Karno v. Louisiana Tax Commission, 4106

• Decision Date: 09 March 1970
• Docket Number: No. 4106,4106
• Citation: 233 So.2d 592
• Parties: Jacob L. KARNO v. LOUISIANA TAX COMMISSION and Lawrence A. Chehardy, Assessor.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US

Page 592

233 So.2d 592

Jacob L. KARNO v. LOUISIANA TAX COMMISSION and Lawrence A. Chehardy, Assessor.

No. 4106.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

March 9, 1970.

Rehearing Denied April 6, 1970.

Writ Refused June 8, 1970.

Wallace C. LeBrun, Metairie, for plaintiff-appellee.

Jack P. F. Gremillion, Baton Rouge, William P. Schuler, John M. Currier, William P. Curry, Jr., New Orleans, and Eugene J. Murret, New Orleans, for defendant-appellant.

Carr & Kollin, Metairie, for Lawrence A. Chehardy, defendant-appellee.

Before SAMUEL, CHASEZ, REDMANN, BARNETTE and SWIFT, JJ.

SWIFT, Judge.

The plaintiff, Jacob L. Karno, a property owner and taxpayer in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, filed this suit against the defendants, Louisiana Tax Commission and Lawrence A. Chehardy, Jefferson Parish Assessor, seeking a writ of mandamus commanding the Tax Commission to approve and accept the tax roll of Jefferson Parish for 1969 as submitted by the Assessor to the taxpayers for review in late October and early November, 1969, and ordering the Assessor to file such approved roll with the proper officials. Petitioner contended that the Tax Commission arbitrarily refused to accept the assessment roll on November 17, 1969; that the time provided by law for such body to exercise its discretion to change or correct the assessments had passed; and that he, the Jefferson Parish School Board and the Parish of Jefferson would suffer damages if such roll was not immediately approved by the Tax Commission and filed by the Assessor in accordance with law. Alternatively, in the event of refusal of the writ, the plaintiff prayed that the court declare LSA-Louisiana Constitution, Article 10, Section 2, and certain statutes relative to the creation and administration of the Tax Commission in violation of his rights under the Constitution of the United States, and therefore, unconstitutional.

An alternative writ of mandamus was issued on December 2, 1969, ordering the defendants to approve and file such tax roll immediately or to show cause to the contrary on December 10, 1969.

The Assessor answered on December 3 admitting most of the allegations of the petition, but denying that plaintiff was entitled to the relief sought. Incorporated in the answer was a third party demand against the Tax Commission setting forth that in February it had ordered him to increase to their 1968 valuations all assessments which he had adjusted downward on the 1969 roll; that such order was subsequently rescinded; and that all of the work on the 1969 assessment roll had been duly completed but the Tax Commission had refused to accept it. The Assessor prayed for dismissal of the plaintiff's suit insofar as he was concerned, and in the alternative that the Tax Commission be ordered to act in such a manner that the Assessor could comply with the order of the court.

At 10:00 A.M. on December 8 the Tax Commission filed what it designated a 'MOTION FOR CONTINUANCE' setting forth that it would be able to comply with the demands contained in the petition by December 17, and therefore the December 10 hearing should be continued until such date. This was refused by the Trial Judge, and at 10:45 that morning the Tax Commission filed a motion to dismiss or transfer for lack of venue, an exception of prematurity and what was styled a 'MOTION TO DISMISS' (although this pleading has been referred to by both counsel and the Trial Judge as an exception of no right or cause of action). In the latter motion it was averred that this defendant had approved and accepted the assessment of petitioner's property as it appeared on the roll submitted by the Assessor without any reduction in valuation. It was also alleged that the Tax Commission had approved and accepted the Jefferson Parish tax roll as submitted by the Assessor for review by the taxpayers, subject to certain orders for changes under LSA-R.S. 47:1900 which were then in the process of being prepared. Consequently, all of the issues in the suit were moot.

Before the motions and the exceptions were heard on December 10, Harry Lee and four other property taxpayers of Jefferson Parish filed a petition of intervention adopting the plaintiff's allegations as their own and joining him in the relief demanded of the defendants.

