Chagrin Realty, Inc. v. Testa

114 N.E.3d 204, 2018 Ohio 4751, 154 Ohio St. 3d 352
CourtOhio Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 30, 2018
DocketNo. 2017-0469
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 114 N.E.3d 204 (Chagrin Realty, Inc. v. Testa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chagrin Realty, Inc. v. Testa, 114 N.E.3d 204, 2018 Ohio 4751, 154 Ohio St. 3d 352 (Ohio 2018).

Opinion

Per Curiam.

*353{¶ 1} In this case, appellant and cross-appellee, property owner Chagrin Realty, Inc., challenges a decision of the Board of Tax Appeals ("BTA") affirming appellee and cross-appellant tax commissioner's denial of a charitable-use property-tax exemption for the subject property. The BTA found that Chagrin Realty did not qualify for that exemption under R.C. 5709.12 or 5709.121, because Chagrin Realty's sole purpose is to own and lease the subject property. We affirm the decision of the BTA.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

{¶ 2} Chagrin Realty is an Ohio nonprofit corporation exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(2) (granting exemption to "[c]orporations organized for the exclusive purpose of holding title to property, collecting income therefrom, and turning over the entire amount thereof, less expenses, to an organization which itself is exempt under this section"). Chagrin Realty leases the property at issue to a single nonprofit tenant, the Community Dialysis Center ("CDC"). The CDC operates a hemodialysis facility on the property and is the sole member of the Leonard C. Rosenberg Foundation ("Foundation"). The Foundation enjoys section 501(c)(3) status and is the sole member of Chagrin Realty. See 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) (granting federal-income-tax exemption to "[c]orporations * * * organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, testing for public safety, literary, or educational purposes").

{¶ 3} The Centers for Dialysis Care, Inc., is a for-profit management company that contracts with the CDC and employs all personnel who work for the CDC. The CDC wholly owns this for-profit management company.

{¶ 4} Chagrin Realty disburses the rental income from the property lease, less expenses, to the Foundation; the monthly base rental payment is approximately $24,959.52, which equals $299,514.24 annually.

{¶ 5} Chagrin Realty filed an application for real-property-tax exemption relating to the subject property for tax years 2003, 2004, and 2005. The tax commissioner determined that Chagrin Realty did not satisfy the requirements *354for exemption under R.C. 5709.12 or 5709.121 and denied the application. Chagrin Realty appealed to the BTA.

{¶ 6} The BTA rejected Chagrin Realty's contention that its 501(c)(2) federal tax status and its reliance on vicarious-exemption theories qualified it as a "charitable" institution. Because Chagrin Realty's use *207of the property consisted of only leasing it, the BTA determined that Chagrin Realty did not satisfy the requirements of R.C. 5709.12 or 5709.121 and affirmed the tax commissioner's final determination denying the exemption.

{¶ 7} The BTA issued its decision in April 2014. Nearly three years later, in March 2017, Chagrin Realty filed a motion asking the BTA to reissue its April 2014 decision, alleging that its counsel had recently discovered that the BTA had sent its decision to Chagrin Realty at an incorrect address. The BTA granted the motion.

{¶ 8} Chagrin Realty appealed to this court from the reissued decision. The tax commissioner cross-appealed, challenging the BTA's authority to reissue its decision. On July 24, 2017, we ordered Chagrin Realty to show cause why the appeal should not be dismissed on those grounds. See 150 Ohio St.3d 1402, 2017-Ohio-6912, 78 N.E.3d 904. On November 1, 2017, we determined that Chagrin Realty had shown cause why the appeal should not be dismissed. 151 Ohio St.3d 1423, 2017-Ohio-8371, 84 N.E.3d 1061. Thus, we have already resolved the jurisdictional issue raised in the tax commissioner's cross-appeal.

II. ANALYSIS

{¶ 9} The central issue before us is whether Chagrin Realty qualifies for the charitable-use property-tax exemption under R.C. 5709.12(B) and 5709.121(A) because it is a 501(c)(2) organization that holds and leases property and distributes the lease proceeds to a separate corporation that itself is exempt from federal taxation.

{¶ 10} On appeal, we must determine whether the BTA's decision is both "reasonable and lawful." R.C. 5717.04. We defer to the BTA's factual findings "if they are supported by reliable and probative evidence, and we afford deference to the BTA's determination of the credibility of witnesses and its weighing of evidence subject only to an abuse-of-discretion review on appeal." HealthSouth Corp. v. Testa , 132 Ohio St.3d 55, 2012-Ohio-1871, 969 N.E.2d 232, ¶ 10 ; see also Rural Health Collaborative of S. Ohio, Inc. v. Testa , 145 Ohio St.3d 430, 2016-Ohio-508, 50 N.E.3d 486, ¶ 24, citing Dialysis Clinic, Inc. v. Levin , 127 Ohio St.3d 215, 2010-Ohio-5071, 938 N.E.2d 329, ¶ 31-35 (affirming BTA's determination of property owner's charitable status after concluding that that determination was "reasonable and lawful").

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
114 N.E.3d 204, 2018 Ohio 4751, 154 Ohio St. 3d 352, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chagrin-realty-inc-v-testa-ohio-2018.