Opinion ID: 2261399
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dismissal as to the Administrative Tribunals

Text: Before reaching the merits of this appeal, we observe at the outset that this case must be dismissed as to the Defendants, Assessors of the Town of Kennebunkport and the Commissioners of the County of York. The taxpayer and the municipality are the proper adversaries in tax abatement proceedings in the courts. Assessors, Town of Bristol v. Eldridge, Me., 392 A.2d 37, 39-40 (1978). M.R.Civ.P. 80B requires notice to any administrative agency whose decision is being reviewed in the courts but, absent some statutory provision to the contrary, this requirement of notice does not make the agency a party to the proceeding in Superior Court. We now reach the merits of Shawmut Inn's appeal. The Inn contends both that (a) the method of valuing its property was unlawful and that (b) by the use of that method, the property was overvalued. Faced with a similar double-barreled attack on the validity of a tax assessment, we recently concluded that proving one of these points would entitle the taxpayer to an abatement. See Farrelly v. Inhabitants of the Town of Deer Isle, Me., 407 A.2d 302, 306 (1979). We must determine whether the conclusions reached by the Superior Court were erroneous as a matter of law. Specifically, on this appeal we must determine: (a) Whether the court below erred in ruling as a matter of law that the appraisal approach used by the professional appraisers did not violate the constitutional mandate of equality; and (b) Whether the court below erred in ruling that the value reached by the assessors was not so unreasonable in light of the circumstances that the property was substantially overvalued and injustice resulted.