Tesoro Refining & Marketing Co. v. City of Carson CA2/4

INTRODUCTION

After satisfying the prefiling conditions in the Government Claims Act (Gov. Code1, § 810 et seq.) (GCA), Tesoro Refining & Marketing Company LLC and Tesoro Logistics Operations LLC (collectively, Tesoro) sued the City of Carson (the City). The suit sought refund of monies paid to satisfy Tesoro’s obligations under the City’s Oil Industry Business License Tax (OIBLT) for the period beginning December 2017 and ending June 2018 (the Covered Period). Among other things, the complaint alleged the City’s assessment of the amounts paid violates the United States and California Constitutions, as well as various California statutes. The City demurred to the complaint, arguing it failed to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action because it did not allege Tesoro exhausted the administrative remedies set forth in Carson Municipal Code2 sections 63515 and 63523 (collectively, the Administrative Review Ordinances) before filing suit. Tesoro countered that the Administrative Review Ordinances were void, as they were preempted by the GCA. Therefore, Tesoro argued, it did not have to comply with them as a precondition to filing suit. Agreeing with the City and…