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IN THE OREGON TAX COURT
MAGISTRATE DIVISION
DIRECT IMPORTS, INC. ,
Plaintiff,

v. MULTNOMAH COUNTY ASSESSOR and DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE, Defendants. (TC-MD 991077A) Plaintiff appealed the Defendant Department of Revenue's (the department) refusal to exercise its supervisory powers and review the assessed value of property for the 1995-96 and 1996-97 tax years. Plaintiff argued that the department abused its discretion in denying review because the parties agreed on the facts indicating a
likely error exists on the roll. The court held that the department did not abuse its discretion because there was not an unequivocal agreement between the parties as to facts that indicate a likely error exists on the roll. Property taxation - Department of Revenue - Correction of roll
1.
ORS 306.115 is a broad grant of power which the department has chosen to limit through its administrative rule stating it that the department will exercise its supervisory power and correct the roll when parties to the appeal agree to the facts indicating a likely error exists on the roll.

Property taxation - Department of Revenue - Correction of roll

2.
The administrative rule for ORS 306.115 does not set forth the criteria applied by the department when it tests for whether the parties "agree" to "facts," which indicate it is "likely" that there is an "error" on the roll.

Standard of review - Supervisory power - Abuse of discretion

3.
When reviewing a discretionary act of the department, the court is limited to the standard of whether the decision was capricious or clearly wrong.

Standard of review - Supervisory power - Abuse of discretion

4.
Where the department finds no unequivocal agreement to facts that indicate it is likely that an error exists on the roll, the court cannot say that the department's decision to deny the exercise of supervisory power was capricious or clearly wrong.


Oral argument on cross motions for summary judgment was held March 1, 2000, in the Magistrate Division Conference Room of the Oregon Tax Court, Salem.
W. Scott Phinney, Lake Oswego, argued the cause for Plaintiff.
John Thomas, Multnomah County Assistant County Counsel, argued the cause for Defendant (the county).
Douglas M. Adair, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice, Salem, argued the cause for Defendant

(the department).

Decision rendered June 14, 2000.
SCOT A . SIDERAS, Presiding Magistrate.
Plaintiff petitioned the Department of Revenue (the department) as to property, located in Multnomah County
(the county) and identified by Account No. R-66772-3220, for the 1995-96 and 1996-97 tax years. Plaintiff's request was that the agency use its supervisory power, set out in ORS 306.115, (1) to consider the merits of Plaintiff's claim that its assessed values are excessive. The agency refused. This appeal followed. Pursuant to Magistrate Division Rule 6(A) and Regular Division Rule 47, Plaintiff and Defendants made motions for summary judgment. Defendants' motions are granted. Plaintiff's motion is denied.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
The subject property is an office and retail complex known as the Galleria, located at 921 SW Morrison St. in Portland. Plaintiff asserts that for each tax year its real market value did not exceed $3,900,000, a sum just more than half its value on the rolls.
The agency held a hearing to inquire into this request that it apply its supervisory power. Plaintiff was represented by at least one counsel in this proceeding; it had two witnesses testify. (2) The county was represented by its counsel; its appraiser received extensive cross examination. The proceeding lasted approximately two hours. Both parties engaged in opening and closing statements as well as additional argument.
In relevant part the subsequent opinion and order denying Plaintiff's request recited "[t]here was no agreement
to facts by the county * * * [t]here is no agreement that the property was incorrectly valued by both parties and no agreement to facts". (3) The opinion and order, in both its caption and its discussion, only mentions the 1995

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Oregon Law