of the Jefferson County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office, and authenticated copies of tax records showing the adjusted taxes, penalties, and interest Atlantic was assessed for tax years 2005, 2006, and 2007. James’s affidavit and attachments reflect that the County credited Atlantic with partial payments of taxes, penalties, and interest for the tax years at issue, and the County refused Atlantic’s request to credit *281 Atlantic with having paid its taxes in full for the years in issue. In granting the County’s motion for summary judgment, the trial court awarded the County taxes, penalties, and interest based on the corrected tax statements the County sent to Atlantic. The trial court also implicitly rejected Atlantic’s argument that the County should have credited Atlantic with having paid its tax obligations for each respective year in full.

Standard of Review

We review a summary judgment de novo. Mann Frankfort Stein & Lipp Advisors, Inc. v. Fielding, 289 S.W.3d 844, 848 (Tex.2009). We consider the evidence presented in the summary judgment proceedings in the light most favorable to the party against whom the summary judgment was rendered, crediting evidence favorable to that party if reasonable jurors could, and disregarding contrary evidence unless reasonable jurors could not. Id.; see City of Keller v. Wilson,

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363 S.W.3d 276, 2012 WL 746299, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 1821, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/atlantic-shippers-of-texas-inc-v-jefferson-county-texapp-2012.