Preview:

Kenneth N. Raisanen, Relator, vs. County of Hennepin, Respondent. A03-1699, Supreme Court, May 6, 2004.

STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A03-1699

Tax Court

Page, J. Took no part, Anderson, Russell A., J.

Kenneth N. Raisanen, Relator, vs. County of Hennepin, Respondent. Filed: May 6, 2004 Office of Appellate Courts

SYLLABUS Under tax court rule of procedure 8610.0150, a motion for costs and disbursements filed more than 90 days after the tax court's final order is untimely. Affirmed. Considered and decided by the court en banc. OPINION PAGE, Justice. This case requires us to decide whether the Minnesota Tax Court erred when it denied relator Kenneth Raisanen's motion for costs and disbursements after the tax court ordered the Hennepin County Assessor to reclassify certain property owned by Raisanen to reflect that it was entitled to green acres treatment. On February 21, 2002, Raisanen filed a chapter 278 tax petition challenging Hennepin County's assessment for property taxes payable in 2002 for his property located at 7835 Woodland Trail in Greenfield, Minnesota. Raisanen alleged that the classification of the property was incorrect because the county did not grant the property green acres treatment. [1] The petition further alleged that, because of this classification error, the estimated market value of the property was greater than the actual market value, and the property was

file:///C|/Users/Peter/Desktop/opinions/opa031699-0506.htm[4/16/2013 8:51:14 PM]

Kenneth N. Raisanen, Relator, vs. County of Hennepin, Respondent. A03-1699, Supreme Court, May 6, 2004.

unequally assessed. On December 13, 2002, the county sent Raisanen a letter indicating that it would grant green acres treatment to the property for both tax year 2001 and the year in question in this matter, 2002. On February 7, 2003, the county formally tendered a settlement offer to Raisanen. In that offer, the county offered to grant the property green acres treatment thereby reducing its taxable market value from $187,900 to $89,400. Raisanen did not respond to the offer and, on March 31, 2003, the tax court held a hearing on the petition. The tax court issued its decision on April 11, 2003. See Raisanen v. County of Hennepin, No. 29104, 2003 WL 1877346 (Minn. T.C. Apr. 11, 2003). The decision ordered the assessor to reclassify the property to reflect green acres treatment. Id. at *1. In its decision, the tax court noted that, "This is a final order. A stay of 15 days is hereby ordered." Id. On July 18, 2003, Raisanen filed a motion seeking $32,836.20 in costs and disbursements. On October 9, the tax court denied Raisanen's motion, finding: (1) that Raisanen's motion for costs and disbursements was not filed within 90 days of the final order as required by rule 8610.0150; and (2) that costs were barred by Minn. R. Civ. P. 68 and Minn. Stat.

Download opa031699-0506.pdf

Minnesota Law