Dickey v. Fulton County Bd. of Tax Assessors

Patricia Dickey “taxpayer” appeals from the superior court’s order finding that it was without jurisdiction to consider her untimely appeal from the Fulton County Board of Equalization’s decision regarding her ad valorem tax appeal. For the following reasons, we affirm.

This is a residential property tax appeal for tax year 2011 for property located at Tuxedo Road in Atlanta. The taxpayer appealed the 2011 tax assessment for the property to the Fulton County Board of Assessors. The Board of Equalization heard the tax appeal on March 5, 2012. The Board of Equalization then sent its decision letter to the taxpayer via certified mail on March 14, 2012. Instructions for how to appeal to the superior court were included with the Board of Equalization’s decision letter, which informed the taypayer that “a written Notice of Appeal must be filed within thirty 30 days of the date of this notice.” The taxpayer’s appeal was not filed until April 16, 2012, which was 33 days after the notice of the Board’s decision had been mailed to her. The superior court granted the Fulton County Board of Tax Assessors’ motion for summary judgment on the grounds that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter because the appeal was not timely filed.