DAK, PLL v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Revision, 105 Ohio St.3d 84 (OH 3/2/2005)

• Decision Date: 02 March 2005
• Docket Number: Case Nos. 2003-0433 through 2003-0445.
• Parties: DAK, PLL, Appellant, v. Franklin County Board of Revision et al., Appellees.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Page 1

105 Ohio St.3d 84

2005 Ohio 573

DAK, PLL, Appellant, v. Franklin County Board of Revision et al., Appellees.

Case Nos. 2003-0433 through 2003-0445.

In the Supreme Court of Ohio.

Submitted February 2, 2005.

Decided March 2, 2005.

APPEALS from the Board of Tax Appeals, Nos. 2002-A-1933 through 2002-A-1945.

Onda, LaBuhn & Rankin Co., L.P.A., Matthew A. LaBuhn and Todd A. Ernsberger, for appellant.

Martin Hughes & Associates and Martin J. Hughes III, for appellee Board of Education of the Columbus City School District.

Ron O'Brien, Franklin County Prosecuting Attorney, and Paul M. Stickel, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellees Franklin County Auditor and Franklin County Board of Revision.

PER CURIAM.

{¶ 1} Appellant, DAK, PLL ("DAK") has filed appeals contesting the valuation by the Board of Tax Appeals ("BTA") of 13 condominium units that DAK owns. These appeals have been consolidated for purposes of hearing and decision.

{¶ 2} The 13 units whose values are being contested are located in Downing Place, a 31-unit condominium complex on Bethel Road in Columbus. The Downing Place complex consists of six buildings: two buildings containing eight units each, three buildings containing four units each, and one building containing three units. One of the four-family buildings faces Bethel Road, while the others are located behind the Bethel Road building. The garages for the units are separate from the residential buildings.

{¶ 3} David A. Kelly, one of two partners in DAK, testified that as of the date of the BTA hearing, DAK owned 20 of the 31 condominiums at Downing Place. Kelly stated that he was president of the Downing Place condominium board. In a single transaction in July 1994, DAK purchased ten of the contested units for a total price of $460,000. In September 1994, DAK purchased another unit for $45,000. In November 1996, DAK purchased the last two of the 13 contested units for a total price of $87,000.

{¶ 4} The Franklin County Auditor valued seven of the units at $56,100 each and six units at $56,200 each. When DAK filed its valuation complaints for the 13 units with the Franklin County Board of Revision ("BOR") for tax year 1999, it listed the purchase prices of the units as their market value. After a hearing, the BOR affirmed the auditor's valuation for each of the 13 units, and DAK filed appeals with the BTA.

{¶ 5} In addition to the 13 units being contested, DAK owns another seven units at the Downing Place complex. Four of those units were purchased from one seller in July 1999 for $46,000 per unit. DAK purchased two more units from another seller in July 1999 for $44,000 per unit. These six units were valued by the BOR at their purchase prices for tax year 1999. DAK's most recent purchase at Downing Place was in February 2002, when it purchased a unit for $50,000.

{¶ 6} DAK rents the Downing Place units for amounts from $630 to $700 per month. The renters pay their own utilities, and DAK pays the condominium fees. The units are all essentially the same size. However, there is a distinction between an end unit and an interior unit. The end units have a bay window in the kitchen and a brick fireplace in the living room, while the interior units have no bay window, and the fireplace is built into the corner on the wall between the kitchen and living room.

{¶ 7} Kelly testified that he had put a lot of "sweat equity" into the property and that he had painted, replaced carpeting and linoleum, and replaced the fences outside, and, as a result, there had been some improvement in the property.

{¶ 8} Only one unit in the Downing Place complex has been sold recently to someone other than DAK: a unit was sold in April 2001 for $69,900.

{¶ 9} The BTA affirmed the BOR's decisions, finding that the sale prices in 1994 and 1996 claimed by DAK were too remote to be considered probative of value as of the tax lien date. The BTA further found that it could not rely on the more recent sales because there was no specific comparison available between the condition of those units and the condition of the units for which the reduction was sought. Kelly testified that the units in question had been improved since their purchase. Thus, the BTA found that the original purchase prices of the 13 units could not be indicative of their value in 1999. In addition, the BTA found that evidence of the sale of a unit for $69,000 indicated on its face that units in the complex could command higher prices than DAK had paid. Thus, the BTA concluded that DAK did not offer sufficient probative evidence of the value of the units. Therefore, the BTA adopted the valuation of the BOR.

{¶ 10} This cause is now before the court as an appeal as of right.

{¶ 11} The question presented by this case is whether the decisions of the BTA are unreasonable or unlawful. We find that the decisions are reasonable and lawful and affirm them.

{¶ 12} DAK argues that the BTA erred in two ways. First, DAK contends that the BTA failed to consider relevant testimony and, therefore, the decisions are against the manifest weight of the evidence. DAK's second contention is that the BTA erred in failing to consider alternative methods for determining tax values.

{¶ 13} The burden of proof to show that the valuation determined by a board of revision is in error resides with the party filing the appeal at the BTA. Zindle v. Summit Cty. Bd. of Revision (1989), 44 Ohio St.3d 202, 203, 542 N.E.2d 650; Western Industries, Inc. v. Hamilton Cty. Bd. of Revision (1960), 170 Ohio St. 340, 342, 10 O.O.2d 427, 164 N.E.2d 741. The appellant before the BTA must present competent and probative evidence to prove that the value that he or she proffers is correct. An appellant before the BTA is not entitled to a change in the value determined by the board of revision merely because no evidence is presented to rebut the appellant's claim. Id.

{¶ 14} The BTA's task in a real-property valuation case is to determine the fair market value of the property. The fair market value of property for tax purposes is a question of fact, the determination of which is primarily within the province of the taxing authorities. Cardinal Fed. S. & L. Assn. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision (1975), 44 Ohio St.2d 13, 73 O.O.2d 83, 336 N.E.2d 433, paragraph four of the syllabus.

{¶ 15} The BTA's statutory duty is to weigh the evidence and determine credibility. Fawn Lake Apts. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision (1996), 75 Ohio St.3d 601, 603, 665 N.E.2d 194. This court has always given the BTA wide discretion in weighing the evidence and judging the credibility of the witnesses. Zukowski v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Revision (1994), 70 Ohio St.3d 503, 504, 639 N.E.2d 456. The BTA is not required to adopt the valuation fixed by any expert or witness. Cardinal Fed. S. & L., 44 Ohio St.2d 13, 73 O.O.2d 83, 336 N.E.2d 433, paragraph two of the syllabus. This court will not reverse the BTA's...