Burke v. Butte County, No. 21976.

• Court: Supreme Court of South Dakota
• Writing for the Court: GILBERTSON, Chief Justice.
• Citation: 640 N.W.2d 473,2002 SD 17
• Docket Number: No. 21976.
• Decision Date: 06 February 2002
• Parties: Patrick BURKE, Plaintiff and Appellant, v. BUTTE COUNTY, Defendant and Appellee.

640 N.W.2d 473
2002 SD 17

Patrick BURKE, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
BUTTE COUNTY, Defendant and Appellee

No. 21976.

Supreme Court of South Dakota.

Considered on Briefs January 7, 2002.

Decided February 6, 2002.

640 N.W.2d 475

Patricia de Hueck, Pierre, SD, Attorney for plaintiff and appellant

Jim D. Seward, Butte County State's Attorney, Belle Fourche, SD, Attorney for defendant and appellee.

640 N.W.2d 474

GILBERTSON, Chief Justice

[¶ 1.] Patrick Burke (Burke) is the owner of 12,977.29 acres of agricultural land in the north central part of Butte County (County). Burke testified he had the land, which is used primarily for grazing, appraised in 1994 and updated in 1998. Based on this appraisal, as well as his own knowledge of the property and surrounding land sales, Burke testified that he estimated the value to be $55 per acre. County, however, assessed the property at $99.19 per acre for a total valuation of $1,287,096.30. The Office of Hearing Examiners (OHE) affirmed County's assessment. Burke appealed to the circuit court, which affirmed the decision of OHE. Burke now appeals the circuit court's decision. We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

[¶ 2.] Burke's property, almost entirely made up of rangeland used for grazing sheep and cattle, was originally appraised in 1994 for the purpose of a family transfer. The appraisal was then updated in 1998. Based on this appraisal, as well as his knowledge of the land's composition and a neighboring land sale, Burke testified that he estimated the property value at $55 per acre. Yet, Burke did not provide any specific details about this land sale, he did not present the actual appraisal as evidence, nor did his appraiser testify at trial.

[¶ 3.] County assessed the land on November 1, 1999, at an average of $99.19 per acre, totaling $1,287,096.30. The assessment was performed by Barbara Potter (Potter). Potter was the County Director of Equalization at the time of the assessment, but she has since resigned her position and did not testify at the hearing.

[¶ 4.] John Widdoss (Widdoss) was hired by County to review agricultural land sales and determine top-dollar land values. Widdoss prepared a summary, entitled Rural Land Study and Productivity Analysis Report, which includes various land sales in County from 1995 through 1999. Widdoss did not actually assess Burke's property, nor did he review all agricultural land transfers in County during 1999.¹

[¶ 5.] OHE made findings of fact that Burke provided little evidence in support of his position and that the conclusion of

640 N.W.2d 476

value by Burke's private appraiser was inadmissible hearsay. OHE also found that, because Burke provided no details regarding the sales information he used in estimating his land's value, his testimony was not persuasive.² Therefore, OHE concluded that Burke had not met his burden because he "failed to present sufficient evidence to show the assessed valuation of the subject property was higher than full and true, lacked uniformity, or was discriminatory."

[¶ 6.] The circuit court affirmed OHE's determination on the basis that it was not clearly erroneous. The court held that even if Burke could overcome the presumption in favor of the assessors, he still had not met the required showing that the tax was unjust and inequitable. Like OHE, the court pointed to Burke's failure to present evidence supporting his position. Furthermore, Burke failed to independently establish a market value for the land.

[¶ 7.] The circuit court also upheld the admission of Mr. Widdoss' testimony, notwithstanding the fact that he was not a certified appraiser. In addition, the court upheld the exclusion of Burke's private appraiser's conclusions as inadmissible hearsay because the appraiser did not testify. Therefore, Burke raises the following issues for appeal:

1. Whether Widdoss is a competent expert witness as to property valuation in County, notwithstanding the fact that he is not a certified appraiser.

2. Whether Burke's private appraiser's conclusions were inadmissible hearsay and entitled to no weight.

3. Whether the assessors were entitled to a presumption of correctness and, if so, whether Burke failed to overcome the presumption.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 8.] On an appeal from an administrative agency, this Court reviews the decision according to the standard set forth in SDCL 1-26-36, which provides:

The court shall give great weight to the findings made and inferences drawn by an agency on questions of fact. The court may affirm the decision of the agency or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:

(1) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;

(2) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency;

(3) Made upon unlawful procedure;

(4) Affected by other error of law;

(5) Clearly erroneous in light of the entire evidence in the record; or

(6) Arbitrary or capricious or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion.

A court shall enter its own findings of fact and conclusions of law or may affirm the findings and conclusions entered by the agency as part of its judgment. The circuit court may award costs in the amount and manner specified in chapter 15-17.

"When the issue is a question of fact, we ascertain whether the administrative agency was clearly erroneous." Butte County v. Vallery, 1999 SD 142, ¶ 8, 602 N.W.2d 284, 286-87 (quoting Moose Lodge v. Pennington County, 1997 SD 80, ¶ 5, 566 N.W.2d 132, 133 (additional citations omitted)).

640 N.W.2d 477

When, however, the issue is a question of law, we review the decisions of both the administrative agency and the circuit court de novo. Vallery, 1999 SD 142 at ¶ 8, 602 N.W.2d at 286-87

[¶ 9.] Our standard for reviewing admissibility of expert testimony is also well settled. This Court has stated that:

[w]e review questions of admissibility of an expert witness' testimony under an abuse of discretion standard. We have long acknowledged that the trial court has broad discretion concerning the admission of expert testimony. The trial court's decision on such matters will not be reversed absent a clear showing of an abuse of discretion.

Maroney v. Aman, 1997 SD 73, ¶ 33, 565 N.W.2d 70, 78 (quoting Schaffer v. Edward D. Jones & Co., 1996 SD 94, ¶ 6, 552 N.W.2d 801, 805 (citations omitted)). Accordingly, for a reversal, Burke must show that no "judicial mind, in view of the law and the circumstances, could have reasonably reached the same conclusion." State v. Barber, 1996 SD 96, ¶ 14, 552 N.W.2d 817, 820 (citation omitted).

ANALYSIS AND DECISION

[¶ 10.] 1. Whether Widdoss is a competent expert witness as to property valuation in Butte County,...