Property Tax Assessment

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WI Supreme Court

Case Name: Metropolitan Associates v. City of Milwaukee

Case No.: 2018 WI 4

Focus: Property Tax Assessment

The petitioner, Metropolitan Associates (Metropolitan), seeks review of an unpublished court of appeals decision affirming the circuit court’s determination, which in turn affirmed the City of Milwaukee’s (the City) tax assessment of property owned by Metropolitan. Metropolitan contends that the court of appeals erred in concluding that the City complied with Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1) (2013-14) in its assessment of Metropolitan’s property.

Specifically, Metropolitan argues that the City contravened Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1) because it failed to utilize the “best information” available when it relied on mass appraisal, and not single-property appraisal, in determining the value of Metropolitan’s property. Metropolitan additionally asks this court to reject the findings of the circuit court regarding the reliability of the competing assessment evidence and the weight and credibility the circuit court attributed to that evidence. Ultimately, it argues that the application of the presumption of correctness to the City’s assessment based on a mass appraisal constitutes an error of law.

We conclude that the City’s assessment of Metropolitan’s property complied with Wis. Stat. § 70.32(1). The City permissibly utilized mass appraisal for its initial assessment and appropriately defended its initial assessment with single property appraisals demonstrating that the assessment was not excessive.

Next, we decline Metropolitan’s request to upset the circuit court’s findings of fact. As the court of appeals aptly stated, “[i]n asking us to reject the court’s judgment as to the weight and credibility of the competing assessment evidence, Metropolitan effectively asks us to substitute our judgment for the circuit court’s regarding the credibility of witnesses and the relative weights to assign to various pieces of the evidence at trial, neither of which we can do.”

We conclude that the circuit court’s findings of fact regarding the reliability of the respective appraisals are not clearly erroneous. Because the circuit court’s findings are sufficient to support its determination regardless of whether the presumption of correctness was employed, we need not address whether the presumption of correctness attached to the assessment based on the initial mass appraisal. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

Concur:

Dissent: R.G. BRADLEY, J. and KELLY, J. (coauthor) dissent (opinion filed).
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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.