Verizon California Inc. v. Board of Equalization

This is a property tax refund action for the 2007 tax year filed by plaintiff, Verizon California Inc. (Verizon). The trial court entered a judgment of dismissal after it sustained defendants’ demurrer without leave to amend. Defendants are the Board of Equalization (Board) and nine individual counties. Verizon owns property in 38 counties, but it sought a refund for taxes paid for the 2007 tax year only from the nine named counties. The trial court sustained the demurrer on the ground Verizon failed to name indispensable parties, i.e., the 29 absent counties in which Verizon owns property, even though Verizon sought no refund from those counties.

The properties of telephone companies, of which Verizon is one, are assessed annually by the Board on a statewide basis, rather than by each individual county. (Cal. Const., art. XIII, § 19.) If a taxpayer disagrees with the assessed value determined by the Board and desires a refund, the taxpayer must first exhaust its administrative remedies by petitioning the Board for reassessment, paying the taxes at issue, and claiming a refund. (Rev. & Tax. Code, §§741, 5148, subds. (e)-(g).) Only then may a taxpayer file a complaint,…