Safeway Stores, Inc. v. County of Alameda

*785 Opinion

This appeal concerns “escaped assessments.” It turns upon the application to such assessments of the 1966 amendment to Revenue and Taxation Code section 1605, in the particular time sequence here shown.

Early in 1967, the assessor of Alameda County, acting on behalf of the county and the several defendant cities, entered escaped assessments against plaintiff upon the assessment rolls for the tax years 1964, 1965, and 1966. Such an entry was made February 28, 1967, but was superseded by entry, after March 6, 1967, of a smaller assessment for the same years. Safeway filed its application for reduction March 28, and it was heard April 20 by the board of supervisors, sitting as a board of equalization. On May 23, the board denied Safeway’s application and affirmed escaped assessments for each of the years 1964, 1965, and 1966. Taxes upon these assessments amounted to a total of $230,180.05. Safeway paid the amount under protest, and brought this action to recover the sum so paid. The case was presented to the trial court upon the stipulations contained in a joint pretrial statement, the record of proceedings before the board of equalization, and some new evidence not…