Anr Pipeline Co. v. Louisiana Tax Com'n
| Decision Date | 07 September 2005 |
| Docket Number | No. 2005 CA 1156.,No. 2005 CA 1155.,No. 2005 CA 1146.,No. 2005 CA 1167.,No. 2005 CA 1152.,No. 2005 CA 1148.,No. 2005 CA 1150.,No. 2005 CA 1166.,No. 2005 CA 1169.,No. 2005 CA 1154.,No. 2005 CA 1151.,No. 2005 CA 1158.,No. 2005 CA 1161.,No. 2005 CA 1159.,No. 2005 CA 1164.,No. 2005 CA 1165.,No. 2005 CA 1160.,No. 2005 CA 1157.,No. 2005 CA 1162.,No. 2005 CA 1143.,No. 2005 CA 1142.,No. 2005 CA 1147.,No. 2005 CA 1145.,No. 2005 CA 1168.,No. 2005 CA 1153.,No. 2005 CA 1144.,No. 2005 CA 1149.,No. 2005 CA 1163.,2005 CA 1142.,2005 CA 1143.,2005 CA 1144.,2005 CA 1145.,2005 CA 1146.,2005 CA 1147.,2005 CA 1148.,2005 CA 1149.,2005 CA 1150.,2005 CA 1151.,2005 CA 1152.,2005 CA 1153.,2005 CA 1154.,2005 CA 1155.,2005 CA 1156.,2005 CA 1157.,2005 CA 1158.,2005 CA 1159.,2005 CA 1160.,2005 CA 1161.,2005 CA 1162.,2005 CA 1163.,2005 CA 1164.,2005 CA 1165.,2005 CA 1166.,2005 CA 1167.,2005 CA 1168.,2005 CA 1169. |
| Parties | ANR PIPELINE COMPANY v. LOUISIANA TAX COMMISSION, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission ANR Pipeline Company, Stingray Pipeline Company, L.L.C., UT Offshore System, L.L.C., Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company and Southern Natural Gas Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission Stingray Pipeline Company, L.L.C. v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission UT Offshore System, L.L.C. v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission High Island Offshore System, L.L.C. v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission Southern Natural Gas Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission Southern Natural Gas Pipeline Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission ANR Pipeline Company, High Island Offshore System, L.L.C., Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Southern Natural Gas Company, UT Offshore System, L.L.C., and Mid-Louisiana Gas Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Malcolm B. Price, Jr., Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Russel R. Gaspard, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Russel R. Gaspard, Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Jewette Farley, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission ANR Pipeline Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Russel R. Gaspard, Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Jewette Farley, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission Southern Natural Gas Company v. Louisiana Tax Commission, Russel R. Gaspard, Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, Kenneth P. Naquin, Jr., Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission, and Jewette Farley, Member of the Louisiana Tax Commission. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US |
Angela Whitaker Adolph, Hilton Sutton Bell, James K. Irvin, New Orleans, Laurence E. Garrett, Colorado Springs, CO, James A. Porter, Houston, TX, for Plaintiffs/Appellants ANR Pipeline Company, UT Offshore System, L.L.C., High Island Offshore System, L.L.C., Stingray Pipeline Company, L.L.C., Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, and Southern Natural Gas Company.
Brian A. Eddington, Baton Rouge, Robert D. Hoffman, Jr., New Orleans, for Defendant/Appellee Louisiana Tax Commission.
Before: CARTER, C.J., PETTIGREW, and WELCH, JJ.
The instant appeal concerns the appropriate remedy upon a determination that the Louisiana Tax Commission (the "Commission") has administered the ad valorem tax scheme in a manner that violates the uniformity requirement of the Louisiana Constitution and a taxpayer's equal protection and due process rights under the Louisiana and United States Constitutions.
