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ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER: MARILYN S. MEIGHEN MEIGHEN & ASSOCIATES, PC Carmel, IN

ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT: LARRY J. STROBLE RANDAL J. KALTENMARK ZIAADDIN MOLLABASHY BARNES & THORNBURG Indianapolis, IN _____________________________________________________________________

IN THE INDIANA TAX COURT
_____________________________________________________________________ FRENCH LICK TOWNSHIP TRUSTEE ASSESSOR (ORANGE COUNTY, IN), ) ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Cause No. 49T10-0604-TA-44 ) KIMBALL INTERNATIONAL, INC., ) ) Respondent. ) _____________________________________________________________________ ON APPEAL FROM A FINAL DETERMINATION OF THE INDIANA BOARD OF TAX REVIEW FOR PUBLICATION May 3, 2007 FISHER, J. The French Lick Township Trustee Assessor of Orange County, Indiana (Assessor) appeals the final determination of the Indiana Board of Tax Review (Indiana Board) valuing the real property of Kimball International, Inc. (Kimball) for the 2002 tax year. The issue for the Court to decide is whether the Indiana Board's determination was improper.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Kimball owns a vacant industrial plant in French Lick Township, Orange County, Indiana. For the 2002 assessment, the Assessor valued Kimball's plant at $2,912,300 ($164,600 for the land and $2,747,700 for the improvements). Kimball filed an appeal with the Orange County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals (PTABOA), claiming that the assessment did not accurately reflect the property's market value-inuse. After a hearing, the PTABOA reduced Kimball's assessed value to $2,595,200 ($164,600 for the land and $2,430,600 for the improvements). Kimball subsequently filed a Petition to the Indiana Board of Tax Review For Review of Assessment (Form 131). The Indiana Board held a hearing on Kimball's Form 131 on August 30, 2005. On March 14, 2006, the Indiana Board issued a final determination in which it reduced Kimball's assessment to $1,685,000. On April 27, 2006, the Assessor initiated an original tax appeal, claiming that the Indiana Board's final determination was not supported by the evidence. The Court heard the parties' oral arguments on February 2, 2007. Additional facts will be supplied as necessary. STANDARD OF REVIEW This Court gives great deference to final determinations of the Indiana Board when it acts within the scope of its authority. Wittenberg Lutheran Vill. Endowment Corp. v. Lake County Prop. Tax Assessment Bd. of Appeals, 782 N.E.2d 483, 486 (Ind. Tax Ct. 2003), review denied. Consequently, the Court will reverse a final determination of the Indiana Board only if it is:

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arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law; contrary to constitutional right, power, privilege, or immunity; in excess of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations, or short of statutory jurisdiction, authority, or limitations; without observance of procedure required by law; or unsupported by substantial or reliable evidence.

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IND. CODE ANN.

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Indiana Law