MHC, Inc. v. Oregon Department of Revenue

These eases arise out of prior litigation brought by various railroads challenging provisions of the Oregon property tax scheme under the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act. Pending the outcome of the primary litigation, the disputed taxes were placed into escrow accounts pursuant to a consent order entered upon stipulation of the parties. Eventually, Oregon prevailed on the merits. The present dispute centers on whether the railroads must pay the Oregon statutory rate of interest of 16% applicable to untimely paid taxes.

I.

Plaintiffs in these consolidated cases consist of various railroad and carline companies (hereinafter “railroads”). 1 This dispute arises out of lawsuits filed by the railroads under § 306 of the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, 49 U.S.C. § 11503 (“4-R Act”), seeking to enjoin collection of allegedly discriminatory ad valorem property taxes. These challenges began in the mid-eighties and stretched over a long period of years. New suits were filed for each successive tax year on behalf of different railroads. Although only a small subset of the specific tax years is at issue in this appeal, numerous similar appeals have been…