Harmony Gold U.S.A., Inc. v. Cnty. of L. A.

243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 250, 31 Cal. App. 5th 820
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedJanuary 3, 2019
DocketB284436
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 250 (Harmony Gold U.S.A., Inc. v. Cnty. of L. A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harmony Gold U.S.A., Inc. v. Cnty. of L. A., 243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 250, 31 Cal. App. 5th 820 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

ROTHSCHILD, P. J.

*824This appeal requires us to consider two Revenue and Taxation Code1 sections that address a real property's "base-year value" (base value), a core metric for assessing property taxes in California. Specifically, we must consider the interplay between section 51.5, subdivision (a), which removes any otherwise applicable time limits on the assessor's ability to correct base value errors that do not involve an exercise of judgment (so-called "nonjudgmental error"), and section 80, subdivision (a)(5), which limits the years for which a property owner is entitled to have a property's base value reassessed.

Appellant Harmony Gold, Inc. (Harmony) overpaid in property taxes as a result of the assessor's nonjudgmental error; specifically, an erroneous change-in-ownership determination that reset its property's base value. Los Angeles County (the County) refunded the taxes Harmony overpaid beginning in the year Harmony first challenged the erroneous base value, but not for prior years. In the action underlying Harmony's appeal, Harmony sought to recover tax overpayments for those prior years. It also sought a declaration and writ requiring the auditor-controller to correct the tax rolls for *825all affected years and a declaration interpreting certain portions of the Revenue and Taxation Code (the code).

The trial court sustained a demurrer without leave to amend and dismissed Harmony's complaint. We agree with the trial court.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

A. California Property Tax Calculation and Refund Actions

Because this case concerns the intricacies of California property tax law, some general background on the applicable statutory scheme is necessary to understand the record and issues on appeal.

Since the enactment of Proposition 13, the California Constitution limits property taxes to one percent of a property's base value compounded by an inflation factor. ( Cal. Const., art. XIII, §§ 1, subd. (a), 2, subd. (b).) "Base-year values are reestablished only if property is purchased, is newly constructed, or if there is a change in ownership." ( *253Osco Drug, Inc. v. County of Orange (1990) 221 Cal.App.3d 189, 192, 272 Cal.Rptr. 14 ( Osco ).)

If the assessor commits an error in calculating the base value, one or all of the following may occur: (1) the assessor may correct the error on the tax rolls; (2) the taxpayer may apply for a reduction in property taxes based on an erroneous base value; and/or (3) the taxpayer may request a refund of taxes paid as a result of base value error. ( Metropolitan Culinary Services, Inc. v. County of Los Angeles (1998) 61 Cal.App.4th 935, 943, 71 Cal.Rptr.2d 859 ( Metropolitan ); Osco, supra, 221 Cal.App.3d at p. 193, 272 Cal.Rptr. 14.)

Each of these processes serves a distinct purpose. First, because property taxes are calculated as a percentage of the base value (adjusted each year for inflation), correction of base value error on the tax rolls facilitates efficient and accurate property tax assessment. (See Kuperman v. San Diego County Assessment Appeals Bd. No. 1 (2006) 137 Cal.App.4th 918, 923-924, 40 Cal.Rptr.3d 703.) Correcting the base value is thus necessary, whether or not the taxpayer seeks a reduced property tax payment via an assessment application or a refund via a refund claim.

Applications for reduced assessment, by contrast, allow a taxpayer to contest base value calculations the taxpayer believes to be erroneous. This is a necessary first step in either correcting the amount of taxes paid in the future, or seeking a refund. ( Sea World, Inc. v. County of San Diego (1994) 27 Cal.App.4th 1390, 1404-1405, 33 Cal.Rptr.2d 194 ( Sea World ) ["a downward adjustment in base-year value as the result of an application for a reduction *826challenging an assessment ... is not the same thing as a correction based on an error or omission in the assessor's value judgment determined without the filing of an application for reduction [under section 51.5]"].)

Finally, refund actions allow taxpayers to seek those erroneous tax payments the code deems to be refundable. " 'There is a distinction between the reduction in a base-year value and a right to a refund of taxes. The base-year value is a control figure from which an assessment is determined. The correction of the base-year value allows the assessor to determine whether there has been an overassessment or an underassessment.' " ( Sunrise Retirement Villa v. Dear (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 948, 956, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 416 ( Sunrise ); see Osco, supra, 221 Cal.App.3d at p. 193, 272 Cal.Rptr. 14 [only after determining, via an application for reduction, when a reduction of the base value becomes effective can the county "examine whether [plaintiff] has a right to a refund and, if so, if it timely filed its claim"].)

Consistent with their distinct purposes, error correction, applications for reassessment, and refunds are separate and distinct under the code as well. Each is governed by a different set of time limitations and procedures. With these important distinctions in mind, we briefly outline below the limits and procedures most relevant to reviewing Harmony's claims.

1. Base Value Error Corrections

The assessor is obligated to correct an error involving "the exercise of an assessor's judgment as to value" (so-called "judgmental error"), if the assessor discovers it within four years of the erroneous assessment. (§ 51.5, subd. (b); see § 4837; Sunrise, supra, 58 Cal.App.4th at p. 953, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 416

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
243 Cal. Rptr. 3d 250, 31 Cal. App. 5th 820, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harmony-gold-usa-inc-v-cnty-of-l-a-calctapp5d-2019.