Opinion ID: 1916821
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Hojabooms

Text: Although presenting a factual situation similar to that in the Meredith appeal, the Town raises several different arguments in its appeal from judgment in favor of plaintiffs Ruth and Ronald Hojaboom. Plaintiffs, property owners in the Town of Swanton, appealed a decision of the board of listers increasing the appraised fair market value of their property from $16,000 to $80,800 to the Board of Civil Authority. The Board reduced this valuation to $75,600. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Franklin Superior Court, which granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on the ground that the Board's findings were inadequate under 32 V.S.A. § 4404(c) and this Court's decision in Punderson, supra . Both parties filed timely notices of appeal. The Town first asserts that plaintiffs' notice of appeal to the superior court failed to comply with the service requirements of 32 V.S.A. § 4461(a). When a taxpayer elects to appeal to the superior court pursuant to § 4461(a) he is required to serve the town clerk, town agent and chairman of the board of listers. It is admitted that plaintiffs made proper service on the town clerk and agent. The Town claims, however, that no service was made on the chairman of the board of listers. We find this argument somewhat disingenuous in light of the Town's stipulation below that the same individual was serving as both town agent and chairman of the board of listers. This individual was personally served within the meaning of § 4461(a) and V.R.C.P. 4(d)(1). It must be noted that statutory service requirements demand strict compliance. See Mowle v. Town of Sherburne, 140 Vt. 155, 436 A.2d 770 (1981). The plaintiffs could have avoided any problem in this regard by promptly moving to amend the challenged proof of service pursuant to V.R.C.P. 4(j). Nevertheless, on these facts the Town does not, and could not, argue it suffered a lack of notice of the taxpayers' appeal. The Town next claims that the superior court erred when it granted plaintiffs' motion to amend the pleadings to allege insufficient findings by the Board as a ground for relief. On December 17, 1979, the plaintiffs filed a timely appeal from the Board's decision pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 4461(a). It was not until April 4, 1980, approximately four months after the time for filing a § 4461(a) appeal had expired, that the plaintiffs moved to amend their pleadings. It is the Town's position that amendment of the pleadings was improper because made after the time for filing § 4461(a) appeals had run. This issue may be resolved by applying the standards set forth in V.R.C.P. 15(c), which provides in relevant part: Whenever the claim or defense asserted in the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth or attempted to be set forth in the original pleading, the amendment relates back to the date of the original pleading. Rule 15(c) is grounded on the notion that a party who has been notified of litigation concerning a given transaction has been accorded all the notice that statutes of limitations are intended to afford. 3 Moore's Federal Practice ¶ 15.15, at 198-208 (2d ed. 1980). The plaintiffs' original pleading was concerned with the conduct of the Board in hearing their tax appeal. In it they sought relief pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 4404(c) because of the Board's failure to hold the hearing in a timely manner. The amendment to the complaint, although raising another ground for relief, also sought application of the express sanctions contained in § 4404(c). The Town was thus given fair notice by the original pleading that a claim was being asserted against it for a particular transaction or occurrence. We therefore hold that the amended complaint relates back to the original pleading and satisfies the time limits of 32 V.S.A. § 4461(a). There was no error. The Town's remaining arguments may be quickly disposed of since they are essentially the same as those raised against the Merediths. First, we reject the claim that the Board's findings satisfied the requirements of 32 V.S.A. § 4404(c). In this regard it is interesting to note that although the Town strenuously urges that we accept the findings, it does not quote them in its brief. After reviewing the purported findings we appreciate the soundness of this strategy. Again quoting from Punderson, supra, 136 Vt. at 225-26, 388 A.2d at 376: [T]he Legislature meant for an appealing taxpayer to get reasons, as well as a result, when a board of civil authority rules against him, with the alternative of former tax valuation, for one year only, where that requirement is not met. In this case the plaintiff-taxpayers received a result but not the reasons behind it. Accordingly, the sanction of former tax valuation for one year provided in § 4404(c) was properly applied by the superior court. Finally, our above holding to the contrary eliminates the need for us to consider the Town's contention that the plaintiffs were obligated to file objections pursuant to 32 V.S.A. § 5292 in order to preserve their challenge to the Board's findings.