Preview:

ATTORNEY FOR PETITIONER: JOHN R. CRAIG Merrillville, IN

ATTORNEYS FOR RESPONDENT: STEVE CARTER ATTORNEY GENERAL OF INDIANA DAWN D. CUMMINGS JENNIFER E. GAUGER DEPUTY ATTORNEYS GENERAL Indianapolis, IN

_____________________________________________________________________

IN THE INDIANA TAX COURT
_____________________________________________________________________ MILLER BEACH INVESTMENTS, LLC, as Assignee of JAMES NOWACKI, ) ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Cause Nos. 49T10-0602-TA-13 ) 49T10-0602-TA-14 DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT ) 49T10-0602-TA-15 FINANCE, ) 49T10-0602-TA-16 ) Respondent. ) _____________________________________________________________________ ORDER ON RESPONDENT'S MOTIONS TO DISMISS FOR PUBLICATION June 9, 2006 FISHER, J. Miller Beach Investments, LLC (Miller Beach), as assignee of James Nowacki, appeals the four final determinations of the Indiana Board of Tax Review (Indiana Board) valuing twenty of its real estate parcels for the 2002 tax year. The matter is currently before the Court on the Department of Local Government Finance's (DLGF) motions to dismiss.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Miller Beach owns twenty parcels of real property in Lake County, Indiana. For the March 1, 2002 assessment date, the Department of Local Government Finance (DLGF) assessed these parcels. Miller Beach, believing the DLGF's assessments to be incorrect, filed twenty "Petitions for Review of DLGF Action for Lake County Residents" (Forms 139L) with the Indiana Board. 1 On July 6, 2005, the Indiana Board conducted its hearing on Miller Beach's Forms 139L. On January 5, 2006, the Indiana Board issued four final determinations on Miller Beach's appeals. Not receiving the relief it requested from the Indiana Board, Miller Beach initiated four original tax appeals on February 24, 2006. On March 27, 2006, the DLGF moved to dismiss all four of Miller Beach's appeals, claiming that the Tax Court lacks jurisdiction over the cases because Miller Beach's petitions for judicial review did not identify the agency actions at issue and were not properly verified. 2 The Court subsequently conducted one hearing on all four of the DLGF's motions on May 15, 2006. Additional facts will be supplied as necessary.

Actually, James Nowacki owned the twenty parcels at the time of their assessment, March 1, 2002 and, in April of 2004, he initiated the twenty administrative appeals on the properties by filing the Forms 139L. By the time the Indiana Board conducted its administrative hearings on Nowacki's appeals in July of 2005, however, Nowacki had sold the properties to Miller Beach Investments, LLC (Miller Beach). The DLGF also initially alleged that the Court lacked jurisdiction because Miller Beach's appeals and certified administrative records were not timely filed and Miller Beach's service of process was insufficient. The DLGF has since withdrawn these issues. (See Mot. to Dismiss Hr'g Tr. at 3-4.)
2

1

2

ANALYSIS Every action has three jurisdictional elements: 1) jurisdiction of the subject

matter; 2) jurisdiction of the person; and 3) jurisdiction of the particular case. Carroll County Rural Elec. Membership Corp. v. Indiana Dep't of State Revenue, 733 N.E.2d 44, 47 (Ind. Tax Ct. 2000) (citation omitted). The DLGF first argues that the Court is "deprived of its jurisdiction" because Miller Beach's petitions for judicial review failed to identify the agency action at issue. (See Resp't Mots. to Dismiss at

Download Miller Beach Investments, LLC, as Assignee of James Nowacki v. Department of Loc

Indiana Law