Attorney Drew Michael Taylor's Legal Cases

Tax

Equinix LLC v. County of Los Angeles (2024) B324243 (published)

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OUTCOME:

Sale of real property subject to a remaining lease term of less than 35 years is a change in ownership under Revenue and Taxation Code § 61(c)(1)(D), triggering reassessment. GPT bought a data-cente ... r property leased to Equinix with 26 years left on the lease. The Assessor treated the sale as a change in ownership and reassessed. The Court of Appeal affirmed, finding the statutory language unambiguous: a lease with fewer than 35 years remaining does not prevent the sale from constituting a change in ownership.

Tax

RAR2 Villa Marina Center CA SPE, Inc. v. County of Los Angeles (2023) B315898 (published)

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OUTCOME:

Once a taxpayer files an assessment appeal, the Assessment Appeals Board may determine a value higher than the original roll value if the Assessor properly issues “raise letters” under § 1609.4 giving ... notice of the higher value and supporting evidence. The owners of a shopping center appealed a 2011 decline-in-value assessment of ~$94 million, seeking $48 million. The Assessor issued raise letters proposing ~$113 million. The Board denied the owners’ attempt to withdraw the appeal and adopted the higher value. The Court of Appeal held that raise letters are not “roll corrections” subject to the one-year limit in § 4831(c), and the Board has a duty to find the full cash value once the appeal is filed.

Real estate

Vekic et al. v. Navarro et al. (Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist., Div. 2, No. B218159

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OUTCOME:

Represented the prevailing property owners in a quiet-title action. Adjacent homeowners claimed a prescriptive easement over a small, overgrown strip of land. After a bench trial, the court found the c ... laimants failed to prove open and notorious, continuous, and hostile use for the required period. The Court of Appeal affirmed, holding substantial evidence supported the denial of the easement.

Drew Michael Taylor's Legal Cases (3)

Equinix LLC v. County of Los Angeles (2024) B324243 (published)

RAR2 Villa Marina Center CA SPE, Inc. v. County of Los Angeles (2023) B315898 (published)

Vekic et al. v. Navarro et al. (Cal. Ct. App., 2d Dist., Div. 2, No. B218159