Carter v

Fayette County, 287 Ga. App. 175, 651 S.E.2d 108, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 908 (2007). Reviewing court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider value and uniformity in an appeal of a decision of the Hall County Board of Equalization (BOE) as a hospital did not present those issues in the underlying administrative tax case, which was limited to O.C.G.A. § 48-5-41(a)(5), and the statute’s application; further, as there was no Hall County Board of Tax Assessors decision concerning value and uniformity that could have been appealed to the BOE, there was no appeal to the BOE on those issues that could have been waived by mutual agreement and initiated, instead, in the reviewing court under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(1). Hall County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Northeast Ga. Health Sys., 317 Ga. App. 389, 730 S.E.2d 715, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 691 (2012), cert. denied, No. S12C2044, 2013 Ga. LEXIS 80 (Ga. Jan. 22, 2013). When appellant raises only a question of value before the board of equalization, the appellant cannot raise a new claim of uniformity for the first time on appeal to the superior court. Camp v. Boggs, 240 Ga. 127, 239 S.E.2d 530, 1977 Ga. LEXIS 1421 (1977). Objections waived on appeal if not brought before board. — Matters of taxability, uniformity of assessment, and value must be raised before the county board of equalization in order to raise the matters on appeal to the superior court, notwithstanding that the action in superior court is de novo. Williams v. 741 Appeals (Cont’d) 4. Appeals to Superior Court (Cont’d) DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 249 Ga. 164, 289 S.E.2d 235, 1982 Ga. LEXIS 764 (1982). When issues not raised before board may be raised before superior court. — When a taxpayer appeals an assessment of the board of tax assessors to the board of equalization, and from the decision of the latter to the superior court for a de novo hearing, the taxpayer is not permitted to raise in the superior court appeal issues which were not raised in the original appeal to the board of equalization. However, when the original appeal to the board of equalization is not included in the record, and when it is not contended that such original appeal failed to raise the question of valuation, an appellant is not estopped in an appeal to the superior court from an adverse decision of the board of equalization from urging at the de novo hearing that the valuation set is excessive. Mundy v. Clayton County Tax Assessors, 146 Ga. App. 473, 246 S.E.2d 479, 1978 Ga. App. LEXIS 2414 (1978). When a board of equalization fails to answer some of the questions submitted by the taxpayer, such failure should be enumerated as error on a de novo appeal. Accordingly, relief by way of injunction or mandamus is inappropriate because a taxpayer must raise the issue before the board and exhaust the taxpayer’s remedies by the statutorily provided appeal. Wilkes v. Redding, 242 Ga. 78, 247 S.E.2d 872, 1978 Ga. LEXIS 1100 (1978). Burden of proof in superior court is on party initiating appeal to that court. — Because the nonprofit charitable institution had already carried the institution’s burden of proving entitlement to a charitable exemption, the burden of proof showing that the institution was not entitled to the exemption on an appeal was on the board of tax assessors. Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Baptist Vill., Inc., 269 Ga. App. 848, 605 S.E.2d 436, 2004 Ga. App. LEXIS 1315 (2004). Admissibility of hearing proceedings on appeal to superior court. — What transpired at the hearing 48-5-311 would not be admissible if objected to in the de novo investigation at trial before jury. Murray v. Richardson, 134 Ga. App. 676, 215 S.E.2d 715, 1975 Ga. App. LEXIS 2123 (1975). References to prior proceedings and procedures should be omitted as the references have no relevance in a de novo matter. Weeks v. Gwinnett County Bd. of Tax Equalization, 139 Ga. App. 37, 227 S.E.2d 865, 1976 Ga. App. LEXIS 1670 (1976), overruled in part, Gilmer County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Spence, 309 Ga. App. 482, 711 S.E.2d 51, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 371 (2011). Evidentiary weight given to findings of fact by the board of tax assessors. — Board of tax assessors’ findings of fact are not deemed prima facie correct on appeals to the superior court, but are evidence which the jury may consider, along with other evidence, in resolving the issue before the jury. Weeks v. Gwinnett County Bd. of Tax Equalization, 139 Ga. App. 37, 227 S.E.2d 865, 1976 Ga. App. LEXIS 1670 (1976), overruled in part, Gilmer County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Spence, 309 Ga. App. 482, 711 S.E.2d 51, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 371 (2011). Request for certification from tax consulting firm. — Nothing in the language of O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311 prohibits a tax consulting firm from writing a letter to the board of tax assessors requesting certification of an appeal to superior court. Interstate North Sporting Club v. Cobb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 250 Ga. App. 221, 551 S.E.2d 91, 2001 Ga. App. LEXIS 733 (2001), cert. denied, No. S01C1545, 2001 Ga. LEXIS 947 (Ga. Nov. 30, 2001). No presumption of correctness attaches to the assessments of the board of equalization on appeal to the superior court. Hodsdon v. Duckett, 135 Ga. App. 922, 219 S.E.2d 634, 1975 Ga. App. LEXIS 1876 (1975). Exercise of equitable powers unnecessary. — An appeal before a county board of equalization provides an adequate remedy at law for the determination of county taxpayers’ questions, making unnecessary the exercise of the equitable powers of the superior court. Wilkes v. Redding, 242 Ga. 742 78, 247 S.E.2d 872, 1978 Ga. LEXIS 1100 (1978). Mandamus and actions in equity not authorized. — Board of equalization is the appropriate forum for deciding a taxpayer’s constitutional and procedural issues as well as questions of uniformity, valuation, and taxability; therefore, an action in equity and mandamus in the superior court raising those issues is unauthorized. Wilkes v. Redding, 242 Ga. 78, 247 S.E.2d 872, 1978 Ga. LEXIS 1100 (1978). Mandamus relief properly denied since certification of appeals obtained. — Trial court did not err by denying a group of