Brutus 630, LLC v. Town of Bel Air
139 A.3d 957
| Md. | 2016Background
- Brutus 630 (assignee of builder NVR) paid $1,186,627 in sewer connection charges to the Town of Bel Air as a condition of building permits for a condominium development; NVR assigned any refund rights to Brutus.
- Brutus filed a refund application under Maryland Code, Local Government § 20-113 et seq., arguing the Town lacked authority or miscalculated the sewer connection charges; the Town’s tax collector denied the claim.
- Brutus appealed to the Maryland Tax Court; the Tax Court dismissed for lack of jurisdiction, reasoning the charges were not taxes/charges "in the nature of taxes" and invoking the voluntary payment doctrine.
- The Circuit Court and Court of Special Appeals affirmed the dismissal; the Maryland Court of Appeals granted certiorari.
- The Court of Appeals held the local-government refund statute covers municipal fees/charges (including sewer connection fees), the voluntary payment doctrine is displaced by the statute, and the Maryland Tax Court has jurisdiction to hear the administrative appeal. The Court did not decide the merits of Brutus’s refund claim.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Does LG § 20-113 authorize refund claims for municipal sewer connection charges? | Brutus: the statute allows refunds of any "tax, fee, charge, interest, or penalty" erroneously or illegally collected, which includes sewer connection fees. | Town: statute limited to taxes or charges "in the nature of taxes," so sewer connection charges (service-based) fall outside. | Held: LG § 20-113 covers municipal fees/charges like sewer connection charges; Brutus may seek a refund under the statute. |
| Does the voluntary payment doctrine bar a refund claim for these charges? | Brutus: the refund statute is the statutory exception to the voluntary payment rule; administrative remedy applies. | Town: absent an explicit statutory remedy, voluntary payment doctrine precludes recovery. | Held: voluntary payment doctrine does not bar the statutory refund claim. |
| Does the Maryland Tax Court have jurisdiction to hear an appeal under LG § 20-117? | Brutus: LG § 20-117 expressly permits appeal of local refund determinations to the Tax Court. | Town: TG § 3-103 limits Tax Court jurisdiction to "tax issues," so it lacks jurisdiction here. | Held: Tax Court has jurisdiction under LG § 20-117; TG § 3-103 does not narrow that grant. |
| Is West Capital controlling (i.e., do contractual/service payments fall outside refund statute)? | Brutus: West Capital is distinguishable; it involved contractual proprietary payments, not municipal ordinance charges assessed within municipal borders. | Town: West Capital supports treating water/sewer charges as non-tax service charges outside the refund statute. | Held: West Capital is not controlling; its facts differ and cannot overcome the statute’s broad remedial scope. |
Key Cases Cited
- Dua v. Comcast Cable of Maryland, 370 Md. 604 (2002) (discusses voluntary payment doctrine and exceptions)
- White v. Prince George's County, 282 Md. 641 (1978) (applies voluntary payment doctrine to tax recovery absent statutory remedy)
- Rapley v. Montgomery County, 261 Md. 98 (1971) (led to legislative expansion of refund statute after voluntary-payment result)
- Vytar Associates v. City of Annapolis, 301 Md. 558 (1984) (construed refund statute broadly to include "other fees or charges")
- Bowman v. Goad, 348 Md. 199 (1997) (held refund statute provides exclusive administrative remedy for excessive fees)
- Halle Dev., Inc. v. Anne Arundel County, 371 Md. 312 (2002) (recognized applicability of local-government refund statute to certain local fees)
- Frankel v. Board of Regents, 361 Md. 298 (2000) (applied State refund provision to overcharges by state entities)
- West Capital Assocs., LP v. City of Annapolis, 110 Md. App. 443 (1996) (Court of Special Appeals decision treating certain water/sewer payments as contractual/proprietary and outside Tax Court jurisdiction)
- Apostol v. Anne Arundel County, 288 Md. 667 (1980) (applies voluntary payment doctrine even where statute/ordinance later found unconstitutional)
- Washington Suburban Sanitary Comm’n v. C.I. Mitchell & Best Co., 303 Md. 544 (1985) (discusses limits of refund statutes vis-à-vis agency coverage)