Cary v. Mason County

132 P.3d 157, 132 Wash. App. 495
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedApril 18, 2006
DocketNo. 32753-8-II
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 132 P.3d 157 (Cary v. Mason County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cary v. Mason County, 132 P.3d 157, 132 Wash. App. 495 (Wash. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

Armstrong, J.

¶1 — James R. Cary appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his action for declaratory judgment, arguing that a Mason County ordinance, adopted as a “special assessment,” is actually an invalid and unconstitutional “property tax.” The lower court ruled that the “reasonable time” for challenging the ordinance by a declaratory judgment action was 30 days and that Cary’s action was therefore time barred because he waited six months to file. We disagree, holding that Cary’s action is analogous to actions to recover any tax levied or assessed under RCW 84.68.060. Such actions must be commenced by June 30 of the year following the year the tax became payable. Under that rule, Cary’s complaint was timely; accordingly, we reverse and remand.

FACTS

¶2 On September 3, 2002, Mason County (County) adopted ordinance 121-02, establishing a conservation special assessment under RCW 89.08.400. The text of the ordinance reads:

There shall be an assessment for natural resource conservation as authorized by RCW 89.08.400 in the amount of $5.00 per non forested land parcel with $0.00 fee per acre assessed for ten years starting 2003 and continuing through 2012.

Clerk’s Papers (CP) at 49.

[498]*498¶3 On March 10, 2003, Cary sued the County, seeking a declaratory judgment that the ordinance was an invalid and unconstitutional property tax in the guise of a special assessment. He filed the action more than six months after the County had adopted the special assessment.

¶4 The County moved for judgment on the pleadings under CR 12(c), arguing that Cary failed to timely file his action under the “reasonable time” for appeals doctrine for challenging local and municipal improvements, which must be brought within 30 days. CP at 33. Cary responded that because he was challenging the ordinance as an unconstitutional tax, the claim should be tested against the time allowed for tax recovery actions, in which case his action was timely. Reasoning that the time limit for a declaratory judgment action is determined by analogy to the time allowed for appeal of a similar decision and finding that the analogous period to apply afforded Cary only 30 days to appeal, the lower court held that Cary’s action was untimely.

ANALYSIS

I. Standard of Review

¶5 This appeal arises from the County’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. CR 12(c). If, on a motion for judgment on the pleadings, matters outside the pleadings are presented to and not excluded by the court, the court will treat the motion as one for summary judgment and dispose of it under CR 56. CR 12(c).

¶6 However, the various documents the parties submitted to the trial court in support of and in opposition to the County’s motion (including the ordinance itself and the agreement between Mason Conservation District (District) and Mason County Department of Health Services)1 [499]*499are not material to the determination of whether Cary timely filed his complaint. Cf. N. Coast Enters., Inc. v. Factoria P’ship, 94 Wn. App. 855, 859, 974 P.2d 1257 (1999) (holding that the information contained in a declaration, a description of negotiations between the parties prior to trial, and other matters were not material to the question of whether the statute of limitations had run for a particular contracts claim). Thus, we examine the pleadings alone “to determine whether the claimant can prove any set of facts, consistent with the complaint, that would entitle the claimant to relief.” Factoria P’ship, 94 Wn. App. at 861 (citing City of Moses Lake v. Grant County, 39 Wn. App. 256, 258, 693 P.2d 140 (1984)). In doing so, we accept as true any factual allegations in the complaint. City of Moses Lake, 39 Wn. App. at 258 (citing Berge v. Gorton, 88 Wn.2d 756, 759, 567 P.2d 187 (1977)); Corrigal v. Ball & Dodd Funeral Home, Inc., 89 Wn.2d 959, 961-62, 577 P.2d 580 (1978).

II. Taxes, Regulatory Fees, and Assessments

¶7 Generally speaking, “[T]axes are imposed to raise money for the public treasury.” Okeson v. City of Seattle, 150 [500]*500Wn.2d 540, 551, 78 P.3d 1279 (2003) (citing Dean v. Lehman, 143 Wn.2d 12, 25, 18 P.3d 523 (2001)); see also Wash. Const. art. VII, § 1. Local governments may require payment of “fees” that are “ ‘akin to charges for services rendered.’ ” Carrillo v. City of Ocean Shores, 122 Wn. App. 592, 602, 94 P.3d 961 (2004) (quoting Covell v. City of Seattle, 127 Wn.2d 874, 884, 905 P.2d 324 (1995)); Wash. Const. art. XI, § 11 (police powers). Similarly, special assessments are “a distinctive form of user charge which allocates the cost of public improvements that increase the value of an asset (property) to the owner of that asset.” Hugh D. Spitzer, Taxes vs. Fees: A Curious Confusion, 38 Gonz. L. Rev. 335, 350-51 & n.147 (2002/2003) (discussing article VII, section 9 of the Washington Constitution and noting that the constitutional language enables local governments to “ ‘make local improvements by special assessment, or by special taxation of property benefited, ’ ” which suggests assessments and special taxes are distinct (emphasis added) (quoting Wash. Const. art. VII, § 9)). As with other user fees, special assessments must “relate directly to the cost of the improvements, relate to the value of the improvements to the property assessed, and be deposited in special accounts for the particular improvements.” Spitzer, supra, 38 Gonz. L. Rev. at 351 (citing Bellevue Assocs. v. City of Bellevue, 108 Wn.2d 671, 674-75, 741 P.2d 993 (1987)); see also Philip A. Trautman, Assessments in Washington, 40 Wash. L. Rev. 100, 118 (1965). Mason County adopted the ordinance in this case under RCW 89.08.400 as a conservation “special assessment.” CP at 56.

III.

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132 P.3d 157, 132 Wash. App. 495, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cary-v-mason-county-washctapp-2006.