Frigid Food Products, Inc. v. City of Detroit, Docket Nos. 7837
| Decision Date | 22 March 1971 |
| Docket Number | Docket Nos. 7837,No. 1,7838,1 |
| Citation | 31 Mich.App. 402,187 N.W.2d 916 |
| Parties | FRIGID FOOD PRODUCTS, INC., a Michigan corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CITY OF DETROIT, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee. FRIGID FOOD PRODUCTS, INC., a Michigan corporation, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. COUNTY OF WAYNE, a municipal corporation, Defendant-Appellee |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
David L. Denn, Barris, Sott, Denn & Driker, Detroit, for plaintiff-appellant.
William L. Cahalan, Pros. Atty., William F. Koney, Asst. Pros. Atty., for Wayne County.
Robert Reese, Corp. Counsel, Julius C. Pliskow, Asst. Corp. Counsel, for City of Detroit.
Before J. H. GILLIS, P.J., and DANHOF and MAHINSKE, * JJ.
Plaintiff Frigid Food Products was, for the purposes of 1965 Wayne County and City of Detroit personal property taxes, the owner of certain personal property. The original $110,590.00 tax assessment of that property was sought to be increased by the Board of Assessors of the City of Detroit upon petition filed with the State Tax Commission. Over the duly-filed protest of plaintiff, the Commission granted the request of that petition and increased the assessed valuation to $235,960.00, including $128,380.00 of farm products in storage in the General Cold Storage Warehouse. Thereafter, the County of Wayne submitted a supplementary tax bill to plaintiff in the amount of $1,052.17 and the City of Detroit similarly submitted a supplementary tax bill in the amount of $5,327.52. Both amounts were paid to the appropriate Treasurers, under protest, on February 18, 1966.
The order of the State Tax Commission increasing the assessment was based upon their conclusion that plaintiff's farm products stored in General's warehouse were not entitled to the exemption from personal property taxation contained in M.C.L.A. § 211.9 (Stat.Ann.1970 Cum.Supp. § 7.9), based upon a finding that plaintiff and General were 'affiliated' corporations within the meaning of that statute which provides in part:
'No portion of a public warehouse, dock or port facility leased to a tenant or no portion of any premises owned or leased or operated by a consignor or consignee or any affiliate or subsidiary of such consignor or consignee shall be deemed to be a public warehouse, dock or port facility.'
Plaintiff challenged the assessment in Wayne County Circuit Court. At the pre-trial conference plaintiff included challenges to the constitutionality of the statute as being too vague and failing to set forth intelligible standards for defining the term 'affiliate.' Defendants objected to the inclusion of the constitutional issues and plaintiff subsequently withdrew the objection. The issue before the circuit court was whether General Cold Storage Warehouse was an affiliate of Frigid Food Products so as to exclude plaintiff from the personal property tax exemption.
The trial court found that Frigid and General were affiliated and that the assessment was proper. This decision was based upon a determination that 'affiliated' means 'connected' and that plaintiff did not establish its right to an exemption by a preponderance of the evidence.
Plaintiff attempts to raise the constitutional issue again on appeal. This Court will not entertain a question which was not raised in the pleadings, was specifically withdrawn by plaintiff at the pre-trial conference, and where it is apparent on the record that plaintiff not only could but did decide to proceed without reference to the principles of constitutional law. Mitchell v. Grewal (1953), 338 Mich. 81, 87 61 N.W.2d 3; Ridenour v. County of Bay (1962), 366 Mich. 225, 243, 114 N.W.2d 172; Azzaro v. Stupar (1969), 17 Mich.App. 170, 172, 169 N.W.2d 151.
Divested, by its own actions, of constitutional questions, the appellant's case before this Court is based upon affirmance or reversal of the trial court's holding that appellant's connection with General Cold Storage Warehouse comes within the definition or application of 'affiliate' as used in the exemption clause of the act under review here.
The facts of economic life with regard to Frigid Food Products (appellant) and General Cold Storage Warehouse are as follows:
Frigid Food Products General Cold Storage
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Officers
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Joseph Roth President Irwin Roth President
Philip Wechsler Vice Pres. Philip Wechsler Vice
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