Opinion ID: 2559278
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Decision on Appeal and Standard of Review

Text: [¶ 6] When a party seeks review in the Superior Court of a decision issued by the Assessor upon reconsideration, the court must make a de novo determination of the merits of the case and shall make its own determination as to all questions of fact or law, regardless of whether the questions of fact or law were raised during the reconsideration period. 36 M.R.S. § 151. Accordingly, we review the decision of the Superior Court, see John Swenson Granite, Inc. v. State Tax Assessor, 685 A.2d 425, 427 (Me.1996), and we do not accord any heightened deference to the Assessor's decision in interpreting the tax statutes, see Enerquin Air, Inc. v. State Tax Assessor, 670 A.2d 926, 928-29 (Me. 1996). [¶ 7] Because this case comes to us upon the entry of a summary judgment in favor of the Assessor, we review whether the court properly determined that there was no genuine issue of material fact and that the Assessor was entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See M.R. Civ. P. 56(c). The material facts are not in dispute. Accordingly, this appeal requires us to review the court's interpretation and application of the relevant statutes, which review we undertake de novo as a question of law. See Koch Ref'g Co. v. State Tax Assessor, 1999 ME 35, ¶ 4, 724 A.2d 1251, 1252.