Autodie LLC v. City of Grand Rapids

852 N.W.2d 650, 305 Mich. App. 423
CourtMichigan Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 27, 2014
DocketDocket No. 314553
StatusPublished
Cited by39 cases

This text of 852 N.W.2d 650 (Autodie LLC v. City of Grand Rapids) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Michigan Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Autodie LLC v. City of Grand Rapids, 852 N.W.2d 650, 305 Mich. App. 423 (Mich. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Petitioner, Autodie LLC, appeals as of right the Tax Tribunal’s order granting summary disposition in favor of respondent, the city of Grand Rapids, under MCR 2.116(I)(1), and dismissing respondents Department of Treasury (the Department) and State Tax Commission (the Commission) from the case. We affirm.

I. FACTS

A. BACKGROUND FACTS

The parties do not dispute the facts of this case. Automobile manufacturers may use Form 4798, which [425]*425the Department issues, to report their personal property. Form 4798 uses lower valuation multipliers than assessors use for other types of personal property, and its use results in a lower true cash value for the personal property.

Autodie is a wholly owned subsidiary of Chrysler Group, LLC, that manufactures dies for use by Chrysler. In 2011, Autodie used Form 4798 to submit its personal property statement to the Grand Rapids assessor. The assessor concluded that Autodie was not entitled to use Form 4798, rejected the form, and independently calculated the value of Autodie’s personal property.

B. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

1. AUTODIE’S PETITION TO THE STATE TAX COMMISSION

In October 2011, Autodie filed a petition with the Commission, asserting that the Commission had subject-matter jurisdiction under MCL 211.154 because its personal property was “incorrectly reported or omitted[.]” Autodie asserted that the Grand Rapids assessor had “incorrectly reported and/or omitted from the 2011 Grand Rapids Assessment rolls, the personal property belonging to Autodie LLC, as not being eligible for Form 4798 . . . .” Autodie asked the Commission to require Grand Rapids to correct its assessment roll regarding Autodie’s personal property, to refund its excess tax payments, and to declare that Autodie was entitled to use Form 4798.

On October 2, 2012, the Commission dismissed Autodie’s petition. The Commission concluded that it did not have subject-matter jurisdiction over Autodie’s petition. Reasoning that “it is clear that no part of the real property in question has been omitted from assessment [426]*426and it is also clear that the assessor did not base his or her assessment on an incorrect taxpayer report,” the Commission determined that Autodie was actually challenging the assessor’s determination of the personal property’s value. Because the Tax Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to review final determinations of value, the Commission concluded that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction to hear Autodie’s petition.

2. AUTODIE’S PETITION TO THE MICHIGAN TAX TRIBUNAL

On November 5, 2012, Autodie filed a petition in the Tax Tribunal. Autodie asked the Tax Tribunal to review the Commission’s decision, contending that the Commission erred by dismissing its petition. Autodie contended that the assessor’s “complete disregard or misinterpretation” of its status as a qualified automobile manufacturer, and subsequent rejection of Form 4798, was “an incorrectly reported or omitted property issue” over which the Commission had subject-matter jurisdiction. Additionally, Autodie asserted for the first time that the Commission had jurisdiction to review the assessor’s decision as an improper assessment under MCL 211.150(3).

On December 4, 2012, the Department and the Commission moved to be dismissed from the petition, asserting that they were not necessary parties to the action. Autodie responded that the Commission was a necessary party because the Grand Rapids assessor acted on its advice and because it sought to bind the Commission to the Tax Tribunal’s decision.

3. THE TAX TRIBUNAL’S DECISION

On January 15, 2013, the Tax Tribunal granted the Department and Commission’s motion to be dismissed as parties. The Tax Tribunal reviewed and affirmed the

[427]*427Commission’s decision that it lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over Autodie’s petition:

If the State Tax Commission determines that property subject to the collection of taxes under the General Property Tax Act has been incorrectly reported or omitted[,] the state tax commission shall place the corrected assessment value for the appropriate years on the appropriate assessment roll. Here, the State Tax Commission properly determined that the issue did not relate to whether the property was omitted or incorrectly reported; rather, the State Tax Commission determined “the assessment was based on the independent determination of value made by the assessor that was not affected by the omission of property components from the valuation process.” As such, the Michigan Tax Tribunal, and not the State Tax Commission, was the proper venue to raise its claim because the issue was a disagreement relating to the true cash value of assessable property.

The Tax Tribunal then sua sponte granted Grand Rapids summary disposition after determining that it did not have original jurisdiction to resolve Autodie’s valuation dispute because Autodie had not timely filed its petition. Autodie did not appeal this determination.

II. SUBJECT-MATTER JURISDICTION

A. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This Court’s review of a decision by the Tax Tribunal is limited.1 When a party does not dispute the facts or allege fraud, we review whether the Tribunal “made an error of law or adopted a wrong principle.”2 This Court reviews de novo the interpretation and application of tax statutes.3

[428]*428B. STATUTORY INTERPRETATION

When interpreting a statute, our goal is to give effect to the intent of the Legislature.4 The language of the statute itself is the primary indication of the Legislature’s intent.5 If the language of the statute is unambiguous, we must enforce the statute as written.6 This Court reads the provisions of statutes “reasonably and in context,” and reads subsections of cohesive statutory provisions together.7

1. THE TAX TRIBUNAL’S JURISDICTION

This case concerns the interplay between statutes that grant subject-matter jurisdiction over property tax disputes to two distinct bodies: the Commission and the Tax Tribunal. The Tax Tribunal “has exclusive and original jurisdiction” over proceedings involving “direct review of a final decision, finding, ruling, determination, or order of an agency relating to assessment, valuation, rates, special assessments, allocation, or equalization, under the property tax laws of this state.”8 The Legislature has vested the Tax Tribunal with “jurisdiction over matters previously heard by the State Tax Commission as an appellate body.”9 Thus, the Tribunal has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the decisions of the Commission.10

[429]*4292. THE COMMISSION’S JURISDICTION

Because the Legislature has granted the Tax Tribunal exclusive appellate jurisdiction over decisions related to assessment, the Commission no longer has power to hear such cases an as appellate body.11

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
852 N.W.2d 650, 305 Mich. App. 423, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/autodie-llc-v-city-of-grand-rapids-michctapp-2014.