JULY 14, 2008 UPDATE

We have still not gotten a decision from Judge Jones in our residential law suit. His ruling will be posted to the web site as soon as possible after it is received.

There is some related good news to share. The Florida Supreme Court issued a ruling late on Thursday, July 3, 2008, in the case of The Crossings at Fleming Island v. Lisa Reinhardt Echeverri et al. (SC07-1556). This case was filed against the Clay County Property Appraiser. The aspect of this case that is relevant to our case involves the issue of whether a Property Appraiser can challenge the constitutionality of a state law as part of the defense in a law suit disputing his or her assessments. The attorneys representing Escambia County Property Appraiser, Chris Jones, have done this same thing in their defense in the case Pensacola Beach leaseholders have brought to nullify ad valorem taxation of leasehold property. The trial court in the Clay County case ruled that the Property Appraiser lacked legal standing to challenge the law. On appeal, the First District Court of Appeal overturned the trial court and ruled that the Property Appraiser could challenge the constitutionality of a statute. This was in direct conflict with a decision in the Second District Court of Appeal, so the Florida Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of The Crossings at Fleming Island. In a unanimous decision, the Florida Supreme Court said “We resolve the conflict among district courts by holding that a Property Appraiser does not have standing to raise the constitutionality of a statute as a defense in a tax suit filed by a taxpayer.”

While this in no way assures us a victory in our case, it does away with some of the arguments made by the attorneys for the other side. It also helps since the Florida Supreme Court overturned the ruling in the First District Court of Appeal (our district), which could have worked against us. Here is a link for those interested in reading this decision.