Kankakee County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board
2012 IL App (3d) 110045
Ill. App. Ct.2012Background
- Armstrong World Industries owned a large, old, multifaceted industrial complex in Kankakee County used for manufacturing floor tiles.
- County initially assessed Armstrong’s parcel at $2,884,281 (market value ~$8.61M) for 2006.
- Armstrong sought reduction; PTAB lowered the assessed value to $1,326,600 (market value ~$3.96M).
- Armstrong offered Salisbury appraisal relying on five sales comparables (unencumbered at sale); County offered Brorsen’s review and another appraisal.
- PTAB discounted Brorsen’s multitenant sales and credited Salisbury’s unleased comparables as more indicative of market value.
- Appraisers disagreed on weight of leased versus nonleased properties; PTAB’s credibility assessment favored nonleased comparables and adjusted values accordingly.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether PTAB properly weighed comparables involving leases. | County argued multitenant sales should be given weight. | Armstrong/PTAB argued nonleased sales better indicate value and leased status affects comparability. | PTAB did not err; weighed credibility and favored nonleased comparables. |
| Whether reliance on out-of-market sale values was proper. | County contends out-of-market sales distort value. | PTAB considered testimony supporting distance not being a valuation factor and used out-of-market data with credibility support. | Not against manifest weight; court upheld reliance on such values. |
| Whether the appraisal weight favoring Salisbury over Brorsen was proper. | County favored Brorsen’s market approach and closer proximity considerations. | PTAB found Salisbury’s unencumbered comparables more indicative of market value. | PTAB’s weighting supported by testimony; not clearly erroneous. |
Key Cases Cited
- Illini Country Club v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 263 Ill. App. 3d 410 (1994) (credibility and weight of expert testimony govern valuation review)
- Du Page County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 284 Ill. App. 3d 649 (1996) (PTAB credibility/weight of comparables is factual and reviewable for manifest weight)
- National City Bank v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 331 Ill. App. 3d 1038 (2002) (weighting of evidence and witness credibility within agency discretion)
- Peacock v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 339 Ill. App. 3d 1060 (2003) (acceptance of PTAB findings as prima facie true; standard of review limited)
- Kankakee County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 226 Ill. 2d 36 (2007) (central question is PTAB’s correctness of valuation, not de novo value review)
- Cook County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board, 384 Ill. App. 3d 472 (2008) (affirmation that discrepancies in expert testimony are for PTAB credibility assessment)