BRG Associates v. Larry Hess, Assessor of Berkley County, 16-0338

BRG Associates bought two Martinsburg office buildings in 2012; a January 2012 appraisal using the income approach valued both at $4,035,000 combined.
For Tax Year 2015 the Berkeley County Assessor (Hess) used the cost approach and appraised the properties at $5,662,200 combined (higher than BRG’s appraisal).
BRG petitioned the county Board of Equalization and Review (BER), arguing the assessor should have used the income approach and published cap rates, yielding substantially lower values.
The BER upheld the assessor’s cost-based valuations, finding income or market approaches were not supported by the evidence. BRG appealed to the circuit court.
The circuit court affirmed, finding BRG did not present clear and convincing evidence that the assessor’s valuations were erroneous. BRG appealed to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
The assessor’s office witness testified the income and market methods were infeasible due to lack of current, local comparable sales and insufficient data to derive a capitalization rate; regulatory rules and precedent allow reliance on cost where other methods lack data.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether assessor violated regulation requiring consideration of cost, income, and market approaches by using cost only	BRG: income approach is the best measure for commercial rental property; assessor should have used income approach and 2012 appraisal data with published cap rates	Assessor: all three approaches were considered but income and market could not be used because data were not current, local, or sufficient to derive a cap rate; rules permit use of cost in such circumstances	Court: affirmed — assessor’s use of cost method was supported by substantial evidence; BRG failed to show clear and convincing error
Whether valuation violated equal and uniform taxation / Equal Protection	BRG raised constitutional equal/uniform taxation and Equal Protection claims	Assessor: procedural and evidentiary record supports valuation; constitutional claim not adequately briefed	Court: BRG failed to meaningfully brief constitutional arguments on appeal; Court declined to consider them and affirmed lower court

West Penn Power Co. v. Board of Review and Equalization, 112 W.Va. 442, 164 S.E. 862 (1932) (assessment by board will not be reversed if supported by substantial evidence)
Western Pocahontas Properties, Ltd. v. County Comm’n of Wetzel County, 189 W.Va. 322, 431 S.E.2d 661 (1993) (taxpayer bears burden of clear and convincing evidence to overturn assessment)
In re Petition of Maple Meadow Mining Co. for Relief from Real Property Assessment, 191 W.Va. 519, 446 S.E.2d 912 (1994) (standards for review of board assessments)
Stone Brooke Ltd. P’ship v. Sisinni, 224 W.Va. 691, 688 S.E.2d 300 (2009) (presumption that assessor valuations are correct; burden on taxpayer)
Lee Trace, LLC v. Raynes, 232 W.Va. 183, 751 S.E.2d 703 (2013) (an assessor need not perform a futile appraisal method when insufficient data exists)
State v. Kaufman, 227 W.Va. 537, 711 S.E.2d 607 (2011) (issues not briefed or supported with authority are not preserved on appeal)