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PETITIONER APPEARING PRO SE: GORDON A. ETZLER GORDON A. ETZLER & ASSOCIATES, LLP Valparaiso, IN

ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT: GREGORY F. ZOELLER INDIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL JENNIFER E. GAUGER DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL Indianapolis, IN _____________________________________________________________________

IN THE INDIANA TAX COURT
GORDON A. ETZLER,

FILED
Nov 21 2011, 3:14 pm
of the supreme court, court of appeals and tax court

_____________________________________________________________________ CLERK ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Cause No. 45T10-1105-TA-38 ) INDIANA DEPARTMENT OF STATE ) REVENUE, ) ) Respondent. ) ______________________________________________________________________ ORDER ON RESPONDENTS MOTION TO DISMISS FOR PUBLICATION November 21, 2011 WENTWORTH, J. Gordon A. Etzler has filed an appeal asking this Court to declare that his security interest in certain property has priority over the Indiana Department of State Revenues (Department) judgment liens. The Court must dismiss the action, however, because it lacks subject matter jurisdiction. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY In 2010, Dale F. Dodson, a resident of Marshall County, Indiana, owed Etzler, his attorney, fees for services rendered. To satisfy that debt, Dodson assigned to Etzler his

right to the money he expected to receive in November 2011 from the Indiana Horse Racing Commission (Commission).1 On November 16, 2010, Etzler filed a UCC Financing Statement with the Indiana Secretary of State documenting the assignment. The very next day, the State Auditor issued a notification to Dodson indicating that although the Commission had issued the funds to Dodsons bank account, payment was withheld to satisfy a Department tax levy. From January 2011 through April 2011, Etzler attempted numerous times, via written and telephonic correspondence, to get the Department to release the Commissions proceeds to him, complaining that because the Department had not provided him with any documentation to "justify" its levy against Dodson, the money was being unlawfully withheld from him. Etzlers attempts, however, were unsuccessful. On May 6, 2011, Etzler, questioning the validity of the tax warrants issued against Dodson, requested that the Department conduct an administrative hearing. The Department declined his request. On May 17, 2011, Etzler filed an appeal with this Court. The Department then filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to Indiana Trial Rule 12(B)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The Court conducted a hearing on the Departments motion on August 12, 2011. Additional facts will be supplied when necessary. LAW Subject matter jurisdiction is the power of a court to hear and determine a particular class of cases. K.S. v. State, 849 N.E.2d 538, 540 (Ind. 2006). Subject More specifically, Dodson was to receive a "breeders award" for a horse that his mare sired. 2
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matter jurisdiction can only be conferred upon a court by the Indiana Constitution or by statute. State v. Sproles, 672 N.E.2d 1353, 1356 (Ind. 1996). The Tax Court has exclusive subject matter jurisdiction over "original tax appeals." IND. CODE

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