The opinion
[This opinion has been published in Ohio Official Reports at 74 Ohio St.3d 226.]
MIDDLETON, APPELLANT, v. CUYAHOGA COUNTY BOARD OF REVISION ET AL.,
APPELLEES.
[Cite as Middleton v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision, 1996-Ohio-184.]
Taxation—Real property valuation—Party does not have standing to file a
complaint seeking a decrease in the value of property owned by another—
R.C. 5715.13, construed and applied.
(No. 94-2109—Submitted September 14, 1995—Decided January 10, 1996.)
APPEAL from the Board of Tax Appeals, No. 93-G-1407.
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{¶ 1} June C. Middleton, appellant, an owner of taxable property in
Cuyahoga County, filed a complaint with the Cuyahoga County Board of Revision,
an appellee, seeking to decrease the value of property owned by Stoney Run Ltd.
Partnership for tax year 1991. The Cuyahoga County Auditor, an appellee, had
determined the property’s true value to be $7,309,800; in her complaint, Middleton
claimed the property’s true value to be $6,000,000. After a hearing, the board of
revision confirmed the auditor’s valuation and Middleton appealed the board’s
decision to the Board of Tax Appeals (“BTA”).
{¶ 2} The BTA, citing its decision in David J. Middleton v. Cuyahoga Cty.
Bd. of Revision (Sept. 2, 1994), BTA No. 93-G-1192, unreported, dismissed the
appeal, finding that Middleton did not have standing to file a complaint seeking a
decrease in the value of property owned by another. The BTA, in effect, concluded
that Middleton was not “the party affected [by the valuation decrease] or his agent”
under R.C. 5715.13.
{¶ 3} The cause is now before this court upon an appeal as of right.
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June C. Middleton, pro se.
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney, and
Marilyn Cassidy, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for appellees.
Rosenzweig, Schulz & Gillombardo Co., L.P.A., and Bill J. Gagliano,
urging affirmance for amicus curiae, Westlake Board of Education.
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Per Curiam.
{¶ 4} Middleton argues that R.C. 5715.19 renders one who files a complaint
seeking a decrease in the valuation of a property owned by another to be “a party
affected” under R.C. 5715.13 and able to file a complaint to decrease the value of
property owned by the other taxpayer. Appellees counter that Middleton has no
interest in reducing the value of the instant property, is not a party affected, and,
consequently, lacks standing to seek a reduction in the value of this property.
{¶ 5} R.C. 5715.19 (A)(1) provides that “[a]ny person owning taxable real
property in the county or in a taxing district with territory in the county * * * may
file such a complaint regarding any such determination affecting any real property
in the county * * *.” The determinations that a property owner may complain about
include property classifications, current agricultural use valuations, recoupment
charges, valuations or assessments of property on the tax lists, and the total
valuation of any parcel on the agricultural land tax list. R.C. 5715.19 (A)(1)(a)
through (e).
{¶ 6} R.C. 5715.13 prevents a board of revision from decreasing “any
valuation complained of unless the party affected thereby or his agent makes and
files with the board a written application therefor, verified by oath, showing the
facts upon which it is claimed such decrease should be made.”
{¶ 7} Complainants must fully comply with R.C. 5715.19 and 5715.13
before a county board of revision may act on their claims. Stanjim Co. v. Mahoning
Cty. Bd. of Revision (1974), 38 Ohio St. 2d 233, 67 O.O. 2d 296, 313 N.E. 2d 14.
Since R.C. 5715.19 is a general statute providing who may complain about various
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January Term, 1996
actions taken by the auditor, R.C. 5715.13, a special statute which restricts a board
of revision’s power to reduce property values, controls the filing of complaints
seeking decreases in a property’s value. R.C. 1.51; see Leach v. Collins (1931),
123 Ohio St. 530, 533, 176 N.E. 77, 78. This case turns on the meaning of “the
party affected thereby.”
{¶ 8} We hold that a party affected by a complaint to decrease the value of
property is one upon whom the decrease will produce a material influence or effect.
Of course, a decrease in value will produce a material effect on the property owner
because it will reduce his or her taxes. On the other hand, the decrease in the value
of the subject property will not have any material effect on Middleton, the owner
of another property. We are unable to see how a decrease in value of the subject
property will affect her.
{¶ 9} Accordingly, Middleton is not a “party affected” by the decrease in
value of the subject property, and we affirm the BTA’s decision because it is
reasonable and lawful.
Decision affirmed.
MOYER, C.J., DOUGLAS, WRIGHT, RESNICK, F.E. SWEENEY, PFEIFER and
COOK, JJ., concur.
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