An appeals court has upheld the dismissal of Allegheny County property owners’ challenge to the municipality’s ability to adjust property taxes based on current market values, but said the property owners still have another recourse.

On Aug. 14, the Commonwealth Court affirmed an Allegheny County trial court’s dismissal of a putative class action filed by Joseph Nissim Martel and Ester Martel seeking relief from property reassessments ordered by the Allegheny County Board of Assessment Appeals and Review. But whereas the trial court tossed the case for lack of legal sufficiency, the appeals court dismissed the complaint because the plaintiffs failed to exhaust their statutory remedies before bringing the matter to the courts. Instead, the appeals panel said, the Second Class County Assessment Law requires the plaintiffs to first challenge the reassessments before the board.

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