Justia Government & Administrative Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals granting a motion to dismiss Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus challenging the Industrial Commission’s determination that it had continuing jurisdiction to reconsider a previous order denying a claim for death benefits because of a clear mistake of fact regarding how the decedent worker died, holding that the complaint did state a claim for relief.Appellant’s complaint for a writ of mandamus alleged that the Commission abused its discretion in determining that the staff hearing officer had based the disallowance of the claim for death benefits on a clear mistake of fact. Because this question involved whether there was a factual mistake sufficient to invoke the continuing-jurisdiction provisions of Ohio Rev. Code 4123.52, the question was a proper subject matter for an action seeking a writ of mandamus. Therefore, the court of appeals erred in dismissing the action on the basis that the Commission’s decision to exercise its continuing jurisdiction was appealable to the court of common pleas. View "State ex rel. Belle Tire Distributors, Inc. v. Industrial Commission of Ohio" on Justia Law

At issue was whether the Ohio use tax applied to Lafarge North America, Inc.’s purchases of fuel and repair parts for equipment used to break up and transport solidified slag, a by-product from molten ore during steelmaking, from the “slag mountain," a large slag mass. Whether the tax applied depended on whether the activity was part of Lafarge’s “manufacturing operation” under Ohio Rev. Code 5739.02(B)(42)(g).The Department of Taxation assessed a use tax and penalty against Lafarge for purchases for the equipment at issue. Lafarge challenged the assessment. The tax commissioner determined that the breaking up and transport of slag from the slag mountain preceded Lafarge’s manufacturing operation and that equipment used to move raw materials prior to the start of the manufacturing process was taxable. The Board of Tax Appeals affirmed the tax assessment and penalty. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that Lafarge’s manufacturing operation began once Lafarge cut slag from the mountain and continued as the material was crushed, placed in dump trucks, and transported to a screening plant. View "Lafarge North America, Inc. v. Testa" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) valuing Appellant’s property in accordance with a sale price and determining that Appellant’s appraisal evidence did not negate the presumption that the sale was characteristic of true value.For tax year 2011, the Franklin County auditor valued one of Appellant’s parcels of property at $132,700 and the second parcel at $1,717,300, for a total valuation of $1,850,000. The Franklin County Board of Revision (BOR) assigned a total value to the subject property of $1,602,700 for tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013, thus rejecting the Hilliard City Schools Board of Education’s (BOE) argument that a 2009 sale price established the property’s value. The BTA determined that the property’s value should be a total of $2,313,490 for tax years 2011, 2012, and 2013, finding that the sale price presumptively established the subject property’s value and that Appellant had failed to rebut that presumption by showing that the sale was not a recent arm’s-length transaction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant did not bear its burden at the BTA to negate the sale price as the criterion of value. View "Hilliard City Schools Board of Education v. Franklin County Board of Revision" on Justia Law

