Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

In 2000, Appellant was indeterminately committed as a sexual dangerous person as a result of a series of sex offenses involving teenage girls. Appellant later petitioned for provisional discharge from civil commitment. After weighing the evidence presented by Appellant and the Commissioner of Human Services at a first-phase hearing, the Supreme Court Judicial Appeal Panel dismissed Appellant's petition under Minn. R. Civ. P. 41.02(b). The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Appeal Panel committed reversible error in applying Rule 41.02(b) by failing to view the evidence produced at the first-phase hearing in a light most favorable to Appellant and by weighing the evidence produced during the first phase of the hearing. Remanded. View "Coker v. Jesson" on Justia Law

The Living Word Bible Camp, a tax-exempt organization, owned property in Itasca County. Living Word sought to obtain the necessary governmental approvals to use the property as a summer bible camp and retreat center. Itasca County classified the property as tax-exempt from 2001 to 2007 then reclassified the property as taxable as of 2008. Living Word challenged the reclassification for the 2008 and 2009 assessments. The tax court affirmed the County's reclassification because Living Word had failed to make sufficient progress in obtaining the necessary governmental approvals for its proposed use of the property. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the tax court (1) erred in concluding that Living Word was not entitled to an exemption because it was not using the property in furtherance of a charitable purpose; and (2) erred in determining that Living Word's current activities on the property could not be considered in determining whether that use was sufficient to qualify as a tax-exempt use. Remanded. View "Living Word Bible Camp v. County of Itasca" on Justia Law

Eden Prairie Mall, LLC (EPM) owned a mall. Included in the mall parcel for property tax purposes were the mall's in-line tenants, five anchor tenants, and a movie theater complex. EPM sought review of the tax court's market value determinations for the mall and one of its anchor tenants for the assessment dates of 2005 and 2006. The tax court adopted the market values for the mall parcel proposed by Hennepin County in its post-trial brief, which were higher than the value opinions presented by either party's appraiser at trial. On appeal, the Supreme Court concluded the tax court's value determinations were not supported by the record and remanded with instructions for the tax court to explain its reasoning and describe the factual support in the record for its determinations. On remand, the tax court adopted market values that exceeded its earlier determinations. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the tax court failed to follow the Court's remand instructions because the tax court failed to explain its reasoning and describe the factual support in the record for its determinations. Remanded. View "Eden Prairie Mall, LLC v. County of Hennepin" on Justia Law

The subject property was located at 44 Lafayette Road in Saint Paul. Relators challenged the County's assessments for the assessment dates 2007, 2008, and 2009. After trial, the tax court adopted the market values proposed by the County in its post-trial brief, which were higher than the value opinions presented by either party's appraiser at trial. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded with instructions for the tax court to explain its reasoning for rejecting the appraisal testimony and to describe the factual support in the record for its determinations. On remand, the tax court again adopted market values that exceeded the parties' appraisal opinions. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the tax court failed to follow the Court's remand instructions in its calculation of parking income and expenses. Remanded for a further evidentiary hearing regarding the appropriate calculation of net parking income. View "444 Lafayette, LLC v. County of Ramsey" on Justia Law

Relator was at all times relevant to this case employed by the National Basketball Association as a referee. Relator did not file Minnesota income tax returns for the 2003 and 2004 tax years but subsequently filed a 2003 state tax return as a part-year Minnesota resident. The Commissioner of Revenue determined that Relator was a full-time, legal resident of Minnesota during the relevant tax years. Relator appealed, asserting that, in 2003, he established his domicile in Florida. The Commissioner again determined that Relator was a full-time Minnesota resident during the 2003 and 2004 tax years, and the tax court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that sufficient evidence supported the tax court's decision, and the court correctly concluded that Relator failed to carry his burden of overcoming the legal presumption that he remained domiciled in Minnesota during the 2003 and 2004 tax years. View "Mauer v. Comm'r of Revenue" on Justia Law

