Dear Friends,

The Texas Supreme Court will hear oral arguments February 22, 2024, at 9:00 a.m., in Texas Disposal Systems Landfill, Inc., a case expected to vindicate the rights of property owners against overly aggressive litigation tactics by appraisal districts.  At issue is whether the trial court has jurisdiction to determine a market value appeal—brought by the chief appraiser against the property owner—when the appraisal review board determined only an unequal appraisal protest.  Here, a market value protest was not before the ARB, no evidence was presented on the market value, and the ARB made no determination of the property’s market value.  After a hearing on the protest, the ARB determined the property was unequally appraised and issued an order reducing the value.  Travis Central Appraisal District, through the chief appraiser, then sued the property owner asking the trial court to undo the ARB’s order and fix the appraised value of the property “at no less than its market value.”  The trial court dismissed the market value claim for lack of jurisdiction on the ground that the ARB only determined an unequal appraisal claim.  The Austin Court of Appeals reversed, holding the trial court had jurisdiction over the market value claim.  The Texas Supreme Court will consider whether Section 42.02 of Texas Property Tax Code limits a trial court’s jurisdiction over a chief appraiser’s appeal to only the grounds raised in the taxpayer protest and determined by the ARB, or whether the chief appraiser can raise new grounds against the taxpayer in district court.  This case presents an issue of importance to the jurisprudence of the State, and an opinion by the Texas Supreme Court reversing the Austin Court of Appeals will be a victory for all Texas property owners.  Oral arguments may be viewed on the Court’s YouTube page, here.  Stay tuned.     

To follow this: click the following links (or copy and paste):  https://search.txcourts.gov/Case.aspx?cn=22-0620&coa=cossup