Supreme Court of California

In plaintiff's action against a county seeking a tax refund claiming that, when she received a life estate interest in a residence, no change in ownership occurred within the meaning of Article XIII A, section 2(a) of the California Constitution to trigger reassessment, judgment of the court of appeals' is reversed where: 1) under governing statutes, plaintiff had to apply for assessment reduction even though her claim presents a pure question of law; 2) the futility exception to the exhaustion requirement is inapplicable; 3) the county is not estopped from relying on plaintiff's failure to exhaust remedies; and 4) there was a change in ownership within the meaning of Article XIII A, section 2(a).

Appellate Information

• Decided 02/04/2010
• Published 02/04/2010

Judges

• CHIN, J.

Court

• Supreme Court of California

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Susan D. Blake and Thomas N. Hudson for State Board of Equalization Members Bill Leonard and Michelle Steel as Amici Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant., Trevor A. Grimm, Jonathan M. Coupal and Timothy A. Bittle for Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant., Stephen H. Bennett, in pro. per., as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiff and Appellant., Michael V. Strong, in pro. per., as Amicus Curiae.


• For Appellees:
  
• Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel, and Richard E. Girgado, Deputy County Counsel, for Defendant and Respondent., Edmund G. Brown, Jr., Attorney General, David S. Chaney, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Paul D. Gifford, Assistant Attorney General, Gordon Burns, Deputy State Solicitor General, and William L. Carter, Deputy Attorney General, for California State Board of Equalization as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent., Richard E. Winnie, County Counsel (Alameda), Claude R. Kolm, Deputy County Counsel; Robert A. Ryan, Jr., County Counsel (Sacramento) and Thomas R. Parker, Deputy County Counsel, for California State Association of Counties and California Assessor's Association as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent., Raymond G. Fortner, Jr., County Counsel, and Albert Ramseyer, Deputy County Counsel, for Rick Auerbach, Los Angeles County Assessor, as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Respondent.