Thomas I. Palley v. Tucker County Commission, 16-0403

Thomas I. Palley (petitioner) owns a residence and 2.17 acres at 105 North Point Woods, Tucker County, WV. 2015 assessment: $292,500 ($152,900 building; $139,600 land).
Palley appealed the assessment to the county board of equalization, which upheld it, then appealed to the Tucker County Circuit Court under W.Va. Code §§ 11-3-24, 11-3-25.
County Assessor’s method: derive land value by extracting building value (from contractors/new-build modifiers) from comparable sales; Assessor’s witness acknowledged the method sometimes overvalues large lots while bringing county into compliance with state standards.
Palley submitted an independent appraisal valuing the property at $162,000 (sales comparison) or $168,788 (cost approach); argued restrictive covenants made his large lot less valuable and non-divisible.
Circuit Court (Aug 4, 2015) reversed and directed reassessment; after reassessment to $216,300, Palley objected and proposed $181,000. Circuit Court (Mar 24, 2016) set the 2015 assessment at $181,200 (court found Palley’s figure reasonable) but denied an injunction preventing Assessor’s future use of the method and ordered each party to bear their own costs.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether County should pay Palley’s costs for successful challenge	Palley sought costs (including claimed attorney fees for his pro se work) because reassessment was required	County argued no misconduct; Assessor acted in good faith and adjustments reflected county compliance efforts	Court held no abuse of discretion: parties bear their own costs; pro se attorney’s fees not recoverable
Whether injunction should bar Assessor’s method for future tax years	Palley argued future disagreements make injunction appropriate to stop alleged overvaluation method	County argued its method complies with state assessment standards and court lacks authority over future assessments not before it	Court denied injunction as to future tax years; no abuse of discretion

Burgess v. Porterfield, 196 W.Va. 178 (recognizing standards of appellate review for circuit court findings and law)
Daily Gazette Co., Inc. v. Canady, 175 W.Va. 249 (award of costs limited to vexatious/wanton/oppressive claims unsupported by good-faith legal argument)
Foster v. Orchard Dev. Co., LLC, 227 W.Va. 119 (trial court injunction decisions reviewed for abuse of discretion)
Smith v. Bradley, 223 W.Va. 286 (pro se litigants not eligible for attorney’s fees)
Moss v. Bonnell, 186 W.Va. 301 (attorney’s fees require an actual fee charged by an attorney)
State v. LaRock, 196 W.Va. 294 (issues not adequately briefed need not be addressed on appeal)
Riffe v. Armstrong, 197 W.Va. 626 (later final order on appeal brings prior nonfinal orders before the Court)
Moats v. Preston County Comm’n, 206 W.Va. 8 (modifies/doctrine related to appeals and final orders)