Spirit Master Funding IX, L.L.C. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision (Slip Opinion), 120 N.E.3d 815

Subject property: a 7,534‑sq.ft. Red Lobster restaurant on 2.26 acres in Orange; sold twice in 2014 (Aug sale reported at $2,925,880; Dec sale at $3,439,029).
County auditor assessed the parcel at $2,016,400 for tax year 2014; Orange City School District challenged and relied on the August 2014 sale as a valuation basis if the sale was arm’s length.
Owner (Spirit Master) presented an appraisal by Richard G. Racek Jr. valuing the property at $1,535,000 as of Jan 1, 2014, using income and sales‑comparison approaches and noting allocation from a chain sale.
Cuyahoga County Board of Revision (BOR) adopted the August 2014 sale price ($2,925,900). Spirit Master appealed to the Board of Tax Appeals (BTA).
The BTA declined to consider Racek’s appraisal, upheld the BOR’s sale‑price valuation, and relied on precedent treating sale price as controlling. Spirit Master appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a recent arm’s‑length sale price is conclusive evidence of value under amended R.C. 5713.03	Racek: appraisal evidence shows a substantially lower true value and should be considered over sale price	School board: sale price presumptively controls; appraisal unreliable and sale was unencumbered at time of sale	Sale price is presumptive, not conclusive; BTA must consider and weigh appraisal evidence; BTA decision vacated and remanded
Whether BTA may refuse to consider appraisal evidence without weighing it	Appellant: BTA must address and weigh appraisal as relevant evidence of unencumbered fee‑simple value	Appellee: BTA properly rejected appraisal as unreliable hearsay and need not adopt it	BTA erred by failing to consider the appraisal; remand required for BTA to weigh it
Whether absence of a lease at time of sale defeats appraisal challenge to sale price	Appellant: appraisal can provide independent evidence of value apart from lease issues	Appellee: lack of lease at sale undermines Racek’s basis for lower valuation	Absence of lease is relevant but does not preclude appraisal from being considered as independent evidence
Whether new evidence may be submitted on remand	Appellant: seeks consideration of submitted appraisal evidence	Appellee: not applicable	Court ordered BTA to weigh existing appraisal evidence and prohibited submission of new evidence on remand

Terraza 8, L.L.C. v. Franklin Cty. Bd. of Revision, 83 N.E.3d 916 (Ohio 2017) (sale price is presumptive, not conclusive; taxing authorities must consider other relevant evidence)
Berea City School Dist. Bd. of Edn. v. Cuyahoga Cty. Bd. of Revision, 834 N.E.2d 782 (Ohio 2005) (prior precedent treating sale price as controlling under earlier statutory framework)