Cactus Drilling Co. v. Hefley

2012 OK CIV APP 101, 290 P.3d 284, 179 Oil & Gas Rep. 760, 2012 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 85, 2012 WL 5531298
CourtCourt of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedOctober 11, 2012
DocketNo. 109,366
StatusPublished

This text of 2012 OK CIV APP 101 (Cactus Drilling Co. v. Hefley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cactus Drilling Co. v. Hefley, 2012 OK CIV APP 101, 290 P.3d 284, 179 Oil & Gas Rep. 760, 2012 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 85, 2012 WL 5531298 (Okla. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

LARRY JOPLIN, Viee-Chief Judge.

¶ 1 Plaintiff/Appellant Cactus Drilling Company (Plaintiff) seeks review of the trial court's order granting the motion to dismiss of Defendants County Assessor, County Treasurer and Board of Equalization (collectively, Defendants), thereby denying Plaintiffs protest of ad valorem taxes. In this proceeding, Plaintiff challenges the trial [285]*285court's order as affected by errors of both law and fact.

¶ 2 Defendant County Assessor valued Plaintiff's property, particularly a drilling rig and other oil field equipment, located in Coal County. Plaintiff appealed to the County Board of Equalization, which affirmed the Assessor's valuation.

¶ 3 On July 9, 2008, Plaintiff commenced this action for review of the assessment in the trial court by filing of its "Petition [for] De Novo Appeal," and alleged Assessor's overvaluation of its property with affirmance of the Assessor's valuation by the County Board of Equalization. To the Petition for De Novo Appeal, Plaintiff attached and filed a "Notice of Appeal," addressed to the County Clerk.

¶ 4 On December 80, 2008, by check dated two days earlier, Plaintiff paid the assessed tax, and averred its payment was accompanied by a Form 990 "Payment of Taxes under Protest Due to Pending Appeal." However, Defendant Treasurer's employees attested that Plaintiff's payment was not accompanied by either a Form 990 Notice of Payment Under Protest or a copy of the Plaintiff's Petition for De Novo Appeal attached as required by 68 O.S. § 2884(B).

¶ 5 Defendants filed a motion to dismiss. Defendants alleged that Oklahoma law, 68 0.8. § 2884(B), required the protestant (1) to give notice of the protest on a prescribed form at the time of payment of the tax and (2) to attach to the notice of protest the petition for review filed in the trial court, but that Plaintiff wholly failed to comply with the statute in the present case. So, said Defendants, the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear Plaintiff's appeal.

¶ 6 Plaintiff responded. Plaintiff argued that the case had been on file for almost two years, that the parties had proceeded with preparations toward the trial date, and that Defendants suffered no prejudice from their failure to attach their protest form to the petition already filed.

¶ 7 On consideration of the parties' submissions, the trial court granted Defendants' motion to dismiss:

[Thhe Court finds the motion to dismiss is well taken and should be granted. See, Matter of the Assessment of Certain Personal Property Owned by Visteon Corporation, 91 P.3d 690 (Okl.App.2004).

Plaintiff appeals and the matter stands submitted on the trial court record. See, Rule 4(m), Rules for District Courts, 12 0.8. Supp. 2002, Ch. 2, App.; Oka.Sup.Ct.R. 1.36, 12 0.8. Supp.2008, Ch. 15, App.

¶ 8 "The standard of review for questions concerning the jurisdictional power of the trial court to act is de novo." Dilliner v. Seneca-Cayuga Tribe, 2011 OK 61, ¶ 12, 258 P.3d 516, 519. (Citation omitted.) Likewise, "liJn cases involving questions of law relating to statutory interpretation, the appropriate standard of review is de novo, 'Le., a non-deferential, plenary and independent review of the trial court's legal ruling[s]'" Hubbard v. Kaiser-Francis Oil Co., 2011 OK 50, ¶ 6, 256 P.3d 69, 72. (Citations omitted.)

19 Furthermore, "[s]ubject matter Jurisdiction [concerns] the power and authority of a court to hear and determine causes of the kind in question[,] [and] [slinee subject matter jurisdiction concerns the competency of the court to determine the particular matter, it cannot be waived by the parties or conferred upon the court by their consent and it may be challenged at any time in the course of the proceedings." In re A.N.O., 2004 OK 33, ¶ 9, 91 P.3d 646, 649. (Citations omitted.) Questions concerning the subject matter jurisdietion of the lower court are also subject to de novo review.

