Paradise Valley Country Club v. Wyoming State Board of Equalization

748 P.2d 298, 1988 Wyo. LEXIS 6, 1988 WL 1120
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 11, 1988
DocketNo. 87-79
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 748 P.2d 298 (Paradise Valley Country Club v. Wyoming State Board of Equalization) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Paradise Valley Country Club v. Wyoming State Board of Equalization, 748 P.2d 298, 1988 Wyo. LEXIS 6, 1988 WL 1120 (Wyo. 1988).

Opinion

URBIGKIT, Justice.

We are presented with a real estate tax reassessment for a private golf club raising issues of the process used, the amount of increase of 2200 percent, and the denial of any protest hearing. Equality and fairness issues of a constitutional perspective were included in the various challenges made to the reassessment and tax increase. We remand on a procedural basis for the taxpayer to be provided a hearing.

ISSUES PRESENTED

1. Reassessment without notice violates due process under Art. 1, § 6, Wyoming Constitution and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution— constitutional issue.
2. Illegality of the tax assessed and levied for 1984 in process and application— statutory and procedural issue.
3. The district court, in denial decision following administrative agency appeal from the state board of equalization, rejected the tax challenge as insufficiently documented in initial protest petition— form of the protest issue.

We will avoid direct consideration of Issue 1 by reversing and remanding for a hearing on Issue 2, and will summarily dispose of Issue 3.

FACTS

In 1983, Paradise Valley Golf and Country Club, Inc. (Paradise Valley) paid $4,738 in ad valorem taxes for the club property, based on an adjusted tax base valuation of $58,315. A similar assessment level was continued for the 1984 year, until in August, by reassessment, the base value before real-property tax-ratio allocation was increased from $271,583 to $3,394,787. At the same time, no similar assessment increase was made for the neighboring Cas-per Country Club golf course properties. As well as general invalidity, appellant Paradise Valley contended that the taxation differential between the two clubs was ten times, or about 1000 percent, although the intrinsic real estate value of the Casper Country Club properties was likely higher than that of appellant taxpayer.1

The discriminatory feature of the tax assessment is not really in doubt on this record, but rather it is the procedure which circumscribes our review. The result actually arose from the county assessor’s reassessment use of a commercial square-footage appraisal for the Paradise Valley golf grounds, as compared to an agricultural land basis for the comparable properties of the Casper Country Club.

In contesting the evidentiary status of the tax bills, the State presented no record or documentation showing a regularly used system either at the county hearing or in the state tax commission proceedings, except that after the conclusion of the state proceedings there was a late-filed affidavit of the county assessor. This instrument furnished no facts, justification, or cogent reasoning for the discrimination between the Casper Country Club and Paradise Valley, or for assessing a golf course on a square-footage valuation basis. See Teton Valley Ranch v. State Board of Equalization, Wyo., 735 P.2d 107 (1987).2

[300]*300The regular assessment initially certified for the tax rolls in 1984 was about the same as for 1983. In August, the property was reassessed, and notice of the reassessment and increased tax was first received by an amended tax bill dated October 23, 1984.

Assessment for 1985 was similar in amount to the 1984 revised value, and by notice of appeal filed May 16, 1985, Paradise Valley protested the increased assessments for both the 1984 and 1985 tax years. Taken first to the Natrona County Commissioners as ex officio county board of equalization pursuant to § 39-2-302, W.S.1977, the protests to the increased assessments were summarily denied (although somewhat reduced) on June 10, 1985, by board action as reflected by the minutes:

“Jeffrey Gosman was present to protest the 1984-85 tax assessment notice for Paradise Valley Golf and Country Club, Inc. Mr. Gosman represented Mr. Deal Hembree, President of Paradise Valley Golf and Country Club.
“Mr. Gosman stated the tax assessment is inordinately high, and cannot be supported upon any rational formula representing the fair value of the property being taxed. He pointed to the fact the State Board requires that all taxation be uniform and equal in application. Casper Country Club has 40 acres more land, much of which is prime development real estate. The Paradise Valley Golf and Country Club is land-locked and cannot realistically be used for any other purpose than a golf course.
“Mr. Gosman requested to be taxed at the same rate of increase experienced by the Casper Country Club or upon some other basis whereby the actual value of the property is more realistically assessed.
“Assessor Maria Boling stated the property was designated commercial property. The course in Paradise Valley is platted land. Assessor Boling requested an appraisal of the property or a breakdown of square footage that the building, and parking lot comprise. This property could be assessed as commercial 5 [cents] per square foot, and remaining property 2 [cents] or 3 [cents] per square foot noncommercial rate.
“It was moved by Commissioner Schulte, seconded by Commissioner Ellis to assess the Paradise Valley Golf and Country Club building site and surrounding footage as commercial at five [cents] per square foot, and the remaining land at noncommercial rate 2 [cents] or 3 [cents] per square foot as recommended by Assessor Boling. Motion carried.”

By assessing the Paradise Valley golf course land as “commercial” or “platted,” the property was initially valued at about 100 times higher than the neighboring golf course as then reduced to only 40 or 60 times higher by the county board of equalization correction.3

An appeal pursuant to § 39-l-304(a)(xiv), W.S.1977 was taken to the state board of equalization on June 25, 1985, asserting technical violations in denial of an open-meeting decision, tax-process violation of statutory and constitutional rights, and basic invalidity of the tax increase. The state board hearing was held November 14,1985, in regular form, with testimony including the minimal record from the county board session. On June 3, 1986, the commission reversed the assessed amount for 1985, and by order provided:

“1. That for the 1985 tax assessment only, the Natrona County Assessor classify and value the subject property in the same manner as was done to the Casper Country Club; and
“2. That the Natrona County Assessor forward such information to the Natrona County Treasurer for correction,”

but provided by the conclusions of law:

“6. Although the Natrona County Board agreed to hear objections to the assessed value of the subject property corresponding to the 1984 and 1985 tax [301]*301years, such board acted outside of the scope of its authority respecting the 1984 assessment. Petitioner had an unqualified right to object to its 1984 assessment pursuant to W.S. 34-2-301. However, Petitioner did not object to such value in the then current tax year and waived any right to objection of the 1984 assessed value. As a result, only adjustments to the 1985 assessed value may be ordered.”

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Bluebook (online)
748 P.2d 298, 1988 Wyo. LEXIS 6, 1988 WL 1120, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/paradise-valley-country-club-v-wyoming-state-board-of-equalization-wyo-1988.