ANR Pipeline Company, UT Offshore Company, L.L.C., High Island Offshore System, L.L.C., Stingray Pipeline Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, and Southern Natural Gas Company ("plaintiffs") provide natural gas transportation, storage, and balancing services in Louisiana and in interstate commerce and are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pursuant to the Natural Gas Act, 15 U.S.C. § 717, et seq. Plaintiffs each own interstate natural gas transmission pipelines in Louisiana, which properties are classified and taxed as public service properties under La. R.S. 47:1851(K) and (M).1
Under the Louisiana Constitution, property is classified and different rates or ratios of fair market value are assigned to those classifications for ad valorem tax purposes.2 La. Const. art. VII, § 18(B). The assessed value of "public service properties," excluding land, is twenty-five percent (25%) of the fair market value, while the assessed value of "other property" is fifteen percent (15%) of the fair market value. The assessor determines the fair market value of all property subject to taxation within his respective parish or district, except for public service properties, which are appraised at fair market value and are assessed by the Commission or its successor. La. Const. art. VII, § 18(D). On or before September first of each calendar year, the Commission must allocate the assessed valuation of each public service company among the various local taxing units. La. R.S. 47:1855(A).
During the years 1994 through 2003 ("the tax years at issue"), a number of intrastate natural gas, oil, and other liquid pipeline companies were regulated by the Louisiana Public Service Commission as provided in La. R.S. 30:551(A) and qualified as public service companies under La. R.S. 47:1851(K).3 The pipelines of these companies, however, were assessed by local assessors at fifteen percent (15%) of fair market value, while the public service properties of plaintiffs were assessed at twenty-five percent (25%) of fair market value.
For each tax year in question, plaintiffs paid their ad valorem taxes under protest.4 Specifically, plaintiffs challenged that portion of taxes assessed in excess of fifteen percent (15%) of fair market value. Plaintiffs then filed twenty-eight individual suits for declaratory judgment and for refunds of the taxes paid under protest. Plaintiffs argued that the assessed values of their properties were calculated at twenty-five percent (25%) of fair market value, while the assessed values of other pipeline public service taxpayers that fall within the statutory definition of pipeline companies were calculated at fifteen percent (15%) of fair market value. Plaintiffs asserted that this disparate treatment violates the uniformity requirement of the Louisiana Constitution, the equal protection and due process clauses of the Louisiana and United States Constitutions, and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution.5 Also, plaintiffs alleged that La. R.S. 47:1851(K) is unconstitutional. These suits were consolidated for trial.
These consolidated cases came before the trial court for a bench trial on January 10, 2005 through January 12, 2005, and concluded on January 18, 2005. Following trial and the submission of post trial briefs by the parties, the matter was taken under advisement. On March 30, 2005, the trial court issued written reasons and a written judgment rendering declaratory judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and finding that the actions of the Commission in the administration of Louisiana's ad valorem tax scheme, as it pertains to plaintiffs' public service pipelines, violated the equal protection and due process clauses of the Louisiana and United States Constitutions. The trial court pretermitted decision on the constitutionality of La. R.S. 47:1851(K) and (M) and remanded the matter to the Commission with instructions that the Commission require the parish assessors to assess the public service pipelines of the plaintiffs for each of the years at issue and calculate taxes based on fifteen percent (15%) of those assessments. The trial court further ordered the Commission to issue plaintiffs a full refund, plus interest, of the difference between the amounts paid for each year and the reassessed amount no later than September 20, 2005.
On April 14, 2005, plaintiffs filed a motion seeking a suspensive appeal, and on April 19, 2005, obtained an order to suspensively appeal the March 30, 2005 judgment. On appeal, the plaintiffs argue that the trial court erred in ordering the Commission to require local assessors to conduct a de novo valuation and assessment of public service properties, failing to address plaintiffs' commerce clause challenges, and ordering a refund from the Commission, rather than from the affected taxing jurisdictions. On June 7, 2005, the Commission filed an answer to the appeal, praying that the judgment appealed from be modified to extend the deadline for completion of reassessment to six months following the resolution of this appeal and to recognize that the Commission's duty to issue refunds is to be accomplished in the context of the...
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