Decker Lake Ventures, LLC v. Utah State Tax Commission

2015 UT 66, 356 P.3d 1243, 793 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 2015 Utah LEXIS 212, 2015 WL 4732774
CourtUtah Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 11, 2015
DocketCase No. 20130757
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2015 UT 66 (Decker Lake Ventures, LLC v. Utah State Tax Commission) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Utah Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Decker Lake Ventures, LLC v. Utah State Tax Commission, 2015 UT 66, 356 P.3d 1243, 793 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 2015 Utah LEXIS 212, 2015 WL 4732774 (Utah 2015).

Opinion

Associate Chief Justice LEE,

opinion of the Court:

1 1 This is an appeal from a decision of the Utah Tax Commission under Utah Code seetion 59-2-1006. In an equalization proceeding under this provision, the Commission is directed to "adjust property valuations to reflect a value equalized with the assessed value of other comparable properties upon a determination that "the property that is the subject of the appeal deviates in value plus or minus 5% from the assessed value of comparable properties" Utax Copr § 59-2-1006(5)(b). In this case the Commission rejected a request for equalization under this provision by Decker Lake Ventures, LLC. We affirm, finding no reversible error in the Commission's decision.

I

« 2 The property that is the subject of this appeal consists of a parcel of land (5.22 acres) and a building (41,296 square feet). Decker Lake Ventures leases the property, located on Decker Lake Drive in West Valley City, as office space. In 2010 the property was leased to a radio station.

1 3 The Salt Lake County Assessor's Office valued the property at $4,027,800 as of January 1, 2010. It used an income approach to valuation. That approach calculates a "lease rate" for the property, based in part on the property's "use type" (office, industrial, etc.), and then derives a market value from the income stream expected from lease payments. The County Assessor's valuation was sustained by the County Board of Equalization.

T 4 In proceedings before the Tax Commission, Decker Lake sought a reduction of the assessed valuation of the property. It did so under Utah Code section 59-2-1006, asserting that the assessed valuation of its property deviated "plus or minus 5% from the assessed value of comparable properties." Uran CopE $ 59-2-1006(5)(b).

' 15 To support its claim, Decker Lake presented evidence of the assessed value of properties that it deemed "comparable." Its data was presented in two spreadsheets. The first spreadsheet contained data on ninety land parcels, with dimensions of each parcel and an indication of their assessed value. The second set was for improvements (buildings). For these, Decker Lake presented a spreadsheet identifying the size, rental class, building type, ete. for each comparable improvement.

T 6 Decker Lake offered no expert analysis of the comparability of the properties identified in its two spreadsheets. In fact it offered no testimony of any sort. It simply presented the raw data in the spreadsheets, along with counsel's assertion that the data therein was relevant evidence of the "assessed value of comparable properties." Id. 1

T7 The County, for its part, presented expert testimony 2 in support of its assertion that its valuation of the Decker Lake property did not differ from the valuation of comparable properties. The County's valuation expert described the methodology of the County's valuation of the Decker Lake prop *1245 erty, identified comparable properties in the neighborhood with similar assessed values, and highlighted deficiencies in the compara-bles proffered by Decker Lake. On the latter point, the County's witness emphasized that a property's "use type," a designation assigned by County assessors, has a significant effect on its value, and noted that only one of the eighteen improvement comparables identified by Decker Lake was classified as "office" use. And as to the ultimate question presented under the equalization statute, the County's valuation expert identified seven office improvements and three commercial land properties in the same neighborhood as the Decker Lake property, all of which were assessed at a rate sirailar to the Decker Lake property (but not included in Decker Lake's data set).

1 8 Instead of presenting its own valuation witness, Decker Lake chose only to cross-examine the County's expert. On cross-examination, the expert acknowledged that Decker Lake's property had been given a "commercial/other" use designation in 2011 after being designated as "office" use in 2010. He also conceded that there was overlap between the two spreadsheets submitted by Decker Lake-that although the land and improvement comparables were submitted separately, there was some overlap between the two data sets.

T9 The Commission rejected Decker Lake's equalization claim. In so doing, it first expressed skepticism of Decker Lake's methodology of presenting "separate" com-parables-in spreadsheets presenting land comparables in one data set and improvement comparables in a second. The Commission acknowledged that separating land and improvement comparables could be appropriate in some cireumstances, as when land and improvement values are "determined separately with individual valuation methodologies." But it determined that this was not such a case, and thus determined that Decker Lake's approach was "questionable."

110 That said, the Commission proceeded to evaluate the Decker Lake spreadsheets anyway. And it concluded that this evidence was insufficient to sustain an equalization claim under Utah Code section 59-2-1006(5). First, the Commission concluded that the office properties in the same neighborhood as Decker Lake's property had land values consistent with the assessed value of the Decker Lake land. Second, it questioned the land values advanced by Decker Lake, reasoning that its valuations were based on "the assessed value of land that has different zoning, primarily industrial, which has a lower value than commercial zoned property." And finally, the commission concluded that the only two office comparables in Decker Lake's data set did "not appear to be out of line with that of other office buildings in the area." On these grounds, the Commission rejected Decker Lake's equalization appeal and sustained the County's assessment of its property.

[11 Decker Lake then sought appellate review in this court. Our review of the commission's decision is governed by statute. Urax Copm § 59-1-610. Under the cited provision, we review the commission's legal determinations under a "correction of error standard" that yields "no deference" to the commission's analysis. Id. As to mixed determinations (involving the application of legal standards to a given set of facts), however, the statute is silent. So on those questions we review the commission's application of law to fact under our traditional framework. See Murray v. Utah Labor Comm'n, 2013 UT 38, ¶ 28, 808 P.3d 461.

112 That framework treats some mixed questions as fact-like (meriting deferential review) and others as more law-like (meriting no deference). Manzanares v. Byington (In re Adoption of Baby B.), 2012 UT 35, ¶ 42, 308 P.3d 382. And it assigns the level of deference based on an assessment of "the nature of the issue and the marginal costs and benefits of a less deferential, more heavy-handed appellate touch." Id. Where the mixed question presented is fact-intensive and unlikely to result in the development of appellate precedent necessary to guide parties in future cases, for example, our review yields substantial deference to the commission. See id. In this case we apply a deferential standard, for reasons explained below. See infra 1 15.

II

' 13 Decker Lake challenges the Tax Commission's decision on two fronts. It claims to *1246

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2015 UT 66, 356 P.3d 1243, 793 Utah Adv. Rep. 20, 2015 Utah LEXIS 212, 2015 WL 4732774, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/decker-lake-ventures-llc-v-utah-state-tax-commission-utah-2015.