AFFIRMED and Opinion Filed August 2, 1999
S
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
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No. 05-97-00433-CV
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TITANIUM METALS CORPORATION, Appellant
V.
DALLAS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT and
DALLAS COUNTY APPRAISAL REVIEW BOARD, Appellees
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On Appeal from the 298th Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 95-06121-M
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O P I N I O N
Before Justices Whittington, Roach, and O'Neill
Opinion By Justice Whittington
In this ad valorem tax case, Titanium Metals Corporation (“TMC”) appeals a
summary judgment granted in favor of the Dallas County Appraisal District and the Dallas
County Appraisal Review Board (collectively, “Dallas County”). In a single point of error,
TMC contends the trial judge erred in granting Dallas County's summary judgment motion and
denying its own motion. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the trial court's judgment.
Background
TMC is a Delaware corporation doing business in Grand Prairie, Texas. In
1993, TMC decided to relocate its Grand Prairie office and, at the same time, convert the office
into a “simple sales office,” rather than one carrying inventory and “finishing equipment.”
Thereafter, on December 30, 1993, TMC moved offices and transferred all of its office
equipment to the new location, also in Grand Prairie. During the move, TMC transferred its
inventory, machinery, and equipment from the Grand Prairie office to other offices outside
Dallas and Tarrant counties.
Several months later, on April 14, 1994, TMC's property tax agent filed
TMC's rendition for the 1994 tax year with the appraisal district. The rendition outlined all the
business personal property owned by TMC and located in the taxing district on January 1,
1994. That rendition, according to the record, was incorrect because it (1) failed to reflect
TMC's new address in Grand Prairie; and (2) included the value of the inventory, machinery,
and equipment that had been moved out of the taxing district. FN:1 Although the 1994
appraisal roll reflected the address and values stated in the erroneous rendition, TMC did not
file a written protest with the appraisal review board. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 41.41
(Vernon Supp. 1999).
On March 13, 1995, over a year after filing the erroneous rendition, TMC sent
a letter to the appraisal district asking for a hearing before the appraisal review board. In the
letter, TMC asserted the request was being made (1) pursuant to section 25.25(c)(3) of the
Texas Tax Code, and (2) because “[t]here were no assets or inventory at this location as of
January 1, 1994.” According to the letter, a hearing was necessary because the 1994 appraisal
roll incorrectly included property which did not exist at the location described in the roll. In
response to the letter, Dallas County amended the appraisal roll; however, the amendment
changed only TMC's address, it did not reduce the value of the business personal property
allegedly present at the new location. FN:2
After receiving the review board's ruling, TMC filed suit against Dallas County
in district court. Shortly thereafter, both sides moved for summary judgment. In its motion, TMC
argued it was entitled to judgment as a matter of law because (1) the summary judgment
evidence conclusively established that an error existed in the appraisal roll (i.e., that certain
“nonexistent” property was included on the roll), and (2) the procedures set out in section
25.25(c)(3) could be used to rectify that error. Dallas County, on the other hand, argued it was
entitled to judgment because (1) there was no error in the form of the property listed on the
appraisal roll, and (2) section 25.25(c)(3) therefore provided no relief. After holding a hearing
on the motions, the trial judge agreed with Dallas County and signed an order granting Dallas
County's summary judgment motion and denying TMC's motion. This appeal followed.
Standard of Review
The standard of review in summary judgment is well established. Tex. R. Civ.
P. 166a(c); see McConnell v. Southside Indep. Sch. Dist., 858 S.W.2d 337, 341 (Tex.
1993); Black v. Victoria Lloyds Ins. Co., 797 S.W.2d 20, 23 (Tex. 1990); Nixon v. Mr.
Property Mgmt. Co., 690 S.W.2d 546, 548-49 (Tex. 1985); Gaines v. Hamman, 163 Tex.
618, 358 S.W.2d 557, 563 (1962); Gulbenkian v. Penn, 151 Tex. 412, 252 S.W.2d 929,
931 (1952); Ross v. Texas One Partnership, 796 S.W.2d 206, 209 (Tex. App._Dallas 1990),
writ denied per curiam, 806 S.W.2d 222 (Tex. 1991). When, as here, both sides file motions
for summary judgment and one is granted and one is denied, we review all questions presented.
See Tobin v. Garcia, 159 Tex. 58, 316 S.W.2d 396, 400 (1958). If we conclude the trial
court committed reversible error, we render the judgment the trial court should have rendered.
