Court Opinion

ID: 9697919
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-25 19:37:04.441457+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:20:36.816769
License: Public Domain

DANIEL F. FOLEY, Judge
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent. I would hold that Minn.Stat. § 278.01 (1998)1 is the exclusive remedy under which Hennepin and Dakota County respondents can recover the overpayments. I agree with the majority that the legislature did not create a “preferred” classification within class 3a properties. But I do not agree that the legislature intended that a taxpayer could challenge overpayments by any remedy other than section 278.01.
A taxpayer may bring a claim in district or tax court for
property [that] has been partially, unfairly, or unequally assessed in comparison with other property in the ⅜ * * county ⅜ * * or that the parcel has been assessed at a valuation greater than its real or actual value, or that the tax levied against the same is illegal, in whole or in part, or has been paid, or *910that the property is exempt from the tax so levied * ⅜ *.
MinmStat. § 278.01, subd. 1. The legislature enacted this statute to “provide an adequate, speedy, and simple remedy for any taxpayer to have the validity of his claim, defense, or objections determined by the district court.” Land O’Lakes Dairy Co. v. Village of Sebeka, 225 Minn. 540, 548, 81 N.W.2d 660, 665 (1948). The legislature broadly included assessment errors, illegal taxes, and exemptions from tax. I believe that the legislature intended for all errors made during the assessment process to be included under this statute.
The duties of the county assessor have been historically viewed as fact-finding responsibilities. See B.W. & Leo Harris Co. v. Dakota County, 246 Minn. 20, 25, 74 N.W.2d 111, 114 (1955) (describing assessor’s fact-finding duties of viewing property, determining value, and entering value in assessment books). Classification of properties is a fact-finding process included among the assessment duties of the county assessor and can only be challenged under section 278.01. Summit House Apartment Co. v. Hennepin County, 812 Minn. 358, 362, 253 N.W.2d 127, 129 (1977). Similarly, whether or not a taxpayer receives a tax break based on ownership under Minn.Stat. § 273.13, subd. 24(a) (Supp.1993) is a fact-finding responsibility. The record reflects: (1) in both Hennepin and Dakota Counties, the county assessor is responsible for determining whether a property receives the lower tax rate based on ownership; (2) although the auditor provides the ownership lists, in Hennepin County the lists are updated by the assessor’s office; and (3) in both Hennepin and Dakota Counties, the tax rates based on ownership are applied in the assessment books before they are returned to the county auditor. The county auditor has been given the responsibility of overseeing the assessor’s duties. See MinmStat. §§ 274.05, .09 (1998) (detailing procedure when auditor receives assessment books from assessor, noting that auditor should examine books and correct any errors). But the county assessor makes the initial determination of whether one taxpayer owns multiple properties, and is entitled to a lower tax rate on one of those properties. This fact-finding responsibility is an assessment duty that may only be challenged under section 278.01.
Because I believe section 278.01 is the exclusive remedy by which respondents can challenge the discrepancies in their tax bills, the statute of limitations has passed, and relief is barred. Minn.Stat. § 278.01, subd. 1. As a result, respondents cannot recover under any equitable theories or by abatement. See Rosso v. Village of Brooklyn Center, 214 Minn. 364, 367, 8 N.W.2d 219, 221 (1943) (holding taxpayer cannot maintain suit in equity to enjoin tax collection when an adequate remedy at law exists).

. Although the Hennepin County and Dakota County complaints were filed in different years, I will use the 1998 statute because it does not substantially change this analysis.