In 2002, Employee suffered injuries in a work-related accident and was rendered a paraplegic. Employer and its insurer accepted liability for Employee's injuries and paid various workers' compensation benefits. In 2010, Employee filed a medical request seeing payment for the installation of a ceiling-mounted motorized lift system. A compensation judge (1) determined that the cost of making the structural changes was compensable under Minn. Stat. 176.135 because those changes were necessary to provide Employee with reasonable and necessary medical treatment, and (2) ordered Employer and its insurer to pay for the modifications in their entirety. The workers' compensation court of appeals reversed, concluding that the changes to Employee's home necessary to permit installation of the lift system constituted "alteration or remodeling" of Employee's home and that Employer's liability was therefore limited by Minn. Stat. 176.137. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the cost of the structural modifications to Employee's residence that were necessary to permit the ceiling-mounted track system to be installed were "alteration or remodeling" costs subject to section 176.137 and were not costs of medical treatment. View "Washek v. New Dimensions Home Health & State Fund Mut. Ins. Co. " on Justia Law

From 1999-2006, Relator filed his Minnesota individual income tax return as a nonresident. After the Commissioner of Revenue conducted two audits of Relator's individual income tax returns spanning the 2002-2006 tax years, the Commissioner determined that Relator was a resident of Minnesota during the tax years. Relator appealed, arguing that he became a resident of Nevada in 1998, and therefore, the Commissioner erred in requiring him to pay taxes as a Minnesota resident during the relevant tax years. The tax court affirmed, concluding that Relator was a Minnesota domiciliary during the tax years and, therefore, was a resident of Minnesota for income tax purposes. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the tax court did not err in its application of the law, and the record supported the tax court's determination. View "Larson v. Comm'r of Revenue" on Justia Law

Relator challenged several personal liability assessments that the Commissioner of Revenue made against him based on unpaid petroleum and sales taxes owed by Twin Cities Avanti Stores, LLC (Avanti). On appeal, Relator asserted that the tax court erred by granting summary judgment to the Commissioner because (1) there were disputed, material questions of fact regarding his personal liability for the unpaid petroleum and sales taxes, and (2) the court abused its discretion in not allowing additional discovery to explore an estoppel defense. The Supreme Court reversed the tax court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Commissioner and remanded for a trial, holding that there was a material dispute of fact whether Relator had the requisite control over the company's finances to be held personally liable for Avanti's tax liability. View "Stevens v. Comm'r of Revenue" on Justia Law

Relator challenged several personal liability assessments that the Commissioner of Revenue made against him based on unpaid petroleum and sales taxes owed by Twin Cities Avanti Stores, LLC. In his appeal, Relator did not dispute that he could be held personally liable but asserted that the tax court erred in granting summary judgment to the Commissioner because the court did not allow him additional discovery to explore an estoppel defense. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Relator could not establish the elements of equitable estoppel, the tax court did not abuse its discretion when it denied his request for additional discovery to pursue such a claim. View "Nelson v. Comm'r of Revenue" on Justia Law

The county assessor determined that the fair market value of a tax parcel, which was improved by a department store operated by respondent Federated Retail Holdings, Inc., was $17,000,000 for the year 2006. The assessor included the value of a leasehold interest held by Federated in the parcel adjacent to the tax parcel in its value determination. Federated timely filed petitions challenging the assessor's market value determinations. The tax court held that Federated's ownership interest in the tax parcel included the leasehold interest in the adjacent property, but concluded that the value of the leasehold interest was not subject to the jurisdiction of the tax court and therefore did not include it. The county appealed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the tax court had subject-matter jurisdiction to consider the value of Federated's leasehold interest in adjacent property because it constituted real property of the tax parcel under Minn. Stat. 272.03, 1 and affected the fair market value of the tax parcel. View "Federated Retail Holdings, Inc. v. County of Ramsey " on Justia Law