See Tobin, 316 S.W.2d at 400.
Summary Judgment
In its sole point of error, TMC contends the trial judge erred in granting Dallas
County's summary judgment motion and denying its own motion. According to TMC, summary
judgment should have been granted in its favor because the evidence conclusively established (1)
an error existed in the appraisal roll, and (2) the error was subject to correction under section
25.25(c)(3). After reviewing the record in this cause as well as the applicable law, we cannot
agree with TMC.
Section 25.25 of the Texas Tax Code provides for late correction of appraisal
roll errors only under certain, limited circumstances. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 25.25 (Vernon
1992 & Supp. 1999); see also GE Capital Corp. v. Dallas Central Appraisal Dist., 971
S.W.2d 591, 593 (Tex. App._Dallas 1998, no pet.). In this case, TMC sought correction of
the appraisal roll under section 25.25(c)(3). That section states:
At any time before the end of five years after January 1 of a tax year, the appraisal
review board, on motion of the chief appraiser or of a property owner, may direct by written
order changes in the appraisal roll to correct:
* * * *
(3) the inclusion of property that does not exist in the form or at the location
described in the appraisal roll.
Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 25.25(c) (Vernon 1992).
The property tax code does not explain what is meant by the phrase “inclusion
of property that does not exist in the form or at the location described in the appraisal roll.” See
Collin County Appraisal Dist. v. Northeast Dallas Assoc., 855 S.W.2d 843, 849 (Tex.
App._Dallas 1993, no writ). Nevertheless, this Court has defined the term “form” in the
context of 25.25(c)(3) to mean “its identification as a type of property listed under section
25.02(a), such as real property, personal property, an improvement to real property, or some
other physical description of the property on the appraisal roll, other than its appraised
value or its use.” Dallas Central Appraisal Dist. v. G.T.E. Directories Corp., 905 S.W.2d
318, 321 (Tex. App._Dallas 1995, writ denied) (emphasis added). Thus, the relief available
under section 25.25(c)(3) applies only when no property exists in the form or at the location
described in the appraisal roll. See G.T.E. Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 321. Stated differently,
correction of the appraisal roll is only allowed when the appraisal roll erroneously reflects that a
particular form of property exists at a specified location and, in fact, no such property exists at
that location.
In this case, the “form” of the property described in the appraisal roll is
“personal property.” TMC does not dispute that it maintains personal property at the location
described in the roll; rather, it argues that it does not maintain as much personal property there
as is evidenced by the appraisal roll. This, in our view, is a complaint about the value of the
property described in the appraisal roll, not the existence or nonexistence of certain “forms” of
property at the particular location described. FN:3 Because we conclude that property did in
fact exist in the form (i.e., personal property) and at the location described in the appraisal roll,
we conclude that amending the roll under section 25.25(c)(3) was not authorized. See G.T.E.
Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 322-23; but see Himont U.S.A., Inc. v. Harris County
Appraisal Dist., 904 S.W.2d 740, 743 (Tex. App._Houston [1st Dist.] 1995, no writ)
(concluding that portion of railcars allocable to interstate commerce did not exist at “location
described in appraisal roll” and correction was therefore authorized under section 25.25(c)(3)).
Accordingly, the trial judge did not err in granting summary judgment to Dallas County. FN:4
We find support for this decision in this Court's 1995 opinion in G.T.E.
Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 318-323. In that case, GTE sought to have the 1988 and 1989
appraisal rolls changed to reflect a decreased value of certain property it owned in Dallas
County. According to GTE, the value of the property on the appraisal rolls was incorrect
because the building on the property had been rendered “useless” by various “ground shifts.”
GTE sought correction of the rolls under section 25.25(c)(3), but the appraisal review board
refused to order a change. Thereafter, GTE filed suit in district court, and the district court
entered judgment in GTE's favor.
On appeal, this Court reversed, holding that section 25.25(c)(3) did not
authorize the requested change because the change sought was not a change in the “form . . .
described in the appraisal roll.” G.T.E. Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 323. In reaching our
decision, we noted that (1) GTE admitted that the description of the land in the appraisal rolls
(i.e., real property, land, and improvements) was correct; and (2) the appraisal rolls did not
otherwise describe the form of the property. Because the property did exist in the form and at
the location described in the rolls, we concluded section 25.25(c)(3) was not applicable. See
G.T.E. Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 322-23. We reach a similar conclusion here today. In this
case, just as in GTE, the property described in the appraisal roll did exist in the form and at the
location described in the roll. Thus, we conclude, as we did in GTE, that section 25.25(c)(3) is
not applicable.