Trial was commended as scheduled, and on December 23 judgment was rendered in favor of plaintiff and intervenors and against both defendants. The alternative writ of mandamus was made peremptory, ordering the Tax Commission to approve and accept the tax roll as previously submitted by the Assessor and ordering both defendants to duly notify the Tax Collector and other officials of such action in accordance with law. Also, judgment was rendered in favor of the Assessor on the third party demand ordering the Tax Commission to issue the necessary order approving said tax roll.

The Tax Commission has taken a suspensive appeal from this judgment. The plaintiff and intervenors have answered the appeal contending that the judgment was in error in failing to declare the provisions of law complained of as unconstitutional, but otherwise praying that it be affirmed.

The evidence discloses that in preparing the assessment list for Jefferson Parish for 1969, the Assessor reduced the valuations of approximately 8,000 residential assessments below their respective 1968 valuations. On February 10, 1969, and also on February 20 the Louisiana Tax Commission wrote the Assessor notifying him that, because of a number of complaints from individual taxpayers and one or more officials and also its belief that the ratio between assessments and market value in Jefferson Parish was generally lower than most other parishes in the state, it would not accept any assessments on the 1969 roll that were less than the 1968 assessments of such properties. On March 4 the Assessor replied acknowledging that he would comply with the directive, but setting forth his position with respect to preparation of the 1969 tax list and asking for a hearing before the Commission.

The hearing was held at the Tax Commission's office in Baton Rouge on April 1, and there is a sharp disagreement in the testimony as to just what transpired and the results thereof. In any event it is clear the Tax Commission agreed to and did send C. G. Johnson, its Executive Secretary, and some field men to Jefferson Parish to make a spot check of tax and conveyance records with a view to determining whether there was any basis for the complaints received by the Tax Commission. Thereafter, Leo J. Theriot, Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission, wrote Mr. Chehardy that the investigation revealed his roll was in order and the complaints were without foundation and rescinded all prior orders to increase the assessments to their 1968 valuations.

James R. Leake, a member of the Tax Commission, was seriously ill at the time and took no part in the meeting of April 1 or any action of the Commission with respect to the 1969 Jefferson Parish assessment roll. However, the other member, Mrs. Blanche R. Long, emphatically denied that she ever agreed to rescind the Commission's orders to the Assessor of February 10 and 20 or that she was even aware of Mr. Theriot's April 8 letter until a copy thereof was presented to her by Mr. Chehardy's representatives on the evening of November 17. Her position was confirmed by Mr. Johnson, the Executive Secretary. Mr. Chehardy and several of his witnesses were equally certain that Mrs. Long informed him he would not have to increase the assessments to the 1968 figures.

In reliance on Mr. Theriot's letter of April 8, the Assessor published notice and permitted public inspection of his assessment list from April 10 through 30. An abstract of the assessment of property was submitted to the Tax Commission, and for about three weeks during August its field men made their customary study and work on the assessment roll. As a consequence of this study and a review of the assessment listings by the Tax Commission at its meeting in September 18, 1969, the Assessor was advised by letter of September 29 of the approval of the review subject to certain changes in commercial properties which he was directed to make. He was also advised to give notice for public inspection of the listings for a period of 20 days, after which the Parish Council was required to meet and act as a Board of Reviewers to pass on any complaints of the taxpayers and file same with the Commission with recommendations. These directions were complied with, and the Jefferson Parish Council met as a Board of Reviewers on November 6, 1969. One week later the Council met and adopted a resolution accepting the assessment roll as submitted for public inspection from October 17 to November 5, 1969.

The assessment roll was filed by the Assessor with the Tax Collector, the Clerk of Court and the State Auditor on November 14, 1969, without the approval of the Tax Commission required by LSA-R.S . 47:1993. Mr. Chehardy gave as his reason for doing so, that he thought such final approval was a mere formality in this instance, and November 15, the day he was required by law to complete and file his tax roll, was Saturday, a legal holiday.

The following Monday, November 17, the Assessor and several other Jefferson Parish residents appeared at the office of the Tax Commission in Baton Rouge, and in a meeting with the commissioners requested formal approval of the assessment roll. Again there is a conflict in the testimony as to just what transpired at the meeting. However, it is clear no official action was taken by the Commission until later that afternoon when Mrs. Long and Mr. G. Dupre Litton, a newly appointed member who succeeded the deceased Mr. Leake, met in executive session. At that time these two members concluded not to accept the 1969 tax roll until the reduced assessments were raised to their 1968 levels as the Commission had originally directed in its letters to the...