S&B Dickinson Apartments I, LLC v. Stark County Board of Commissioners, 914 N.W.2d 503

S&B Dickinson Apartments I, LLC (S&B) owns Sierra Ridge apartments; Dickinson Properties, LLC owns the Microtel Inn & Suites in Dickinson, ND. Both sought abatement/refund of 2016 property taxes, arguing market declines from changes in the oil and gas industry reduced values.
Assessed values: Sierra Ridge $36,451,720 (appraised by owner at $16,550,000); Microtel $5,305,000 (owner evidence valuing at $2,000,000).
The Stark County Board of Commissioners denied both abatement requests on March 20, 2017.
S&B and Dickinson Properties filed appeals in district court and served the county within 30 days, but served the State Tax Commissioner by registered mail more than 30 days after the Board’s decision.
The district court affirmed the Board; the Board argued the district court lacked jurisdiction because appellants failed to timely serve the State Tax Commissioner as required by N.D.C.C. § 11-11-41.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether service on the State Tax Commissioner must be within 30 days to perfect an appeal under N.D.C.C. § 11-11-41	Service on the commissioner need only be within a reasonable time; § 11-11-41 contains no explicit time limit	Service on the commissioner is jurisdictional and must be timely (within 30 days) per cross-reference to § 28-34-01 and legislative intent	Held: Service on the State Tax Commissioner must be made within 30 days; failure to do so deprived the district court of subject-matter jurisdiction
Whether § 11-11-41 is a nonjurisdictional notice provision	Appellants: the statute is merely a notice requirement, not jurisdictional	Board: the statute is jurisdictional because appeal-rights are statutory and service requirements are necessary to perfect appeal	Held: § 11-11-41 is jurisdictional; service requirement is necessary to perfect an appeal

Meier v. N.D. Dep’t of Human Serv., 818 N.W.2d 774 (N.D. 2012) (service requirements for appeals are jurisdictional and must be followed)
Garaas v. Cass Cty. Joint Water Res. Dist., 883 N.W.2d 436 (N.D. 2016) (legislative history and cross-references indicate 30-day service requirement applies to related statutes to ensure prompt resolution)
Altru Specialty Serv., Inc. v. N.D. Dep’t of Human Serv., 903 N.W.2d 721 (N.D. 2017) (statutory filing and service requirements for administrative appeals are jurisdictional)
Reliable, Inc. v. Stutsman Cty. Comm’n, 409 N.W.2d 632 (N.D. 1987) (a court has subject-matter jurisdiction over an appeal only if statutory requirements for perfecting the appeal are met)