In reaching this decision, we necessarily reject TMC's argument that the
appraisal roll includes property that “does not exist in the form or at the location described”
because it includes “inventory and machinery and equipment” that was never present in the
taxing district. TMC's argument is premised on the assumption that we may look “behind the
appraisal roll” to determine what types of personal property are included in the appraisal roll's
description. FN:5 This, we may not do. See G.T.E. Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 321-22
(concluding we had no authority to “look behind” appraisal rolls -- to commercial worksheets
supporting rolls -- because section 25.25(c)(3) required incorrect description to be of “the
form . . . described in the appraisal roll”). Because section 25.25(c)(3) only authorizes
changes for errors in the description of the form or location of property in the appraisal roll,
we conclude we have no authority to look behind the appraisal roll to the rendition filed in this
case. We reject TMC's arguments to the contrary.
We likewise reject TMC's argument that section 25.25(c)(3)'s legislative
history requires a different outcome in this case. The “Background” section of section
25.25(c)(3)'s bill analysis states:
At this time there is no clear authority for an appraisal review board to remove
nonexistent property from the tax roll. Nonexistent property includes the property of businesses
which have gone out of business prior to the beginning of the tax year and property
improvements which were either demolished or moved before the beginning of the tax year.
Bill Analysis, Tex. S.B. 379, 71st Leg., R.S. (1989). Contrary to TMC's contentions, this
analysis is of no assistance in resolving the issues presented by this case because the case does
not involve either (1) the property of a business that went out of business prior to the beginning
of the tax year, or (2) property improvements that were either demolished or moved before the
beginning of the tax year. Thus, we conclude that, whatever this portion of the bill analysis may
mean, it is not relevant to our decision in this case. See G.T.E. Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 322
(concluding that whatever this portion of bill analysis may mean, it was not relevant to issues in
case because nothing in record suggested GTE went out of business prior to beginning of tax
year).
For the reasons stated, we conclude the trial judge properly granted summary
judgment in favor of Dallas County and against TMC. We overrule TMC's sole point of error.
We affirm the trial court's judgment.
MARK WHITTINGTON
JUSTICE
Do Not Publish
Tex. R. App. P. 47
970433.br
FN:1
1 The rendition was based on the previous year's rendition and included the following
property: (1) inventory - $1,600,048; (2) supplies - $2500; (3) furniture and fixtures - $2434;
and (4) machinery and equipment - $199, 579.
FN:2
2 According to Dallas County, TMC's dispute over the “nonexistent” property was really a
dispute over the value of the property at the location (because TMC did actually own business
personal property at the location) and a dispute relating to value could not be maintained under
section 25.25(c).
FN:3
3 This is evidenced by the fact that TMC is not seeking a change in the description or form of
the property, but instead seeks a change in the value assigned to the property.
FN:4
4 To hold otherwise would effectively negate the provisions of chapter 41 and section
25.25(d), both of which impose limits on the time a taxpayer has to challenge the appraised
value of property in a taxing district. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 41.41 (Vernon 1992)
(requiring protest of appraised value to be filed by June 1st or within thirty days of receiving
notice); Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 25.25(d) (Vernon 1992) (requiring challenge to appraised value
to be filed before taxes become delinquent). Under well-known rules of statutory construction,
we may not interpret section 25.25(c)(3) so as to render other portions of the statute
meaningless. See G.T.E. Directories, 905 S.W.2d at 321 (noting that statute must be
construed to give effect to entire statute); see also Maley v. 7111 Southwest Freeway, Inc.,
843 S.W.2d 229, 231 (Tex. App._Houston [14th Dist.] 1992, writ denied).
FN:5
5 TMC's brief clearly states that “the 1994 appraisal roll included property _ the Inventory
and Machinery and Equipment _ that never existed” at either of TMC's Grand Prairie locations.
The terms “inventory,” “machinery,” and “equipment” do not appear in the appraisal roll,
although they do appear in TMC's 1994 rendition. Thus, TMC's argument (that the appraisal roll
includes property not present at the Grand Prairie location) requires us to consider information
provided in the rendition, not just the appraisal roll.
File Date[08/02/99]
File Name[970433F]
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