Hormel Food Corp. v. DeKalb County Bd. of Tax Assessors

Hormel Food Corporation operates a processing plant and a warehouse in DeKalb County. In May 2000, the DeKalb County Board of Tax Assessors audited Hormel’s personal property reports from the plant and warehouse for the 1996 through 1999 tax years. The tax assessors found that Hormel had failed to report more than $28 million in personal property at the two locations over those four years and owed $496,363 in unpaid taxes and penalties. Hormel appealed to the DeKalb County Board of Equalization, which upheld the tax assessors’ findings. Hormel then appealed to superior court, initially challenging the assessments for all four years. But Hormel voluntarily dismissed its appeals as to the assessments for 1998 and 1999. Hormel proceeded with its appeals of the 1996 and 1997 assessments on the sole ground that those assessments are barred by the three-year statute of limitation contained in OCGA § 48-2-49. Hormel and the tax assessors filed opposing motions for summary judgment on the statute of limitation issue. The trial court denied Hormel’s motion but granted summary judgment to the tax assessors.

Hormel has filed two appeals from the trial court’s ruling. Case No. A03A0879 relates to the personal property at the plant while Case No. A03A0889 relates to the property at the warehouse. Because the companion appeals raise the same issue, we shall consider them in a single opinion.