Gray v. Converse Cnty. Assessor

539 P.3d 107

Jan Charles GRAY, Appellant (Petitioner),

v.CONVERSE COUNTY ASSESSOR, Appellee (Respondent).

S-22-0273, S-23-0057

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

December 5, 2023

Representing Appellant: Jan Charles Gray, pro se.

Representing Appellee: Quentin W. Richardson, Converse County Attorney's Office, Douglas, Wyoming.

Before FOX, C.J., and KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, GRAY and FENN, JJ.

FENN, Justice.

[¶1] Jan Gray owns 115 lots of vacant land in the Sunup Ridge subdivision in Converse County, Wyoming. He appeals the Converse County Board of Equalization's decisions upholding the Converse County Assessor's tax assessments of those vacant lots for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. We affirm.

ISSUES

[¶2] The issues on appeal are:

I. Did the Converse County Assessor physically inspect Mr. Gray's properties in accordance with law?

II. Are the County Board of Equalization's decisions upholding the 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 tax assessments supported by substantial evidence?

III. Did the County Board of Equalization provide an adequate record on appeal?

IV. Was Mr. Gray denied an opportunity to conduct discovery?

FACTS

[¶3] Jan Gray owns 115¹ lots of vacant land in the Sunup Ridge subdivision in Converse County, Wyoming, that are the subject of this appeal. All the lots have infrastructure for water, roads, and sewage. In 2016, the Converse County Assessor (County Assessor) valued Mr. Gray's lots for property tax purposes at $3.30 per square foot. In 2017 and 2018, the County Assessor valued those same lots at $3.50 per square foot. In 2020, the County Assessor valued the lots at $4.00 per square foot; however, the County Assessor made a downward adjustment on two of the lots for the topography of the lots and the ability to build, reducing the taxable value to $3.49 per square foot for one lot and $3.80 per square foot for the other one.

[¶4] Mr. Gray appealed the County Assessor's tax assessments for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 to the Converse County Board of Equalization (County Board). The County Board held a contested case hearing for each year and upheld all four years of tax assessments. Mr. Gray appealed all four years to the State Board of Equalization and subsequently to the district court. Both the State Board and the district court affirmed the County Board's decisions for all four years. Mr. Gray timely appealed the County Board's decisions for years 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 to this Court.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶5] Judicial review of the County Board's decisions are governed by Wyoming Statute § 16-3-114(c). Eisele v. Town of Pine Bluffs, 2020 WY 22, ¶ 9, 458 P.3d 46, 48–49 (Wyo. 2020). On review we:

(i) Compel agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed; and

(ii) Hold unlawful and set aside agency action, findings and conclusions found to be:

(A) Arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion or otherwise not in accordance with law; [or]

* * *

(E) Unsupported by substantial evidence in a case reviewed on the record of an agency hearing provided by statute.

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(c) (LexisNexis 2021). In making these determinations, this Court reviews the whole record and considers whether the County Board's decision results in prejudicial error. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(c).

[¶6] In this case, our review is focused on the County Board's decisions upholding the County Assessor's 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 tax assessments for Mr. Gray's real property. Eisele , 2020 WY 22, ¶ 10, 458 P.3d at 49. "We do not defer to the decision of the State Board [of Equalization] or to that of the district court." Id .

Since in this case the [C]ounty [B]oard was the finder of the fact and the state board heard no additional testimony, we will treat the state board as an intermediate level of review and accord deference only to the [C]ounty [B]oard's findings of fact. [The] primary focus of our review [is] whether the [C]ounty [B]oard's decision was lawful and supported by substantial evidence.

Id . (quoting Union Pac. R.R. v. Wyo. State Bd. of Equalization , 802 P.2d 856, 859 (Wyo. 1990) ).

[¶7] We review the County Board's "conclusions of law de novo and affirm when they are in accordance with the law." Solvay Chemicals, Inc. v. Wyo. Dep't of Revenue , 2022 WY 122, ¶ 7, 517 P.3d 1123, 1127–28 (Wyo. 2022) (citing Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 16-3-114(c)(ii)(A) ); Eisele , ¶ 9, 458 P.3d at 48–49. We will uphold the County Board's "findings of fact if they are supported by substantial evidence in the record." Solvay Chemicals, Inc. , ¶ 7, 517 P.3d at 1148–49. "We have long recognized that substantial evidence ‘is more than a mere scintilla’ of evidence; it is ‘such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support [the County Board's] conclusion.’ " Eisele , ¶ 9, 458 P.3d at 49. "A finding of fact is ‘supported by substantial evidence if, from the evidence preserved in the record, we can discern a rational premise for it.’ " Bd. of Trustees of Lincoln Cnty. Sch. Dist. No. Two v. Earling , 2022 WY 23, ¶ 34, 503 P.3d 629, 638 (Wyo. 2022). If we find the record "contains sufficient evidence to support the [County Board's decision] under the substantial evidence test," we then apply "the arbitrary-and-capricious standard as a ‘safety net’ to catch other agency action that may have violated the Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act." City of Rawlins v. Schofield , 2022 WY 103, ¶ 21, 515 P.3d 1068, 1075–76 (Wyo. 2022) (quoting Union Tel. Co. v. Wyo. Pub. Serv. Comm'n , 2022 WY 55, ¶ 33, 508 P.3d 1078, 1090–91 (Wyo. 2022) ).²

