Appellate Experience

The appellate experience of the CD&O's property tax lawyers is unparalleled.

• AES Alamitos LLC v. County of Los Angeles (2006) 2006 WL 1216795 (unpublished). Prior valuation by Superior Court for documentary transfer tax purposes was binding on County for property tax purposes. (Cris K. O'Neall)
• American Sheds Inc. v. County of Los Angeles (1998) 66 Cal.App.4th 384. Addressing whether intangible assets and rights associated with regional landfill were excluded from property taxation. (Cris K. O'Neall)
• Auerbach v. County of Los Angeles Assessment Appeals Bd. No. 5 (2003) 2003 WL 21457040 (unpublished). Assessment appeals board has discretion to allow amendment of applications for changed assessment. (John D. Cahill)
• Auerbach v. Assessment Appeals Bd. No. 1 for County of Los Angeles (2006) 39 Cal.4th 153. Tenant-owned improvements were subject to reassessment if lessor of underlying land transfers its interest so long as the remaining term of the ground lease is less than 35 years. (Cris K. O'Neall)
• County of Los Angeles v. Sasaki (1994) 23 Cal.App.4th 1442. Legislature has authority to reallocate property tax revenue from local governments and special districts, and holding that county may not legislate in the area of property tax allocation because state government has occupied the field. (John D. Cahill)
• County of Los Angeles v. Southern California Edison (2003) 112 Cal.App.4th 1108. Superior Court properly valued power plants for documentary transfer tax purposes by excluding nontaxable intangible assets. (Cris K. O'Neall)
• EHP Glendale v. County of Los Angeles (2011) 193 Cal.App.4th 262. Motion for summary judgment improper and case remanded for re-trial where trial court did not have entire administrative record before it. (John D. Cahill, Cris K. O'Neall and Andrew W. Bodeau)
• Elk Hills Power LLC v. State Bd. of Equalization (2011) 195 Cal.App.4th 285 (Supreme Court review granted and pending; amicus curiae for California Taxpayers Association). Board of Equalization's inclusion of emissions reduction credits in value of power plant did not constitute assessment of nontaxable intangible assets and rights. (Cris K. O'Neall)
• Exxon Mobil Corporation v. County of Santa Barbara (2001) 92 Cal.App.4th 1347. Assessment appeals board erred in not treating onshore oil processing facility and offshore oil field as integrated appraisal unit and in using the cost approach to value the onshore facility (valuation methodology adopted by the Board "wholly abandons any attempt to achieve a reasonable estimate of the true present value of the property to which it addresses itself….") (C. Stephen Davis)
• Fashion Valley Mall LLC v. County of San Diego (2009) 176 Cal.App.4th 871. Limited scope change in ownership rescission was ineffective and concept of "economic interest" is limited to fiduciary situations. (C. Stephen Davis)
• Independent Energy Producers Assn. v. State Bd. of Equalization (2004) 125 Cal.App.4th 425. Independent power generators meet "dedication" test under California Constitution for assessment by State Board of Equalization. (C. Stephen Davis)
• Maples v. Kern County Assessment Appeals Board (Occidental of Elk Hills, Inc.) (2002) 103 Cal.App.4th 172. Addressing whether unproved oil and gas reserves acquired by oil and gas exploration company are subject to property taxation under California law. (Cris K. O'Neall)
• May Department Stores Co. v. County of Los Angeles (1987) 196 Cal.App.3d 755. Assessor need not consider investment tax credit in valuing used property, and method used by assessor and adopted by the assessment appeals board to value equipment must be upheld if it is reasonable, despite the fact that another method might have been better. (John D. Cahill)
• Montgomery Ward v. County of Santa Clara (1996) 47 Cal.App.4th 1122. Assessor permitted to correct base-year value on a reported change in ownership more than four years after the change in ownership occurred. (C. Stephen Davis)
• Morse Signal Devices of California Inc. v. County of Los Angeles (1984) 161 Cal.App.3d 570. Company which contractually retains complete ownership and control of central components of burglar alarm system installed in subscriber's home may be taxed on the entire system even though minor on-site components are owned by the subscriber. (John D. Cahill)
• NetJets Aviation v. Guillory (2012) 207 Cal.App.4th 26. Statute permitting assessment of fractionally-owned aircraft is lawful, but retroactive assessments under statute for prior tax years are unconstitutional and void. (Cris K. O'Neall and Andrew W. Bodeau)
• Phillips Petroleum Corporation v. County of Lake (1993) 15 Cal.App.4th 180. Base-year value for geothermal mineral interests is determined upon acquisition of proved reserves. (C. Stephen Davis)
• TRW v. County of Los Angeles (1996) 50 Cal.App.4th 1703. Addressing whether low-value expensed U.S. Government-owned business personal property used in performance of Government contracts was immune from property taxation. (John D. Cahill and Cris K. O'Neall)
• Villa San Clemente LLC v. County of Orange (2012) 2012 WL 3834629 (unpublished). Adjustments for property's characteristics were required, and taxpayer was properly awarded attorney's fees where assessment appeals board's findings did not meet statutory requirements. (C. Stephen Davis and Andrew W. Bodeau)
• Watson Co-Generation Company v. County of Los Angeles (2002) 98 Cal.App.4th 1066 (Amicus curiae for Independent Energy Producers Association). Assessor properly implemented income approach using actual income from above-market power sales agreement rather than imputed market income. (C. Stephen Davis)
• Western States Petroleum Assn. v. State Bd. of Equalization (2012) 202 Cal.App.4th 1092 (Supreme Court review granted and pending). Property tax rule changing method of appraising petroleum refineries violated necessity requirement in Administrative Procedures Act and was not supported by agency's economic impact analysis. (C. Stephen Davis)

State Board of Equalization Experience

CD&O's property tax lawyers have maintained a long, responsible working relationship with the California State Board of Equalization. CD&O's lawyers have, by way of example, participated in the following rulemaking or advisory projects at the State Board of Equalization.

• Represented geothermal industry in development of SBE Property Tax Rule 473 (18 Code Cal. Regs., § 473), Geothermal Properties
• Represented independent power generators in connection with promulgation of SBE Property Tax Rule 905 (18 Code Cal. Regs., § 905) Assessment of Electric Generation Facilities
• Revisions to Rules of Practice for hearings before county assessment appeals boards (18 Code Cal. Regs., §§ 300, et. seq.)
• Represented oil and gas industry in development of Assessors' Handbook Section 566, "Assessment of Petroleum Properties"
• Revisions to SBE Assessors' Handbook, including "Basic Appraisal" (AH § 501), "Advanced Appraisal" (AH § 502), "Assessment of Personal Property and Fixtures" (AH § 504), "Assessment of Taxable Possessory Interests" (AH § 510) and "Assessment Appeals Manual"
• Represented billboard industry in development of "Guidelines for the Assessment of Billboard Properties" (SBE Letter to Assessors No. 2002/078)
• Development of the "Guidelines for Substantiating Additional Obsolescence for Personal Property and Fixtures" (SBE Letter to Assessors No. 2010/030)
• SBE Annotation 720.0009 (When an Assessment Appeals Board has rendered a decision establishing the base-year value for a property, the assessed values on the roll for subsequent years must be conformed with the board's determination)