Bender v. DECARIA, 99-108.
Decision Date | 06 March 2000 |
Docket Number | No. 99-108.,99-108. |
Citation | 998 P.2d 953 |
Parties | Donald E. BENDER, Appellant (Petitioner), v. Peggy C. DECARIA, Uinta County Assessor, Appellee (Respondent). |
Court | Wyoming Supreme Court |
Representing Appellant: Donald E. Bender, Pro Se.
Representing Appellee: V. Anthony Vehar of Vehar Law Offices, P.C., Evanston, Wyoming.
Before LEHMAN, C.J., and THOMAS, MACY, GOLDEN, and HILL, JJ.
Donald E. Bender (Bender) appeals from a district court order affirming an administrative decision of the Uinta County Assessor, Peggy C. Decaria (Decaria). Bender sought to review statements of consideration filed for all residential properties in his subdivision. A statement of consideration is a document filed along with a transfer of title to real estate which shows the amount paid for the property. County assessors use the statements in determining property values for tax purposes. Pursuant to the applicable statutes, Decaria allowed Bender to review only those statements actually used in determining his property tax. We hold that Decaria correctly applied the law in restricting Bender's access to confidential information and, therefore, affirm.
Bender presents this statement of the issues:
Decaria frames the issues as:
Bender contested his 1998 Uinta County property tax assessment. In a series of letters to Decaria, Bender requested access to "all statements of consideration filed for all residential properties within" the subdivision in which he lived. Decaria refused those requests, maintaining that Bender was entitled to review only those statements of consideration which she relied upon in determining the value of his property.
Bender sought review in the district court of Decaria's decision. The district court upheld Decaria's denial, saying:
Wyoming Statute § 34-1-142(g) exclusively defines what statements of consideration are to be disclosed by the county assessor to Mr. Bender, Petitioner. The assessor is to provide the statements of consideration used or relied upon when arriving at Petitioner's tax assessment. The county assessor cannot, without violating the confidentiality statute, disclose to Petitioner those statements of consideration not used or relied upon.
Bender filed a timely appeal with this Court.
We review administrative decisions as if they had come directly to us without giving special deference to the district court's holding. Nellis v. Wyoming Dep't of Transp., 932 P.2d 741, 743 (Wyo.1997). The standard for that review is found in Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(c) (LEXIS 1999), which provides in relevant part that the reviewing court shall:
Statutory interpretation is a question of law. Newton v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Compensation Div., 922 P.2d 863, 864 (Wyo.1996). Our controlling consideration in interpreting statutes is legislative intent. Wright v. State ex rel. Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Div., 952 P.2d 209, 213 (Wyo.1998). We must first look at the plain and ordinary meaning of the words contained in the statute to determine whether the statute is ambiguous or unambiguous. Bolack v. Chevron, U.S.A., 963 P.2d 237, 240-41 (Wyo.1998). If it is unambiguous, we apply the plain meaning of the statute without resorting to extrinsic aids of construction. Keller v. Merrick, 955 P.2d 876, 879 (Wyo.1998).
Bender calls upon this Court to interpret three state statutes: Wyo. Stat. Ann. §§ 34-1-142, 34-1-143, and 39-13-109(b)(i) (LEXIS 1999). We look first to the plain language of the statutes. Section 34-1-142 reads in relevant part:
To continue reading
Request your trial