Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream, Inc. v. County of Alameda

This is an appeal from the trial court’s judgment ordering a refund of property tax paid under protest.

The parties to the appeal are plaintiff Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream, a California corporation (hereafter respondent or Dreyer) and defendant County of Alameda (hereafter appellant or county). The stipulated facts reveal that from some time before March 1, 1975, until approximately May 4, 1983, Associated Food Stores, Inc., respondent’s predecessor (hereafter Associated), owned a piece of real property at 1260 Whipple Road, Union City, Alameda County. Prior to March 1, 1975, Associated began to construct a cold storage warehouse on the property which was completed in December 1975. In April 1976 the county assessor physically inspected and appraised the completed warehouse as of March 1, 1976, the lien date for the 1976-1977 assessment year. This value was also used for the 1977-1978 assessment year.

On June 6, 1978, the voters of the State of California adopted the initiative measure, popularly known as Proposition 13 or the Tax Limitation Initiative, which amended the California Constitution by adding article XIII A. The latter, together with the implementing…