STETSON O. SPROUL, AS TAX COLLECTOR OF PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA, AND RAY E. GREEN, AS COMPTROLLER OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANTS,
v.
ROYAL PALM YACHT & COUNTY CLUB, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, APPELLEE
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A property owner challenged a real estate tax assessment as illegal, arguing similar properties were assessed at lower valuations. The court held that to state a valid cause of action for injunctive relief challenging a tax assessment, the complaint must allege that the assessment exceeds the property's actual full cash value, not merely that similarly situated properties received lower assessments.
A complaint challenging a tax assessment on the grounds of unequal assessment does not state a valid cause of action for injunctive relief unless it also alleges that the assessment exceeds the property's actual full cash value. The requirement that property be assessed at one hundred percent of true cash value cannot be circumvented by claims of unequal treatment alone.
“To grant appellant's request would require us to order a constitutional official act contrary to the statute and by so doing the effect of his act would result in rendering unequal the tax burden to the taxpayers of Dade County.”
Establishes that relief based solely on unequal assessment cannot be granted as it would contradict statutory requirements and create unequal tax burdens.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRoyal Palm Yacht & County Club, Inc., a property owner, filed suit to enjoin the Palm Beach County tax collector from collecting taxes on its real pro…
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The plaintiff-appellee, a property owner, filed suit to enjoin the tax collector of Palm Beach County from collecting taxes assessed against its real property, alleging an illegal assessment.
In its complaint the plaintiff alleged that several other pieces of property in the county similar to its property were assessed at a much lower valuation but nowhere in its complaint has the plaintiff alleged that its property is assessed in excess of its actual full cash value. The defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint but the court below denied the same, and hence this appeal.
The particular point presented in this interlocutory appeal is whether or not the complaint states a cause of action for in-junctive relief in a challenge to the real estate assessment of the county tax assessor when it fails to allege that such assessment's in excess of the actual full cash value of the property.
The appellants have cited one case in support of their position, Cosen Inv. Co., Inc. v. Overstreet, 1944, 154 Fla. 416, 17 So.2d 788, wherein the Supreme Court affirmed the Circuit Court of Dade County in dismissing such a complaint. The Court, in the Cosen case, stated'
“To perpetuate the practice of assessing all property at a less percentage than that directed by the statute (Chap. 20722, Acts 1941, F.S.A. § 193.-11) would necessarily result in favoring the homesteads. The logic of the opinion in Camp Phosphate Co. v. Allen, [77 Fla. 341, 81 So. 503,] supra, is no longer applicable because the reduced value, even though uniformly lower, is no longer just. Subsequent to the adoption of Art. X, Sec. 7, the practice of assessing property has been in conformity with the statute, that is at one hundred per cent of its true cash value.
“To grant appellant’s request would require us to order a constitutional official act contrary to the statute and by so doing the effect of his act would result in rendering unequal the tax burden to the taxpayers of Dade County.”
In the case of Florida Land Co. v. Graham, 1929, 97 Fla. 476, 121 So. 462, the Su*901preme Court affirmed an order dissolving a temporary injunction, saying:
“ * * * The bill does not allege that the lands were assessed higher than their actual value, or at a higher valuation than were the lands of like character and like situation assessed.”
The appellee has cited Harbond, Inc., v. Anderson, Fla.App.1961, 134 So.2d 816; and Dade County v. Dupont Plaza, Inc., Fla.App.1960, 117 So.2d 849. In both of these cases, however, there was the allegation in the complaint that the assessment was at or more than the actual full cash value of the property involved.
The order of the lower court is reversed and the cause is remanded with direction for the entry of an order dismissing the complaint filed in this case.
ALLEN and SMITH, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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The Deltona Corp. v. Bailey, 336 So. 2d 1163 (Fla. 1976)…e showing that parcels of some other taxpayers are assessed at a lesser amount. See Walter v. Schuler, 176 So. 2d 81 (Fla.1965); Cosen Investment Co. v. Overstreet, 154 Fla. 416, 17 So. 2d 788 (1944); Sproul v. Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Inc., 143 So. 2d 900 (2d D.C.A.Fla.1962). It is only in very limited circumstances in which an exception to the general rule can be successfully maintained. Normally one whose property is not assessed at greater than 100% of its fair market value may not be permitted to…
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Schooley v. Sunset Realty Corp., 185 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)…ny plaintiff equal protection of the law in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. We are not unmindful of the decisions in Cosen Inv. Co., Inc. v. Overstreet, 154 Fla. 416, 17 So. 2d 788 (1944), and Sproul v. Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Inc., 143 So. 2d 900 (D.C.A.Fla.1962), which appear to hold that a taxpayer is entitled to no such relief under the circumstances of this case unless his property was assessed in excess of full cash value. In those cases, however, the constitutional question of equal pr…
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Salter v. Dade Cnty., 170 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964)…. The appellees contend that the trial judge’s action in dismissing the complaint should be affirmed, on the authority of Cosen Inv. Co. v. Overstreet, 1944, 154 Fla. 416, 17 So. 2d 788; Sproul v. Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, Inc., Fla.App.1962, 143 So. 2d 900. [*58] We reverse the action of the trial judge and hold that the complaint in the instant cause, involving tax assessment for the year 1961, stated a cause of action and the appellees should he required to respond thereto, in accordance with the op…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Camp Phosphate Co. v. Allen, 77 Fla. 341 (Fla. 1919)
- Harbond, Inc. v. Van Anderson, 134 So. 2d 816 (Fla. 2d DCA 1961)
- Cosen Inv. Co., Inc. v. Overstreet, 154 Fla. 416 (Fla. 1944)
- Fla. Land Co. v. Graham, 97 Fla. 476 (Fla. 1929)
- Dade Cnty. v. Dupont Plaza, Inc., 117 So. 2d 849 (Fla. 3d DCA 1960)