property owners their request for mandamus relief in the nature of finding that the county board of tax assessors certified their property tax appeals because it was undisputed that the tax appeals were physically delivered to the trial court and that it had ruled that such appeals were certified to it, thus, the property owners received the relief sought regarding certification. Newton Timber Co., L.L.L.P. v. Monroe County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 295 Ga. 29, 755 S.E.2d 770, 2014 Ga. LEXIS 189 (2014). Certification required before case placed on trial calendar. — Absent certification of the taxpayers’ appeal by the county board of tax assessors, the filing of the appeal under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(4)(A) did not occur and the requirement that the case be placed on the first available trial calendar was not yet triggered. Monroe County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Wilson, 336 Ga. App. 404, 785 S.E.2d 67, 2016 Ga. App. LEXIS 190 (2016), cert. denied, No. S16C1323, 2016 Ga. LEXIS 638 (Ga. Oct. 3, 2016). Assessment of property taxes. — Judgment setting the value for improved residential real property owned by the property owners at $ 291,000 was appropriate because an appraiser gave expert opinion testimony that the fair market value of the property was $291,000 and other expert witnesses opined that the county employed appraisal methods in ways that systemically produced incorrect or arbitrary estimates of fair market value for residential properties. Gilmer County 48-5-311 Bd. of Tax Assessors v. McHugh, 309 Ga. App. 145, 709 S.E.2d 311, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 242 (2011), cert. denied, No. S11C1231, 2011 Ga. LEXIS 698 (Ga. Sept. 12, 2011). Property owners’ challenges to tax assessment in superior court. — There was no merit in the Gilmer County Board of Tax Assessor’s claim that the superior court erred in allowing the property owners to challenge the uniformity of the tax assessment. The property owners did not base the owners’ uniformity challenge solely upon the amount of taxes paid by the specific developer who owned property within the owners’ subdivision; the owners also based the owners’ challenge upon the amount of taxes paid by numerous other taxpayers in the county to whose properties the property owners contended an absorption rate had been misapplied. Gilmer County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. McHugh, 309 Ga. App. 145, 709 S.E.2d 311, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 242 (2011), cert. denied, No. S11C1231, 2011 Ga. LEXIS 698 (Ga. Sept. 12, 2011). Costs. — When the owner of commercial property successfully appealed an assessment of the property’s value by a board of equalization, and the value determined on appeal was less than 80 percent of the value assessed by the board, the taxpayer was entitled to an award of costs, including attorney fees and litigation costs because O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(4)(B)(ii) became effective prior to the assessment. Pulaski County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. JFS Props., 274 Ga. App. 520, 618 S.E.2d 151, 2005 Ga. App. LEXIS 789 (2005). Attorney fee awards. — When taxpayers challenging an assessment filed an appeal from the verdict of the first jury that tried the case, it was error, following retrial, to deny the taxpayers attorney fees in connection with the appeal from the first jury verdict. “Action” in O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(4)(B)(ii) does not limit recovery to attorney fees incurred in the trial court. Buckler v. DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 288 Ga. App. 332, 654 S.E.2d 184, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 1195 (2007). Taxpayer was entitled to an award of attorney fees of $37,475 under O.C.G.A. 743 Appeals (Cont’d) 4. Appeals to Superior Court (Cont’d) § 48-5-311(g)(4)(B)(ii) because the jury’s valuation of the taxpayer’s property was less than 85 percent of the value assessed by the county board of assessors. Although the county later lowered the property’s value, the taxpayer had already appealed three times from the original value, and the attorney’s fee amendment was intended to ensure that valuations were accurate from the outset. Fulton County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. White, 302 Ga. App. 512, 691 S.E.2d 341, 2010 Ga. App. LEXIS 169 (2010). Tax assessor waived the assessor’s argument that the company was not entitled to attorney fees under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(4)(B)(ii) on the grounds that the bank failed to file a property tax return or that the bank was the real party in interest. Fulton County Bd. of Assessors v. Calliope Props., LLC, 312 Ga. App. 875, 720 S.E.2d 312, 2011 Ga. App. LEXIS 1059 (2011). Award of attorney fees approved on appeal. — Because the value was less than 85 percent of the valuation set by the board of assessors, the trial court awarded the owner attorney fees under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(4)(B)(ii). The amount of the fee award was within the range of the 48-5-311 evidence adduced at the hearing, and the award was not manifestly unreasonable on its face. Fulton County Bd. of Assessors v. Calliope Props., LLC, 315 Ga. App. 405, 727 S.E.2d 198, 2012 Ga. App. LEXIS 377 (2012). Dismissal of appeal held erroneous. — Command stated under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311(g)(4)(A), specifically, that non-jury trials in appeals from a board of equalization to the superior court were to be held within 40 days of filing, was directory rather than mandatory, making erroneous the superior court’s dismissal of the appeals upon a failure to hold a hearing within that time period. Jasper County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Thomas, 289 Ga. App. 38, 656 S.E.2d 188, 2007 Ga. App. LEXIS 1327 (2007). Remand held proper. — In a gas company’s suit against the state revenue commissioner for mandamus compelling the commissioner to accept its property tax returns under O.C.G.A. §§ 48-1-2(21) and 48-5-511(a), remand was proper to determine if the company had an acceptable alternative remedy in its pending county tax appeals under O.C.G.A. § 48-5-311, if the commissioner could be made a party to those appeals by joinder or some other procedure. Southern LNG, Inc. v. MacGinnitie, 294 Ga. 657, 755 S.E.2d 683, 2014 Ga. LEXIS 168 (2014).