In this real-property-valuation case, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) finding that the appraisal report presented by the Washington County Board of Revision and Washington County auditor (collectively, the County) constituted the most competent and probative evidence of the value of the subject property for tax year 2013.The BTA relied on the County’s report to value a property owned by Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc./Lowe’s Home Centers, LLC (collectively, Lowe’s), even though Lowe’s presented its own appraisal report. The Supreme Court vacated the BTA’s decision, holding (1) the Court’s decisions in Steak ’N Shake, Inc. v. Warrant County Board of Revision, 48 N.E.3d 535 (Ohio 2015), Rite Aid of Ohio, Inc. v. Washington County Board of Revision, 54 N.E.3d 1177 (Ohio 2016), and Lowe’s Home Centers, Inc. v. Washington County Board of Revision, 49 N.E.3d 1266 (Ohio 2016), provide the proper guideposts for resolving this controversy; and (2) because the BTA had yet to evaluate the evidence in light of the legal standards articulated in these three decisions, the case must be remanded for further proceedings. View "Lowe's Home Centers, Inc. v. Washington County Board of Revision" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) following the Court’s remand in Navistar I, holding that the BTA acted reasonably and lawfully in upholding the tax commissioner’s reduction of Navistar Inc.’s commercial-activity-tax (CAT) credit to zero.In Navistar I, the Supreme Court concluded that the BTA had ignored the testimony of Navistar’s experts in upholding the commissioner’s reduction of Navistar’s CAT credit to zero, an omission that made the BTA’s decision unreasonable and unlawful. After the BTA again upheld the tax commissioner’s decision, Navistar appealed, objecting to the BTA’s findings and its conclusion. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the BTA’s findings were supported by reliable and probative evidence and that the BTA’s conclusion was reasonable and lawful. View "Navistar, Inc. v. Testa" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals denying the writ of mandamus sought by Appellant seeking to compel the Industrial Commission to vacate its order retroactively adjusting Appellant’s benefit rate.After Appellant was injured in a work-related motor vehicle accident he began receiving workers’ compensation benefits. After the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation discovered that Appellant’s benefit rates had been incorrectly calculated, it recalculated Appellant’s full weekly wage and average weekly wage. The Commission affirmed the Bureau’s order and instructed the Bureau to determine how much Appellant had previously been overpaid and to recoup that amount through reduction of his future benefits. The court of appeals concluded that the Commission had not abused its discretion in upholding the Bureau’s adjustment of Appellant’s benefit rate. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant failed to demonstrate a clear legal right to the relief requested or a clear legal duty on the part of the Commission to provide it. View "State ex rel. Witt v. Industrial Commission of Ohio" on Justia Law

In this real property valuation case involving tax year 2012, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) adopting the Franklin County Board of Revision’s (BOR) rejection of the sale price of the property at issue as the criterion of value and instead retaining the county auditor’s valuation. On appeal, the BTA found that the sale was too remote in relation to the tax-lien date. The Supreme Court remanded the case with instructions that the BTA use the sale price to value the property for tax year 2012, holding that the BTA misapplied court precedent in determining that the sale was too remote. View "Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon of Ohio, Inc. v. Franklin County Board of Revision" on Justia Law

At issue in this valuation case was the 2011 value, with carryover to 2012 and 2013, of a nursing home that was purchased by its former lessee in April 2011 and to what extent the sale price ought to have been allocated to assets other than the real estate.The Board of Revision (BOR) ordered a small reduction in value to $7,202,900 after making a small deduction for furniture, fixtures, and equipment. The Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) reinstated the entire sale price of $7,490,000 as the value of the real estate. The Supreme Court vacated the BTA’s decision and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that the BTA neglected to exercise its statutory authority to obtain a complete record and predicated its decision in part on legal errors. View "Arbors East RE, LLC v. Franklin County Board of Revision" on Justia Law

In this challenge to the real property valuation of a Walgreens drugstore in Lancaster for tax year 2014 the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) disregarding the property owners’ appraisal and valuing the property according to a recent arm’s-length sale price.Here, as in Terraza 8, LLC v. Franklin County Board of Revision, 83 N.E.3d 916, the school board sought to have the real property valued according to the sale price, while the owners, relying on appraisal evidence, argued that under Ohio Rev. Code 5713.03, as amended by 2012 Am.Sub.H.B. No. 487 (“H.B. 487”), a lease encumbrance precluded use of the sale price to value the property. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the BTA to weigh and address the appraisal evidence, holding that this appeal presented a straightforward application of Terraza. In other words, the recent sale presumptively represented the value of the unencumbered fee simple estate, but the BTA must also weigh the appraisal evidence. View "Bronx Park South III Lancaster, LLC v. Fairfield County Board of Revision" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA) affirming the decision of the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) rejecting Appellant’s challenge to the tax-year-2012 valuation of his residential property by the Cuyahoga County fiscal officer.On appeal, Appellant argued that the BTA misplaced the burden of proof and did not give proper consideration to the evidence he presented in support of his claim. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the BTA acted reasonably and lawfully in retaining the fiscal officer’s valuation. View "Schutz v. Cuyahoga County Board of Revision" on Justia Law