Appraisal Review Bd. of El Paso v. Fisher
| Decision Date | 17 October 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. 08-01-00223-CV.,08-01-00223-CV. |
| Parties | APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD OF THE EL PASO COUNTY CENTRAL APPRAISAL DISTRICT, El Paso Central Appraisal District, Canutillo Independent School District, El Paso County; El Paso County Community College District, El Paso County Hospital District, El Paso County Emergency Services District 2, El Paso County Water Control and Improvement District (Westway), and Region XIX Education Service Center, Trustee for El Paso County Education District, Appellants, v. Helen A. FISHER, As Personal Representative of Noel B. Fisher, Deceased, and As Executive Trustee of the Bejorka Trust, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Anna Perez, Edward M. Sosa, Assistant County Attorneys, John C. Steinberger, Larry Baskind, Baskind, Samaniego & Hosford, P.C., Edward Dunbar, Dunbar, Armendariz, Crowley & Hegeman, L.L.P., Erich A. Morales, El Paso, Kent M. Rider, Linebarger, Heard, Goggan, Blair, Graham, Pena & Sampson, Austin, Robin Collins, Ray, McChristian & Jeans, El Paso, for Appellants.
E.P. Bud Kirk, El Paso, John Brusniak, Brusniak Clement Harrison & McCool, Dallas, for Appellee.
Before Panel No. 2 BARAJAS, C.J., McCLURE, and CHEW, JJ.
Appellants Appraisal Review Board of the El Paso Central Appraisal District, El Paso Central Appraisal District, Canutillo Independent School District, El Paso County, El Paso County Community College District, El Paso County Hospital District, El Paso County Emergency Services District 2, El Paso County Water Control and Improvement District (Westway), and Region XIX Education Service Center, Trustee for El Paso County Education District appeal the judgment granted against them. Appellants have raised fifteen issues. We affirm.
Noel B. Fisher1 acquired in 1977 warranty deeds to property in El Paso County from Tom and Ann Rose in return for personal services, such as mowing the yard and chauffeuring Mr. Rose. Mr. Fisher recorded the deeds in El Paso in 1984, when he felt he had fulfilled his obligations to the couple. The deeds show Mr. Fisher's address as 2835 West Solano Drive in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Fisher had continuously resided at that address, even at the time of his testimony. He received no notices on taxes or appraisals on the property after recording the deeds.
Before he began selling parcels of the property around 1990, Mr. Fisher was involved in lawsuits to clear title to the property from 1984 to 1992. In 1989, he sent a letter to the El Paso County Tax Assessor to discover the amount of backtaxes and visited the tax offices several times and showed them his deeds. He received no response to his inquiry, and he was not listed on the tax roll.
After Mr. Fisher began selling the lots, the purchasers began to receive notices of delinquent taxes shortly after recording their deeds. Concerned, Mr. Fisher made complete refunds to the purchasers and contacted the tax office to (1) begin making monthly payments on the taxes and (2) stop the delinquency notices being issued to the purchasers. The parties apparently made an oral agreement that no delinquency notices would be sent to the purchasers of the property so long as Mr. Fisher continued to make monthly payments. Although Mr. Fisher made monthly payments, the tax office continued to send delinquency notices, which alarmed his purchasers, who became fearful they would be responsible for the large amount of back taxes and some of them either reduced or threatened to not make their payments.
On April 17, 1995, the tax office informed Mr. Fisher that they had filed a suit against him for delinquent taxes. Thence began the legal conflict culminating in the suit below. After hiring George Sanchez, a tax consultant, in June 1993, Mr. Fisher learned he was still not listed on the tax rolls and of the dramatically increased valuations on his property. From 1984 to 1985, the appraisal valuation on the property had risen significantly, so much so that on one of the lots on the property (Lot 2, Block 4), the value increased from $1,969 to $5,908. Mr. Sanchez disputed the increase in the value, because the undeveloped lots had no activity on them. There were very few houses up until 1992 and no water, sewer, paved roads, or electricity when Mr. Fisher went out to observe the property in 1978.
Through Mr. Sanchez, Mr. Fisher approached the Appraisal Review Board to apply the 1984 valuation to the property, since the appraisal had been increased without notice to Mr. Fisher and to place his name on the tax rolls. The Board denied relief on the appraisal demand but did place Mr. Fisher's name on the tax rolls for 1993 and future years. Mr. Fisher then filed suit in the trial court to obtain relief for the denial of due process and to seek refund for overpaid taxes. At the bench trial, the trial court rendered judgment for Mr. Fisher, finding variously that he had been denied due process in not receiving notice of increased appraisal valuation for his property in 1984 and was due a refund of overpaid taxes.
