Fulton County Bd. of Assessors v. Calliope Properties LLC

These related tax appeals involve the issue of attorney fees under OCGA § 48-5-311 arising in connection with ad valorem property assessments made by the Fulton County Board of Tax Assessors the “BTA” on two separate residential parcels owned by Calliope Properties, LLC “Calliope. In Case No. A11A1287, the BTA appeals the trial court’s award of attorney fees with regard to one of these parcels, arguing that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to make the award. In Case No. A11A1800, Calliope appeals, arguing that the trial court erred in reducing to $1,600 its post-stipulation attorney fee award with regard to a second parcel. A11A1287

The BTA states that it is legally bound to determine the record owner and value of real property in Fulton County as of January 1 of each year for the purpose of establishing the property owner’s tax liability, citing OCGA § § 48-5-6, 48-5-9, and 48-5-10. In that regard, the BTA assigned a fair market value of $120,500 as of January 1, 2009, to the residential property located at 1653 Temple Avenue “Parcel 1″. The parties apparently agree that Deutsche Bank National Trust Company “Deutsche” was the owner of record of the subject property as of that date. R. J. Morris, Calliope’s authorized agent and manager, apparently acquired title to Parcel 1 from Deutsche on or about January 30, 2009 for a purchase price of $30,000 and then re-conveyed Parcel 1 to Calliope the same day for purchase price of $32,600.