Stocker Resources, Inc. v. Assessment Appeals Board

Appellant Stocker Resources, Inc., applied for a reduction of real property tax assessments for fiscal tax year 1992-1993. Respondent Assessment Appeals Board for the County of Los Angeles (the board) failed to hear Stocker’s application within two years of its filing, believing Stocker had waived the two-year rule of Revenue and Taxation Code section 1604, subdivision (c)(1). That provision requires the board to adopt the taxpayer’s opinion of market value, as reflected on the taxpayer’s application for reduction in assessment, if the board fails to hear the matter within two years of the application’s timely filing. When Stocker tried to claim the benefit of the two-year rule at its hearing, the board held that Stocker was estopped due to the intentionally misleading manner in which Stocker’s attorney had modified the board’s standardized waiver form. The superior court denied Stocker’s petition for writ of mandate, and Stocker appealed. We affirm the order of denial.

Background

Stocker’s application for reduction in assessed value, filed September 1, 1992, was set to be heard on September 1, 1994. One or both of the parties wanted to continue the hearing. Numerous…