Supreme Court
Tex. Disposal Sys. Landfill, Inc., v. Travis Cent. Appraisal Dist.
- Case number: 22-0620
- Legal category: Taxes
- Subtype: Tax Protests
- Set for oral argument: February 22, 2024
Case Summary
The issue in this case is whether the trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction over an appraisal district’s claim that the Appraisal Review Board’s appraisal of a taxpayer’s property was below market value, even though the taxpayer brought, and the board decided, only an unequal-appraisal protest.
After the Travis County Appraisal District appraised Texas Disposal Systems Landfill’s 344-acre property for the 2019 tax year, the Landfill protested the value to the Travis ARB, asserting only an unequal-appraisal challenge. The ARB issued an order agreeing that the appraisal was unequal and significantly reducing the appraised value of the property. The ARB did not determine the property’s market value.
As authorized by the Tax Code, TCAD appealed the ARB’s order to a district court, pleading that the ARB’s appraisal resulted in unequal appraised value and was below market value. The trial court granted the Landfill’s plea to the jurisdiction and dismissed TCAD’s market-value claim on the ground that the ARB only determined an unequal-appraisal protest. The court of appeals reversed the plea, holding that the trial court had jurisdiction over TCAD’s market-value claim.
Texas Disposal Systems petitioned the Supreme Court for review, arguing that the Tax Code limits trial courts’ subject-matter jurisdiction to only the grounds raised in the taxpayer protest and determined by the ARB. The Supreme Court granted the petition.
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