These consolidated appeals had their origins in the applications of twenty taxpayers for conservation use assessments or other exemptions of their properties. When the Jasper County Board of Tax Assessors “the Tax Board” denied the applications, the taxpayers appealed to the county Board of Equalization, which reversed. The Tax Board then appealed the cases to the superior court with the request that it hear the cases “as soon as practicable” for a non-jury de novo hearing pursuant to OCGA § 48-5-311 g 4 A. When the trial court failed to conduct a non-jury hearing within 40 days, as required by that Code section, the taxpayers brought motions to dismiss, which the trial court granted. The Tax Board now asserts that the trial court erred when it granted the motions to dismiss. We agree and reverse. 1. The Tax Board contends that the superior court lacked the authority to dismiss its appeals on the sole ground that a non-jury hearing was not held within 40 days of its notices of appeal. We agree.
The Tax Board’s notices of appeal to the superior court requested that each appeal “be heard as soon as practicable before the Court sitting without a jury.” The Tax Board’s certifications of the notices1 elaborated that “as only questions of law are presented in this appeal, the Clerk is required to assign this case for hearing as soon as practicable before the Court sitting without a jury pursuant to OCGA § 48-5-311 g 4 A.”2 That subparagraph provides in part that an appeal to the superior court from a decision of a county board of equalizationshall be heard before a jury at the first term following the filing of the appeal unless continued by the court upon a showing of good cause. If only questions of law are presented in the appeal, the appeal shall be heard as soon as practicable before the court sitting without a jury. Each hearing before the court sitting without a jury shall be held within 40 days following the date on which the appeal is filed with the clerk of the superior court . Emphasis supplied.
