Hellas Construction, Inc. v. Rio Blanco County

192 P.3d 501, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 1152, 2008 WL 2683832
CourtColorado Court of Appeals
DecidedJuly 10, 2008
Docket07CA1114
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 192 P.3d 501 (Hellas Construction, Inc. v. Rio Blanco County) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Colorado Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hellas Construction, Inc. v. Rio Blanco County, 192 P.3d 501, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 1152, 2008 WL 2683832 (Colo. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

Opinion by

Judge LOEB.

In this C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4) proceeding, plaintiff, Hellas Construction, Inc., appeals from a district court judgment upholding the determination by defendant, Rio Blanco County, that Hellas violated the special mobile machinery ownership tax provision set forth in section 42-8-107(17)(e)(ID), C.R.S. 2007, and the County's imposition of administrative penalties under that statute. We reverse and remand with directions.

I. Background

In May 2006, Hellas was working on the Elk Creek construction project in Rio Blanco County, Colorado. In connection with the project, Hellas leased nine pieces of heavy equipment from the John Deere Company. The parties agree that the leased equipment is "special mobile machinery," as that term is defined in section 42-3-107(17)(a)(II1), C.R.S$.2007. According to Hellas, John Deere delivered the equipment to the site from outside of Colorado.

On May 17, 2006, Deputy Mazzola of the Rio Blanco County Sheriff's Department inspected the equipment at the construction site. He determined that nine pieces of equipment lacked the required proof that the special mobile machinery tax had been paid for each piece of equipment. He also determined, on behalf of the County, that Hellas had violated section 42-3-107(17)(e)(II) by operating the machinery in Colorado without having paid the specific ownership tax.

That same day, for each piece of machinery lacking proof that the tax had been paid, Deputy Mazzola issued a "Notice of Determination and Information about Specific Ownership" (Notice of Determination). Each Notice of Determination stated that Rio Blanco County has determined that (1) the recipient of the notice appears to be the owner of the property; (2) "the property is within the definitions of mobile machinery and/or self-propelled construction equipment"; (8) the property lacked a registration tag; (4) the purported owner-lessor of the property is Hellas; (5) it appears the machinery is not exempt from taxation under section 42-3-104, C.R.S.2007; and (6) "[nlo application for prorated specific ownership tax has been filed with the Colorado Department of Revenue."

Each Notice of Determination concluded with the following:

Based on the forgoing, it appears that the special mobile machinery or self-propelled equipment described above should have been registered within the State of Colorado; that the same was not registered; that specific ownership tax is due and unpaid; and that the administrative penalty allowed by C.R.S. § 42-3-107(17)(e)(I1) shall be applied.
Therefore: The owner of said ... property is hereby ORDERED to cease and desist operation of such ... machinery.... The administrative penalty provided by C.R.S. § 42-3-107(17)(e)(I[I]) is hereby determined to apply....

*503 Issued along with each Notice of Determination was a Notice of Levy of Administrative Penalty directing Hellas when and where to pay the penalty for each piece of equipment.

Hellas was able to provide proof that one of the cited pieces of equipment had been registered and the appropriate tax paid, and the County cancelled the assessment of the tax and penalty for that piece of equipment. But, according to Hellas, it was not given the opportunity to dispute any other conclusions made by the County, including its conclusion that each piece of the cited equipment had been operated in Colorado. On May 18, 2007, Hellas paid the County $26,357 for the tax assessed on eight pieces of equipment and $52,235 for the administrative penalties.

Hellas subsequently requested from the Rio Blanco County Clerk and Recorder a refund of the $52,235 in penalties, and a hearing to contest the penalties. The County never responded to that request. Hellas then sought judicial review of the penalties pursuant to section 42-3-107(17)(e)(II) and C.R.C.P. 106(a)(d) by filing this action in district court.

The record before the district court consisted of the deputy's investigation file, basic identifying information on each of the cited pieces of equipment, and proof of the tax paid on one piece of equipment. On January 19, 2007, Hellas moved the district court to correct the record to include facts it would have presented had the County provided any type of hearing. The court denied the motion on March 7, 2007.

In its opening brief in the district court, Hellas asserted two basic contentions. It contended that the County's actions were arbitrary and capricious, and thus constituted an abuse of discretion. It also contended the County violated its right to due process by failing to provide notice and a hearing before imposing the penalties.

The court rejected Hellasg' contentions in a written order on May 8, 2007. In the order, the court emphasized that it was "limited to the record compiled by the County and Deputy Mazzola" and noted that "Hellas has not had an opportunity to present any evidence on its own behalf. ..."

Characterizing Hellas' contention that the County violated its right to due process as a constitutional challenge to section 42-3-107(17)(e)(II), the court concluded that Hel-las' right to due process was not violated on two grounds. First, the court reasoned that, because section 42-8-107(17)(e)(II) does not require notice or a hearing, the County's actions pursuant to that section did not constitute quasi-judicial action under Gilpin County Board of Equalization v. Russell, 941 P.2d 257, 262 (Colo.1997)(describing characteristics of quasi-judicial action). The court then concluded that, because the County's actions were not quasi-judicial, procedural due process did not require that the County provide notice and a hearing under Douglas County Board of Commissioners v. Public Utilities Commission, 829 P.2d 1303, 1310 (Colo.1992).

Second, the court concluded that "the taxation scheme set forth in § 42-3-107 is ministerial in nature rather than quasi-judicial. ... Since enforcement of the act and the penalty assessment is ministerial and not quasi-judicial, due process does not require that notice be given ... or that Hellas be afforded a hearing."

The court also rejected Hellas' contention that the County, through the actions of Deputy Mazzola, abused its discretion. The court relied solely on the statements in each Notice and Determination, and concluded that these statements constituted competent evidence sufficient to support the County's determination that Hellas violated section 42-3-107(17)(e)(II). This appeal followed.

IL C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4) Review

Hellas contends the district court erred in upholding the County's determination that it violated section 42-8-107(17)(e)(II). It specifically contends that the County's determination made under that section constitutes a quasi-judicial action and that the County abused its discretion in making its determination. We agree.

*504 A. Standard of Review

The determination whether section 42-3-107(17)(e)(II) has been violated is subject to judicial review pursuant to C.R.C.P. 106(a)(4).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
192 P.3d 501, 2008 Colo. App. LEXIS 1152, 2008 WL 2683832, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hellas-construction-inc-v-rio-blanco-county-coloctapp-2008.