Opinion ID: 1435989
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: The Civil Action Arises from the Collection of a Municipal Tax Levy

Text: The city argues that § 44-7-12(b) is not applicable to the case at hand because it is in the chapter of the General Laws entitled Collection of Taxes. It asserts that appropriate remedies for alleged improper assessments are limited to those found in G.L.1956 chapter 5 of title 44 entitled Levy and Assessment of Local Taxes. Such an interpretation overlooks the fact that the assessment of taxes and the collection of taxes are inextricably linked. Moreover, the city sent tax bills to CPI and subjected CPI to collection actions by mailing tax-sale notices that threatened the sale of CPI's property at public auction for nonpayment. This action by the city moved the illegal assessment action into the realm of illegal collections. This lawsuit was a direct result of the attempt by the city to collect a municipal tax levy. The motion justice cogently reasoned that an earlier version of § 44-7-12 applied only to tax collectors, and simply provided a cause of action to tax collectors. The statute was amended in 1990, however, to allow an award of a reasonable attorney's fee to the prevailing party in any civil action arising from the collection of a municipal tax levy   . See P.L.1990, ch. 371, § 1. The motion justice found the statutory language as currently codified to be clear and unambiguous regarding the award of attorneys' fees. We agree.