National Church Residences of Alief, Tx v. Harris County Appraisal District

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided October 23, 2015·No. 01-15-00900-CV·Published

Opinion

DATE 10/23/2015 FILED IN

R

NOTICE OF APPEALS 1st COURT OF APPEALS ASSIGNMENT OF COURT OF APPEALS HOUSTON, TEXAS 10/23/2015 10:50:39 AM

TO: 1ST COURT OF APPEALS CHRISTOPHER A. PRINE

Clerk

From: Deputy Clerk: IRMA MEDINA Chris Daniel, District Clerk Harris County, T E X A S

CAUSE: 2014-35858 VOLUME PAGE OR IMAGE # 67564010 DUE 11/23/2015 ATTORNEY 24075830 NOTICE OF APPEAL HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO THE 1ST DATE ORDER SIGNED: 7/24/2015 MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL FILED: 8/21/2015 REQUEST TRANSCRIPT DATE FILED N/A NOTICE OF APPEAL DATE FILED 10/22/2015

NUMBER OF DAYS: ( CLERKS RECORD ) 120 FILE ORDERED: YES NO IMAGED FILED: YES NO

CODES FOR NOTICE OF APPEAL: BC, C, OA , Rule 34.5 Original Clerk’s Record Due 11/30/2015

CHRIS DANIEL

Harris County, District Clerk

By: /s/IRMA MEDINA

IRMA MEDINA, Deputy

BC NOTICE OF APPEAL FILED BG NOTICE OF APPEAL FILED – GOVERNMENT C JUDGMENT BEING APPEALED D- ACCELERATED APPEAL OA NO CLERK’S RECORD REQUEST FILED O CLERK’S RECORD REQUEST FILED (W/NOTICE OF APPEAL) NA AMENDED NOTICE OF APPEAL

AP9 R04-30-92 S:\FormsLib\Civil Bureau\Civil Courts & Post Judgment\Post Trial\Appeal Status Card Revised 01-18-2013

10/22/2015 2:30:09 PM

Chris Daniel - District Clerk Harris County Envelope No. 7498459

By: Joshua Bovell

Filed: 10/22/2015 2:30:09 PM

CAUSE NO. 2014-35858

NATIONAL CHURCH RESIDENCES § IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALIEF, TX § §

§

V. § 269th JUDICIAL DISTRICT §

§

HARRIS COUNTY § APPRAISAL DISTRICT § HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS

PLAINTIFF’S NOTICE OF APPEAL TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:

Plaintiff NATIONAL CHURCH RESIDENCES OF ALIEF, TX (“Plaintiff” or “NCR”)

files this Notice of Appeal and would respectfully show to the Court the following:

BASIS OF NOTICE

On July 24, 2015, this Court entered a final judgment in favor of Defendant, HARRIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT. Plaintiff desires to appeal this judgment in all respects.

This appeal is premised on the following points, pursuant to Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 33.1:

1. The trial court erred by granting Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment and denying Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment because Plaintiff applied for and qualified as a charitable organization entitled to a property tax exemption for the tax years 2012 and 2013 under the Texas constitution and subsections (d)(2), (d)(3), and/or (d)(13) of Section 11.18 of the Texas Property Tax Code.

2. Plaintiff hereby incorporates all arguments in the following pleadings as to why the trial court erred in entering judgment in favor of Defendant:

{NAT023/00002/1107280.DOCX;1/MLM } -1-

a. its Motion for Summary Judgment filed on May 29, 2015,

b. its Response to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment filed on June 12, 2015,

c. its Reply regarding its Motion for Summary Judgment filed on June 19, 2015,

d. its Brief on the NHH-Canal Street Apartments Decision filed on July 10, 2015,

e. its Response to Defendant’s Brief in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment filed on July 17, 2015,

f. its Motion for New Trial filed on August 21, 2015, and g. its Reply regarding its Motion for New Trial filed on September 25, 2015.

3. Plaintiff filed a Motion for New Trial on August 21, 2015, which was overruled by operation of law.

Plaintiff appeals to either the First or Fourteenth Court of Appeals.

Respectfully Submitted,

WEYCER KAPLAN PULASKI & ZUBER, P.C.

By:___/s/ Misty Gasiorowski_________________ DONALD T. (“DUKE”) KELLER, JR.