DISCUSSION

[¶8] "All property within Wyoming is subject to taxation ... except as prohibited by the United States or Wyoming constitutions or expressly exempted by [ Wyoming Statute §] 39-11-105 [.]" Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-11-103(a)(i) (LexisNexis 2021). On January 1 of each year, the county assessor lists, values, and assesses for taxation, in the name of the owner of the property, all taxable property located within its county that is not assessed by the Department of Revenue. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-103(b)(i)(A) (LexisNexis 2021); Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-103(b)(vii) (LexisNexis 2021); § 39-13-102(m) (LexisNexis 2021). Sometime near the fourth Monday in April, the county assessor mails an assessment schedule to the taxpayer, or owner of the property, at their last known address. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-103(b)(vii). The assessment schedule "contain[s] the property's estimated fair market value for the current and previous year" along with "an estimate of the taxes which will be due and payable for the current year[.]" Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-103(b)(viii) (LexisNexis 2021). If the taxpayer wishes to contest an assessment of his property, he is required to file with the county assessor a statement "specifying the reasons why the assessment is incorrect" within 30 days of the assessment schedule. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-109(b)(i) (LexisNexis 2021). A taxpayer's contest of an assessment will be set for a hearing before the county's board of equalization. Id .; Wyoming State Board of Equalization Rules and Regulations, Chapter 7, §§ 6(c), 7 (February 2, 2021).

[¶9] Mr. Gray argues the County Board erred when it determined after a hearing that the County Assessor physically inspected his vacant lots in accordance with law and valued his lots at fair market value. He also contends the County Board did not provide an adequate record on appeal, and he was not given an opportunity for proper discovery.

I. The Converse County Assessor's Physical Inspection of the 115 Vacant Lots is in Accordance with Law.

[¶10] The Wyoming Legislature is constitutionally mandated to "prescribe such regulations as shall secure a just valuation for taxation of all property, real and personal." Wyo. Const. art. XV, § 11. In determining the basis of tax for real property, the Wyoming Legislature designated the Department of Revenue to "prescribe by rule and regulation the appraisal methods and systems for determining fair market value using generally accepted appraisal standards." Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-103(b)(ii). When determining the fair market value of real property, the Department of Revenue requires county assessors to "physically inspect all real properties within their jurisdiction at least once every six years." Wyoming Department of Revenue Rules and Regulations, Property Tax Valuation Methodology and Assessment (County Assessments), Chapter 9, § 3(c) (July 25, 2016).

[¶11] Mr. Gray argues the County Assessor failed to physically inspect each of his 115 lots in accordance with Chapter 9, § 3(c) of the Department of Revenue's rules and regulations. He argues the amount of time the County Assessor spent viewing the property did not allow her to individually assess the topography of each vacant lot in determining its fair market value. The County Assessor contends she complied with the Department of Revenue's rules and regulations by physically inspecting the property within the required time frame and ensuring the characteristics of the lots remained unchanged.

[¶12] The taxpayer appeal statements Mr. Gray filed for 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020 did not assert the County Assessor failed to physically inspect his lots in accordance with the Department of Revenue's rules and regulations. Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 39-13-109(b)(i). We limit our review to the matters specifically raised before the administrative agency, in this case the County Board. W.R.A.P. 12.09(a) (LexisNexis 2021); see also Davenport v. State, ex rel., Wyo. Workers’ Safety & Comp. Div. , 2012 WY 6, ¶ 20, 268 P.3d 1038, 1043 (Wyo. 2012) ("The rule that a party cannot raise issues on appeal which were not argued below applies to administrative decisions."). Although Mr. Gray failed to properly raise the inspection issue in his appeal statements, he raised the issue during his respective 2017, 2018, and 2020 contested case hearings without objection. We therefore review this issue for 2017, 2018, and 2020. See generally W.R.A.P. 12.09(a) ; Davenport , 2012 WY 6, ¶ 20, 268 P.3d at...