Patience v. Salt Lake County Board of Equalization
2021 UT App 4
| Utah Ct. App. | 2021Background
- Patience LLC purchased a downtown Salt Lake City office-conversion property on May 31, 2017 for $1,242,824; the County assessed it (lien date Jan 1, 2017) at $885,890.
- Patience appealed the assessment to the County Board of Equalization and sought a reduction (initially to $550,000), submitting comparables and arguing it overpaid under duress and that homeless displacement (Operation Rio Grande) depressed value.
- The Board rejected Patience’s comparables as dissimilar and sustained the County valuation; Patience appealed to the State Tax Commission and introduced testimony about limited inventory, post-purchase homeless activity, and additional comparables.
- The Commission credited the County/Appraiser comparables, found Patience’s comparables were in poorer condition or different types (office condos vs. office conversions), found insufficient evidence of duress, and determined Operation Rio Grande effects occurred after the lien date.
- Patience’s motion for reconsideration (with newly identified comparables) was denied as untimely; the Commission’s decision sustaining the $885,890 assessment was affirmed on review.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fair market value of property | County overvalued property; comparables show much lower value | Assessment supported by County valuation, sale history, and Board comparables; Commission entitled to deference | Commission’s valuation sustained; substantial evidence supports $885,890 |
| Weight of Patience’s purchase price / duress claim | Purchase price ($1.24M) was inflated by duress (urgent need) and shouldn’t control value | Insufficient evidence of duress; limited inventory can legitimately raise fair market price | Duress claim rejected; purchase price may be weighed and supports assessment |
| Effect of Operation Rio Grande on value | Displacement of homeless population reduced value at lien date | Operation Rio Grande began after lien date; effects not knowable as of lien date | Rejected—homeless activity occurred after lien date and could not alter valuation |
| Equalization (5% deviation) | Assessment deviates >5% from comparable properties; demand equalization to lower value | Patience’s comparables are not truly comparable (grade, condition, type); Board’s comparables rebut claim | Equalization denied; Patience failed to prove comparables deviate >5% and meet burden |
Key Cases Cited
- Mallinckrodt v. Salt Lake County, 983 P.2d 566 (Utah 1999) (courts grant deference to the Commission’s valuation if supported by substantial evidence)
- Utah Ry. Co. v. Utah State Tax Comm’n, 5 P.3d 652 (Utah 2000) (taxpayer must show substantial error and provide sound evidentiary basis to adopt lower value)
- Fraughton v. Utah State Tax Comm’n, 438 P.3d 961 (Utah Ct. App. 2019) (taxpayer must provide a sound evidentiary basis for a lower valuation)
- Decker Lake Ventures, LLC v. Utah State Tax Comm’n, 356 P.3d 1243 (Utah 2015) (mixed legal-factual determinations merit substantial deference)
- Mountain Ranch Estates v. Utah State Tax Comm’n, 100 P.3d 1206 (Utah 2004) (equalization remedy requires showing a >5% deviation from comparable assessments)
- Pilcher v. State, 663 P.2d 450 (Utah 1983) (evidence not admitted before the trier of fact will not be considered on appeal)