State Bar No. 24000605

dkeller@wkpz.com

MISTY GASIOROWSKI

State Bar No. 24075830

mgasiorowski@wkpz.com

TANYA N. GARRISON

Texas Bar No. 24027180

tgarrison@wkpz.com

Eleven Greenway Plaza, Suite 1400 Houston, Texas 77046

Telephone: (713) 961-9045 Facsimile: (713) 961-5341

ATTORNEYS FOR PLAINTIFF

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on this the 22nd day of October, 2015, a true and correct copy of the foregoing Notice of Appeal was forwarded by electronic service and/or facsimile to the following counsel of record:

Denis Potvin

Olson & Olson, L.L.P.

Wortham Tower, Ste. 600

2727 Allen Parkway

Houston, Texas 77019

[fax: (713) 533-3888]

____/s/ Misty Gasiorowski____ MISTY GASIOROWSKI

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Filed15July27P2:12 ChrisDaniel-DistrictClerk HarrisCounty

Pgs-2

MPSJY

8/21/2015 4:07:33 PM

Chris Daniel - District Clerk Harris County Envelope No. 6607433

By: GAYLE FULLER

Filed: 8/21/2015 4:07:33 PM

CAUSE NO. 2014-35858

NATIONAL CHURCH RESIDENCES § IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF ALIEF, TX § §

§

V. § 269th JUDICIAL DISTRICT §

§

HARRIS COUNTY §

APPRAISAL DISTRICT § HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF SAID COURT:

Plaintiff NATIONAL CHURCH RESIDENCES OF ALIEF, TX ("Plaintiff or "NCR")

asks the Court to grant a new trial in the interest of justice and fairness, and shows as follows:

Motion for New Trial - Generally 1. This lawsuit was brought by NCR against Defendant Harris County Appraisal District ("Defendant" or "HCAD"), appealing the denial of tax exempt status for tax years 2012 and 2013 pursuant to Section 11.18 of the Texas Property Tax Code of the property identified by HCAD account number 114-775-000-0028.

2. This Court granted HCAD's Motion for Summary Judgment by signed order on July 24, 2015 (the "Order").

3. The Order should be vacated and a new trial granted because NCR established as a matter of law that it qualifies for an exemption as a charitable organization Section 11.18 of the Tax Code. In support thereof, NCR incorporates by reference herein as if set out in full all arguments and authority referenced within, and all evidence attached to and/or incorporated into, Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment filed on May 29, 2015, Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment filed on June 12, 2015, Plaintiffs Reply Regarding

{NAT023/00002/1051714.DOCX; 1 /MLM } its Motion for Summary Judgment filed on June 19, 2015, Plaintiffs Brief on the NHH-Canal Street Apartments Decision filed on July 10, 2015, and Plaintiffs Response to Defendant's Brief in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment filed on July 17, 2015.

Specific Reasons that the Court Should Grant a New Trial 4. Plaintiff also asks the Court to vacate the Order and grant it a new trial for the following specific reasons, some of which may have been previously argued and Plaintiff desires to clarify and/or expand upon:

A. Plaintiff Established it is Entitled to a Tax Exemption Under Section 11.18(d)(2) of the Tax Code because it Provides Support to the Impoverished.

5. The Order should be vacated and a new trial granted because (1) the summary judgment evidence established as a matter of law that: (a) NCR applied for a tax exemption for charitable organizations under, in relevant part, Section 11.18(d)(2), and (b) NCR provides support to the impoverished as required by Section 11.18(d)(2); (2) Defendant moved for summary judgment pursuant to, in relevant part, the alleged "without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay" element of Section 11.18(d)(2), and (3) the NHH-Canal Street Apartments Court held that establishing "without regard to the beneficiaries' ability to pay" is not an element of Section 11.18(d)(2) as it pertains to the provision of support to the impoverished.

6. NCR applied for an exemption under Section 11.18(d)(2) (among other subsections). In Harvest Life Found, v. Harris Co. Appraisal Dist., No. 14-11-01038-CV (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.) (mem. op.), a property owner complained that the trial court erred by concluding it was not entitled to an exemption under Section 11.18. Ultimately, the Court held the supplemental evidence (i.e., the completed exemption applications for the relevant tax years) "was decisive because it proved that [the property owner] applied only for the subsection (d)(12) exemption" and the owner failed to prove it satisfied that exemption.

{NAT023/00002/I05!714DOCX,I/MLM ) o

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National Church Residences of Alief, Tx v. Harris County Appraisal District, (Tex. Ct. App. 2015).

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