Appellants have founded their argument in all fifteen issues upon the premise that the Texas Tax Code is the exclusive remedy for a taxpayer seeking redress for violations of his/her due process rights. We follow the Appellants' lead and regroup the fifteen issues into three parts. Part I is a discussion of Issue One, which challenges the trial court's jurisdiction over the case. In Part II are Issues Two through Nine, complaining of trial court's various conclusions of law finding violation of due process and refusal to apply voluntary payment rule. Part III addresses Issues Ten through Fifteen, which contend the trial court wrongly assessed and awarded damages, including attorney's fees.
Because any decision rendered by a trial court without jurisdiction is void, we must first decide whether the trial court had the jurisdiction to hear the case.
Whether the trial court had the jurisdiction to hear a case is a matter of law and is reviewable under the de novo standard. County of El Paso v. Dorado, 33 S.W.3d 44, 46 (Tex.App.-El Paso 2000, no pet.). A trial court's judgment is binding when it has jurisdiction over the parties or property, jurisdiction of the subject matter of the suit, jurisdiction to enter the particular judgment, and the capacity to act as a court. State ex rel. Latty v. Owens, 907 S.W.2d 484, 485 (Tex.1995). Subject matter jurisdiction involves the kinds of controversies a court has the authority to resolve. Davis v. Zoning Bd. of Adjustment of City of La Porte, 865 S.W.2d 941, 942 (Tex.1993). Subject matter jurisdiction cannot be waived. Tex. Ass'n of Bus. v. Tex. Air Control Bd., 852 S.W.2d 440, 443-44 (Tex.1993).
Under Section 42.21 of the Tax Code, a taxpayer may appeal an unfavorable decision of the appraisal review board to the district court. TEX.TAX CODE ANN. § 42.21(a), (b) (Vernon 2001). However, the taxpayer must comply strictly with the statute in order to successfully file an appeal; else, the court loses jurisdiction over the case. TEX.TAX CODE ANN. § 42.21(a), (b); Harris County Appraisal Dist. v. Dreyer Partners, Inc., 938 S.W.2d 196, 197-98 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1997, no writ); Poly-America, Inc. v. Dallas County Appraisal Dist., 704 S.W.2d 936, 937-38 (Tex.App.-Waco 1986, no writ). The version of Section 42.21 applicable to this case required Appellee to file a petition against the appraisal district within forty-five days after receiving the notice that the appraisal review board had entered a final, appealable order. TEX.TAX CODE ANN. § 42.21(a) and (b) ().
Mr. Fisher recorded his deeds to the Westway lots in 1984. The property's appraisal value was increased in 1985. Although he apparently contacted the appraisal district to discover the amount of the unpaid taxes in 1989, he never received a notice that the property's appraisal had increased in 1985 and only learned of the increase value in 1993, when he had begun selling the lots. That same year, Mr. Fisher protested the increased appraisal value to the appraisal review board, which ultimately rendered an unfavorable decision for him. Mr. Fisher then filed a petition against the Appraisal Review Board on April 1, 1994, and did not amend the petition to include the appraisal district until December 9, 1997, more than three years after filing the first petition.
Undoubtedly, under the tax code, the trial court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the case; however, courts have historically asserted jurisdiction over suits where a taxpayer alleges violations of his/her constitutional rights.2 See Republic Ins. Co. v. Highland Park Indep. Sch. Dist., 141 TEX. 224, 227-28, 171 S.W.2d 342, 344 (1943); County of Bexar v. Southoaks Dev. Co., Inc., 920 S.W.2d 330, 335-36 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1995, no writ); Inwood Dad's Club, Inc. v. Aldine Indep. Sch. Dist., 882 S.W.2d 532, 537-38 (Tex. App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1994, no writ); City of Houston v. Harris County Outdoor Adver. Ass'n, 879 S.W.2d 322, 334 (Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1994, writ denied), cert. denied, 516 U.S. 822, 116 S.Ct. 85, 133 L.Ed.2d 42 (1995); New v. Dallas Appraisal Review Bd., 734 S.W.2d 712, 714 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1987, writ denied); Garza v. Block Distrib. Co., Inc., 696 S.W.2d 259, 262 (Tex.App.-San Antonio 1985, no writ); City of Corpus Christi v. Arnold, 424 S.W.2d 492, 496 (Tex.Civ.App.-Corpus Christi 1968, writ ref'd n.r.e.); and City of El Paso v. Howze, 248 S.W. 99, 100-01 (Tex.Civ.App.-El Paso 1923, writ ref'd).
Mr. Fisher sought declaratory judgment to void taxes assessed by Appellants from 1984 through 1992 Mr the failure...
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