Opinion ID: 4910633
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Substance of The Plaintiff's Action/Request For Relief is a Tax Protest.

Text: ¶13 Warehouse Market asks the trial court to determine whom to pay the taxes to and to stop either the OTC or the Tribe from interfering in its business. The OTC argues that this matter is not merely an interpleader, but really a tax protest. An interpleader is viewed with favor by this Court as a means of avoiding multiple and vexatious litigation. It is an appropriate proceeding whenever (1) two or more claims arise out of the same or related subject matter and (2) the stakeholder is exposed to double or multiple litigation as a result of these claims. 10 Without doubt, Market Warehouse's initial petition was in the nature of an interpleader. It specifically requested that it be allowed to deposit the sales tax it had collected, and would continue to collect, which both the OTC and the Tribe asserted claim to, and that the trial court then determine who was entitled to the taxes. ¶14 However, once the trial court dismissed the Tribe because of its sovereign immunity, and the trial court was without any authority to take any further decisive action towards the Tribe, the cause no longer met the basic definition of interpleader and, instead, quickly became nothing more than a tax protest. A tax protest is generally defined as a tax assessment complained to have been illegally levied, alleging that such taxes were illegal because they had been levied without authority. 11 Market Warehouse protests the OTC tax assessment and complains that it was illegally levied. It alleges that such taxes were illegal because they had been levied without authority. Consequently, this cause fits squarely within the definition of a tax protest.