Island Resorts Invs., Inc. v. Jones
| Decision Date | 21 March 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 1D15–2916.,1D15–2916. |
| Parties | ISLAND RESORTS INVESTMENTS, INC., Appellant, v. Chris JONES, Property Appraiser for Escambia County, Florida; Janet Holley, Tax Collector for Escambia County, Florida; et al., Appellees. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Edward P. Fleming and R. Todd Harris of McDonald, Fleming, Moorhead, Pensacola, for Appellant.
Thomas M. Findley and Robert J. Telfer, III of Messer Caparello, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellees.
Appellant, Island Resorts Investments, Inc., which possesses a leasehold interest in a twelve-acre parcel of unimproved land on Pensacola Beach in Escambia County, appeals the trial court's Final Judgment in favor of Appellees, Chris Jones, the property appraiser for Escambia County, and Janet Holley, the tax collector for Escambia County. Appellant challenges the trial court's determination that it is the equitable owner of the leased land and, as such, its leasehold interest is subject to ad valorem real property taxes. For the reasons that follow, we reverse the trial court's Final Judgment upon concluding that Appellant is not the equitable owner of the leased land and its leasehold interest is subject only to intangible personal property taxes pursuant to section 196.199(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2011).
The land at issue was conveyed by the United States to Escambia County in 1947 pursuant to a Deed of Conveyance that permitted the county to lease the land for purposes it deemed to be in the public interest, but prohibited the county from conveying or otherwise disposing of the land. In 1997, the Santa Rosa Island Authority, an agency of Escambia County, leased about forty acres of land to Gary Work as Trustee of the Pensacola Beach Land Trust pursuant to a Development Lease Agreement (“Master Lease”). In 2008, Gary Work as Trustee of the Pensacola Beach Land Trust leased a twelve-acre parcel of land to Appellant pursuant to a Development Sublease Agreement.
Appellant subleased the twelve-acre land subject to the terms and conditions of the Master Lease for a period of 99 years, with the right to negotiate a renewal on such terms and conditions that are mutually agreeable to the parties. The land is leased for development as a high density residential/commercial property, but is currently undeveloped and contains no improvements. Appellant must pay lease fees; maintain liability, flood, windstorm, fire, and casualty insurance; pay all future ad valorem real property taxes, if any, and all other future taxes and assessments imposed on the subleased property; repair or rebuild any building or improvement in the event of damage or destruction; and pay for all its utilities. Appellant shall also have the right to assign, sublease, or otherwise convey or to mortgage all or portions of the subleased property. Title to any buildings or improvements on the leased property vests in Escambia County, and Appellant is required to deliver and surrender possession of the subleased property upon the expiration or termination of the lease.
Following this Court's issuance of Accardo v. Brown, 63 So.3d 798 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), and 1108 Ariola, LLC v. Jones, 71 So.3d 892 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), the Escambia County Property Appraiser began assessing ad valorem property taxes on leased lands on Pensacola Beach, including Appellant's leased property. In 2011, Appellant filed its First Amended Complaint, seeking a declaratory judgment that its interest in the land may only be taxed as intangible personal property under section 196.199(2)(b), Florida Statutes, and an injunction prohibiting the assessment and collection of ad valorem taxes on the land. In their Answer and Affirmative Defenses, Appellees alleged that Appellant is the equitable owner of the leased land, denied that Appellant is entitled to a tax exemption under Chapter 196, and raised numerous affirmative defenses, including that Appellant's interpretation of section 196.199 would lead to an unconstitutional result. The parties subsequently filed competing motions for summary judgment, disputing whether Appellant is the equitable owner of the leased land and thus subject to ad valorem real property taxes and whether Appellees' constitutional arguments fail for lack of standing and on their merits. In its Order on Cross–Motions for Summary Judgment, the trial court denied Appellant's motion and granted Appellees' motion upon concluding that Appellant is the equitable owner of the land and its leasehold interest is therefore subject to ad valorem taxes. The trial court subsequently entered a Final Judgment pursuant to its Order on Cross–Motions for Summary Judgment in favor of Appellees, and this appeal followed.
A trial court's order granting final summary judgment is reviewed de novo to determine whether there are genuine issues of material fact and whether the court properly applied the correct rule of law. Glaze v. Worley, 157 So.3d 552, 553–54 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015); see also Castleberry v. Edward M. Chadbourne, Inc., 810 So.2d 1028, 1029 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002) ().
On appeal, the parties agree that Appellant's lease is not perpetually renewable and that the leased land is undeveloped. They dispute, however, whether Appellant's leasehold interest in the unimproved land is subject only to intangible personal property taxes pursuant to section 196.199, Florida Statutes, or whether Appellant is the equitable owner of the land and thus subject to ad valorem taxation.
Section 196.199, Florida Statutes (2011), is titled “Government property exemption” and provides in pertinent part:
(2) Property owned by the following governmental units but used by nongovernmental lessees shall only be exempt from taxation under the following conditions:
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(7) Property which is originally leased for 100 years or more, exclusive of renewal options, or property which is financed, acquired, or maintained utilizing in whole or in part funds acquired through the issuance of bonds pursuant to parts II, III, and V of chapter 159, shall be deemed to be owned for purposes of this section.
(Emphasis added). Section 196.199(2)(b) was first adopted in 1980 and has not been materially altered since then. Accardo v. Brown, 139 So.3d 848, 851 (Fla.2014) (hereafter “Accardo ”). The statute is tied to section 199.023(1)(d), Florida Statutes (2005), which was repealed effective January 1, 2007, and defined intangible personal property as including “ ‘all leasehold or other possessory interests in real property owned by [governmental entities], which are undeveloped or predominantly used for residential or commercial purposes and upon which rental payments are due.’ ” Id.
“ ‘The concept of equitable ownership in ad valorem taxation has long been a part of Florida law.’ ” Id. at 852 (quoting Leon Cty. Educ. Facilities Auth. v. Hartsfield, 698 So.2d 526 (Fla.1997)). “The lessee is deemed to be the leased property's equitable owner if the lessee holds ‘virtually all the benefits and burdens of ownership’ of the leased property.” Robbins v. Mt. Sinai Med. Ctr., Inc., 748 So.2d 349, 351 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999) (quoting Hartsfield, 698 So.2d at 530)). The Third District explained:
Valid “burdens and benefits” considered by Florida courts include the lessee's obligation to insure, maintain and pay taxes on the leased property, as well as the lessee's option to purchase the leased property at the end of the lease term. None of these factors, including an option to purchase, convey to a lessee equitable title to leased property when considered individually. However, when these factors are considered in relation to one another, the courts may determine that a lessee is the equitable owner of leased property. In considering all of these aforementioned factors, Florida courts have only granted a lessee equitable ownership of leased property when that lessee retained an option to purchase the leased property for nominal value.
Id. at 351 (internal citations omitted) (citing in part Hartsfield ); see also Accardo v. Brown, 63 So.3d 798, 801 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011), approved by, 139 So.3d 848 (Fla.2014).
In Accardo, the Florida Supreme Court considered whether the lands and improvements on certain leaseholds on Navarre Beach on Santa Rosa Island were subject to intangible personal property taxes instead of ad valorem real property taxes. 139 So.3d at 849. The supreme court explained that the subleases generally provided for an initial 99–year term and further renewals on like terms; required the lessees to pay rentals and bear the responsibility for insurance, maintenance, repair, and the payment of taxes; provided that title to any buildings or improvements...
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