Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc. v. County of Los Angeles

Plaintiff Los Angeles Dodgers, Inc., (hereafter referred to as Dodgers) seeks recovery of taxes paid under protest to defendant Los Angeles County, which distributed a portion of the tax revenue to defendant City of Los Angeles. The taxes were levied on a 40-aere portion of 300 acres of real property in the Chavez Ravine, which property was the subject of an agreement between the Dodgers and the city relating to the acquisition of property by the Dodgers as a site for a baseball stadium. The court determined that the taxes were proper. Plaintiff appeals from the judgment that plaintiff take nothing by its actions. (There are two actions, one for recovery of taxes paid for the fiscal years 1961-1962 and 1962-1963, and the other one for recovery of taxes paid for the fiscal year 1963-1964. The actions were consolidated in the superior court.)

Appellant contends that the 40-acre portion of the property is exempt from taxation because the city, under the provisions of the agreement between the Dodgers and the city, retained legal title to, and the equitable and beneficial ownership of, the 40 acres.

The matter was submitted upon a written stipulation of facts.

On June 3. 1959, the…