Perkins Cty. Bd. of Equal. v. Mid America Agri Prods., 8 N.W.3d 716

Mid America Agri Products/Wheatland Industries, LLC (Wheatland) owns property in Perkins County, Nebraska, and contested the tax valuations set for 2018–2020.
The Perkins County Board of Equalization (the Board) affirmed those valuations; Wheatland appealed to the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC), which adopted lower valuations for all three years.
The Board filed a petition for judicial review of TERC’s decision in the Nebraska Court of Appeals, paid the required docket fees, and attempted to serve Wheatland with a summons by certified mail.
The summons was not delivered to Wheatland within the statutory 30-day period but arrived later; before actual service, Wheatland’s counsel filed an appearance and a response to the petition.
The Nebraska Supreme Court moved the case to its docket and ordered both parties to show cause why the matter should not be dismissed for lack of jurisdiction due to untimely service of summons.
The underlying issue became whether Wheatland’s voluntary appearance could substitute for the statutorily required timely service of summons and thereby establish appellate jurisdiction.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is timely service of summons jurisdictional under §77-5019(2)(b)?	Strict compliance not necessary if voluntary appearance filed	Strict compliance with statute is required; voluntary appearance does not suffice	Strict compliance is required for jurisdiction; voluntary appearance is not a substitute
Does a party’s voluntary appearance waive the requirement for timely service of a summons in TERC appeals?	Yes, voluntary appearance is equivalent to service and waives defect	No, voluntary appearance cannot waive a jurisdictional defect in service	Voluntary appearance cannot substitute for or waive strict statutory service requirements
Should the appeal proceed despite late service?	Yes, because notice was accomplished through voluntary appearance	No, lack of timely service deprives the court of jurisdiction regardless of notice	Appeal dismissed for lack of jurisdiction

Cargill Meat Solutions v. Colfax Cty. Bd. of Equal., 281 Neb. 93 (strict statutory compliance with summons requirement is jurisdictional in TERC appeals)
Omaha Expo & Racing v. Nebraska State Racing Comm., 307 Neb. 172 (voluntary appearance does not confer subject matter jurisdiction for judicial review of agency action)
Concordia Teachers College v. Neb. Dept. of Labor, 252 Neb. 504 (service of summons within statutory timeframe is necessary for judicial review of administrative agency decisions)
J.S. v. Grand Island Public Schools, 297 Neb. 347 (voluntary appearance gives personal, not subject matter, jurisdiction where statute requires service)
Norris P.P. Dist. v. State ex rel. Jones, 183 Neb. 489 (timely service of summons is jurisdictional for APA appeals)