TRQ Captain's Landing L.P. v. Galveston Central Appraisal District

212 S.W.3d 726, 2006 WL 2853963
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 21, 2006
Docket01-05-00496-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 212 S.W.3d 726 (TRQ Captain's Landing L.P. v. Galveston Central Appraisal District) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TRQ Captain's Landing L.P. v. Galveston Central Appraisal District, 212 S.W.3d 726, 2006 WL 2853963 (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinions

OPINION

EVELYN V. KEYES, Justice.

Appellants, TRQ Captain’s Landing, L.P. (“TRQ”) and American Housing Foundation (“AHF”), appeal from an order granting summary judgment in favor of appellee, Galveston Central Appraisal District (“Appraisal District”). As a result of the summary judgment entered against them, appellants were unable to claim an exemption from ad valorem taxes1 they sought for 2003 pursuant to section 11.182(b) of the Texas Tax Code. See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.182(b) (Vernon 2001). In two issues on appeal, appellants contend that they were improperly denied the exemption because (1) section 11.182(b) extends to equitable owners of qualified property and (2) their application for the exemption was timely filed pursuant to an exception contained within section 11.436 of the Texas Tax Code. See id. § 11.436 (Vernon Supp.2005).

We reverse and render judgment.

BACKGROUND

This dispute centers around the Captain’s Landing Apartments (“apartments”), an apartment complex located in Galveston. The apartments were constructed in the 1980s, and, in 1998, they were purchased by TRQ, who acquired them by special warranty deed from WHUD Real Estate, L.P. (‘WHUD”). In December, 2003, AHF obtained ownership and control of TRQ. AHF’s acquisition of TRQ had the following structure and tax consequences:

1. TRQ is a Texas limited partnership. Any tax on TRQ’s income flows through to its partners under federal taxation principles.2
[729]*7292. AHF formed CD Captain’s Landing, LLC (“CD”) and became its sole member. Thus, CD is wholly owned by AHF.
3. CD purchased TRQ and obtained a 100% membership interest in TRQ’s sole general partner, TRQ Galveston, LLC.
4. CD’s purchase of TRQ was structured such that CD possessed a 99% limited partnership interest in TRQ. The remaining one percent interest in TRQ was held by TRQ Galveston, LLC, TRQ’s general partner in which CD possessed a 100% membership interest.

In sum, following the relevant December 2003 transactions, AHF possessed a 100% interest in CD, TRQ’s limited partner; CD owned 99% of TRQ and 100% of TRQ Galveston, LLC; TRQ Galveston, the general partner of TRQ, owned the remaining 1% interest in TRQ; and, at all times, TRQ, through the special warranty deed it acquired from WHUD, continued to hold legal title to the apartments.

The transactions described above were completed on December 30, 2003. That same day, CD filed an application with the Appraisal District seeking a 2003 ad valo-rem tax exemption for the apartments pursuant to section 11.182 of the Texas Tax Code. See TEX. TAX CODE ANN. § 11.182. Section 11.182 allows an organization qualifying as a Community Housing Development Organization3 (“CHDO”) to claim an exemption from ad valorem taxes that would otherwise be assessed against real property owned by the organization. See id. The pertinent provision for this dispute is subsection (b), which provides that:

(b) An organization is entitled to an exemption from taxation of improved or unimproved real property it owns if the organization:
(1) is organized as a community housing development organization;
(2) meets the requirements of a charitable organization provided by Sections 11.18(e) and (f);4
(3) owns the property for the purposes of building or repairing housing on the property to sell without profit to a low-income or moderate-income individual or family satisfying the organization’s eligibility requirements or to rent without profit to such an individual or family; and
(4) engages exclusively in the building, repair, and sale or rental of housing as described in Subdivision (3) and related activities.

See id. § 11.182(b).

AHF, as the attachments demonstrate, is a CHDO, and it is therefore eligible under section 11.182(b) for ad valorem exemptions on property it owns. CD, [730]*730against whom the taxes were assessed, is not a CHDO, nor is either AHF or CD the holder of legal title to the apartments (as noted, legal title remains in TRQ’s name). Recognizing this, CD’s application for the exemption included attachments indicating that CD was the sole limited partner in TRQ and held a 100% membership interest in TRQ’s general partner, TRQ Galveston, and that AHF possessed a 100% membership interest in CD. Thus, CD’s application effectively asserted that because (1) AHF would be entitled to an exemption for the apartments if it held legal title to them and (2) AHF owned a full interest in CD, the taxpayer, (3) which owned a full interest in TRQ, the holder of legal title to the apartments, (4) CD was entitled to the exemption. In essence, then, the application contended that the exemption should be imputed through the partnership chain and back to AHF.

On April 5, 2004, the Appraisal District denied CD’s application for an exemption. The Appraisal District’s letter of denial stated that CD’s application had been rejected because the “applicant does not own the property.” On April 19, 2004, appellants filed a notice of protest with the Appraisal District challenging its decision to deny the application. The Appraisal District, after a hearing, denied appellant’s protest on July 6, 2004. Appellants then brought suit in district court seeking judicial review of the Appraisal District’s denial of their application. Appellants’ original petition asserted that the Appraisal District erred in concluding that AHF did not own the apartments, and it sought a declaratory judgment delineating appellants’ rights under section 11.182 of the Texas Tax Code.5

The Appraisal District moved for summary judgment in October 2004, contending that it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law because (1) CD was not a CHDO and did not own the apartments and (2) CD’s application for the exemption was not timely filed. Appellants filed an amended cross-motion for partial summary judgment in February 2005. Appellant’s cross-motion asked the trial court to enter judgment finding (1) that the exemption application was timely filed pursuant to Texas Tax Code 11.4366 and (2) that AHF was the owner of the apartments for the purposes of section 11.182. See id. § 11.182. In April 2005, the trial court granted the Appraisal District’s motion for summary judgment and denied appellant’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

Appellants present two issues on appeal: (1) whether equitable owners of property may obtain ad valorem tax exemptions pursuant to section 11.182(b) of the Texas Tax Code and (2) whether section 11.436 of the Texas Tax Code provides an exception extending the filing deadline for organizations which acquire property that qualifies for a section 11.182 exemption to file an application for the exemption.

Standard of Review

1. Summary Judgment

Summary judgment is a question of law. Provident Life & Accident Ins. Co. v. Knott, 128 S.W.3d 211, 216 (Tex.2003).

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Bluebook (online)
212 S.W.3d 726, 2006 WL 2853963, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trq-captains-landing-lp-v-galveston-central-appraisal-district-texapp-2006.