Newton Timber Co., L.L.L.P. v. Monroe County Board of Tax Assessors, 295 Ga. 29

Newton Entities owned extensive Monroe County parcels and contested 100+ tax appeals from 2008–2012.
They appealed assessments to the BOE; after negative BOE results, they pursued superior court appeals under OCGA § 48-5-311.
In 2011 Newton filed CUVA applications for 18 parcels; all were approved to begin January 1, 2011.
Newton filed a mandamus petition in October 2012 seeking certification of appeals and CUVA treatment, but did not pay all required filing fees.
Superior Court found repeated consolidation and fee issues; the Board certified the appeals in December 2012 but Newton had disputes over fees and consolidation.
The court ultimately denied mandamus relief and ordered Newton to pay the assessed filing fees.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether mandamus lies to compel certification of tax appeals	Newton argues Board must certify appeals and complete certification steps.	Board contends filing fees must be paid before certification and consolidation rules apply.	Mandamus denied; certification moot due to fee and procedural issues.
Whether CUVA approvals could be compelled or retroactively challenged	Newton contends Board denied CUVA in 2008 and failed to act; approvals for 2011 should be deemed denial of earlier years.	CUVAs were filed for 2011; earlier-year issues were untimely and not properly before the court.	No mandamus relief; CUVA approvals for 2011 valid and earlier-year issues not actionable.
Whether filing-fee and consolidation requirements foreclose relief	Newton claims consolidation should reduce fees and allow a single civil action for multiple parcels.	No consolidation under the statute; fees must be paid per parcel and notices not consolidated.	Newton required to pay $206 per parcel; improper consolidation defeated relief.

Fitzpatrick v. Madison County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 292 Ga. 74 (Ga. 2012) (filing fee prerequisite to superior court appeal)
Hertz v. Bennett, 294 Ga. 62 (Ga. 2013) (mandamus requires clear right or gross abuse of discretion)
Oddo v. Fayette County Bd. of Tax Assessors, 261 Ga. App. 707 (Ga. App. 2003) (rejected certain fee-notice exceptions to certification)
Fulton County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Jones, 271 Ga. 881 (Ga. 2000) (board has no discretion in certification process for tax appeals)
Fulton County Bd. of Tax Assessors v. Boyajian, unspecified (unspecified) (consolidation and certification considerations in appeals)