¶ 10 Section 2884 of title 68, 0.8.2001, provides:

A. The full amount of the taxes assessed against the property of any taxpayer who has appealed from a decision affecting the value or taxable status of such property as provided by law shall be paid at the time and in the manner provided by law. ...
B. When such taxes are paid, ..., the persons protesting the taxes shall give notice to the county treasurer that an appeal involving such taxes has been taken and is pending, .... The notice shall be on a form prescribed by the Tax Commission [286]*286. The taxpayer shall attach to such notice a copy of the petition filed in the court or other appellate body in which the appeal was taken ....
C. It shall be the duty of the county treasurer to hold taxes paid under protest separate and apart from other taxes collected ....

68 O.S. § 2884. (Emphasis added.) Under § 2884(C), the treasurer is duty bound to hold taxes paid under protest separate until the protest is decided. Dolese Bros. Co. v. Board of Com'rs of Comanche County, 1931 OK 480, 151 Okla. 110, 2 P.2d 955. However, the question of compliance with § 2884(B) and the impact of noncompliance on the authority of the district court to entertain appeals from tax assessments has not been extensively examined.

¶ 11 In Dolese Bros., the taxpayer sought to appeal the denial of its protest before the County Board of Equalization, but the district court dismissed the protestant-taxpayer's appeal because the taxpayer failed to attach a copy of the transcript of evidence adduced before the Board to the protest, and failed to notify the county officials of the pendency of its appeal as required by the predecessor to § 2884. 1931 OK 480, ¶ 1, 2 P.2d at 955. In affirming the trial court, the Oklahoma Supreme Court held:

It was the duty of appellant under these sections to file a transcript of the evidence taken before the equalization board, and it was also its duty upon paying the taxes to serve notice thereof on the county treasurer in order that taxes so paid might by him be held separate and apart from other taxes collected by him. We think these provisions of the statute are mandatory, and must be complied with in order to confer jurisdiction upon the district court to entertain the appeal.

Dolese Bros., 1931 OK 480, ¶ 4, 2 P.2d at 956.

¶ 12 In Means v. Blevins, 1995 OK 76, 898 P.2d 1286, the taxpayer sought to appeal an ad valorem tax evaluation in the district court. 1995 OK 76, ¶ 1, 898 P.2d at 1286. The "Petitioners/County Assessor and Board of Equalization [sought] to prohibit the respondent judge from proceeding further ... based on lack of jurisdiction." Id. Relying on Dolese Bros., the Supreme Court assumed jurisdiction and granted the requested writ of prohibition:

Application to assume original jurisdiction is granted. Taxpayer objected to evaluation of property but failed to give statutory notice to County Treasurer that appeal had been taken. Let writ issue prohibiting respondent judge from proceeding in Cause No. CJ-93-4388 on the docket of the District Court Oklahoma County for lack of jurisdiction for failure to comply with 68 O.S8.1991 § 2884(B). Dolese Bros. Co. v. Board of Com'rs of Comanche County, 151 Okl. 110, 2 P.2d 955 (1931).

Means, 1995 OK 76, ¶ 2, 898 P.2d at 1286.

¶ 13 In Visteon Corp. v.

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Related

Dilliner v. Seneca-Cayuga Tribe
2011 OK 61 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2011)
Hubbard v. Kaiser-Francis Oil Co.
2011 OK 50 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2011)
Visteon Corp. v. Yazel
2004 OK CIV APP 52 (Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, 2004)
Dolese Bros. Co. v. Board of Com'rs of Comanche Cty.
1931 OK 480 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1931)
O'Neal v. Ogle
2004 OK 33 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 2004)
Means v. Blevins
1995 OK 76 (Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1995)

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2012 OK CIV APP 101, 290 P.3d 284, 179 Oil & Gas Rep. 760, 2012 Okla. Civ. App. LEXIS 85, 2012 WL 5531298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cactus-drilling-co-v-hefley-oklacivapp-2012.