Barland Co. v. Bartow County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 68703

Decision Date07 September 1984
Docket NumberNo. 68703,68703
Citation172 Ga.App. 61,322 S.E.2d 316
PartiesBARLAND COMPANY v. BARTOW COUNTY BOARD OF TAX ASSESSORS.
CourtGeorgia Court of Appeals

William A. Neel, Jr., Cartersville, for appellant.

G. Carey Nelson III, Cartersville, for appellee.

BANKE, Presiding Judge.

On or about October 1, 1982, the Bartow County Board of Tax Assessors mailed the appellant a notice of property tax assessment with respect to a certain parcel of land the appellant owned, indicating that the assessed fair market value of the property had been changed to $101,700 from a previous year's assessment of $807,553. The appellant subsequently received a property tax bill based on this new assessment and promptly paid it in full. In June of 1983, the appellant was mailed a "Corrected Assessment Notice to Correct Clerical Error," showing the 1982 fair market value to be $1,017,000. The appellant filed a timely appeal from this assessment; however, the case never came before the county board of equalization. Instead, the appellant and the board of tax assessors entered into a stipulation that "the board of equalization would adopt the position of the board of tax assessors, and that there is therefore no need to present this appeal to said board of equalization." Based on this stipulation, the appellant filed an appeal to superior court pursuant to OCGA § 48-5-311(f)(1). The superior court accepted jurisdiction, and, following an evidentiary hearing, ruled in favor of the county. This appeal followed. Held:

The jurisdiction of the superior courts over property tax appeals is set forth in OCGA § 48-5-311(f)(1), as follows: "The taxpayer or, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the county board of tax assessors may appeal decisions of the county board of equalization to the superior court of the county in which the property lies." There is no authority for filing an appeal to superior court directly from a decision of the board of tax assessors, based on a stipulation as to what the decision of the board of equalization would have been had it rendered a decision in the case.

Jurisdiction over the subject matter of a case cannot be conferred by agreement or consent. Sherrer v. Hale, 248 Ga. 793, 797(2), 285 S.E.2d 714 (1982); Langston v. Nash, 192 Ga. 427, 429(2), 15 S.E.2d 481 (1941). See generally OCGA § 15-1-2. A judgment rendered by a court without jurisdiction of the subject matter is a nullity and is subject to reversal by the appellate courts on...

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10 cases
  • McDonnell v. Episcopal Diocese of Georgia
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • March 17, 1989
    ...v. Barnes, 108 Ga.App. 68, 132 S.E.2d 229 (1963). The same threshold inquiry must be made by ours. Barland Co. v. Bartow County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 172 Ga.App. 61, 62, 322 S.E.2d 316 (1984). The civil court cannot take jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical issue even if the parties present it......
  • B.G.D., In Interest of, A96A1224
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • December 5, 1996
    ...is a nullity and is subject to reversal by the appellate courts on their own motion. [Cit.]" Barland Co. v. Bartow County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 172 Ga.App. 61, 62, 322 S.E.2d 316 (1984). The jurisdictional statute at issue in this case is OCGA § 15-11-5(a)(2)(C), which grants the juvenile c......
  • Razi v. Burns
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • March 16, 2020
    ...duty to ensure that the trial court properly exercised its subject matter jurisdiction. Barland Co. v. Bartow County Bd. of Tax Assessors , 172 Ga. App. 61, 62, 322 S.E.2d 316 (1984). I share the majority’s concern that the petitioner may be attempting to manipulate the court system to esca......
  • Allifi v. Raider
    • United States
    • Georgia Court of Appeals
    • July 16, 2013
    ...rendered by a court without jurisdiction of the subject matter is a nullity.” (Citation omitted.) Barland Co. v. Bartow County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 172 Ga.App. 61, 322 S.E.2d 316 (1984). ...
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