Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC v. Louisiana Tax Commission and Scott Meredith, Assessor of Caldwell Parish ( 2021 )


Menu:
  •                                      STATE OF LOUISIANA
    COURT OF APPEAL
    FIRST CIRCUIT
    NUMBER
    2021 CA 0271
    REGENCY INTRASTATE GAS, LLC
    VERSUS
    LOUISIANA TAX COMMISSION AND
    SCOTT MEREDITH, ASSESSOR OF CALDWELL PARISH
    consolidated with
    A
    1
    2021 CA 0272
    t
    REGENCY INTRASTATE GAS, LLC
    l                                       VERSUS
    V                            LOUISIANA TAX COMMISSION AND
    ROY ELROD, ASSESSOR OF FRANKLIN PARISH
    consolidated with
    2021 CA 0273
    REGENCY INTRASTATE GAS, LLC
    VERSUS
    LOUISIANA TAX COMMISSION AND
    GLEN KIRKLAND, ASSESSOR OF JACKSON PARISH
    Decision Rendered:   SEP 2 7 2021
    APPEALED FROM THE
    19th JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, SECTION 24
    EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, LOUISIANA
    DOCKET NUMBERS 687, 353; 687, 354; 687, 355
    HONORABLE DONALD JOHNSON, JUDGE
    Angela W. Adolph                      Attorney for Plaintiff/Appellant
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana                Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC
    Brian A. Eddington                    Attorney for Defendant/ Appellees
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana                Scott Meredith, Caldwell Parish
    Assessor; Rod Elrod, Franklin Parish
    Assessor; and Glen Kirkland, Jackson
    Parish Assessor
    Robert D. Hoffman, Jr.                Attorneys for Louisiana Tax Commission
    Drew Hoffman
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    BEFORE:     McDONALD, THERIOT, AND HESTER, 33.
    McDONALD, J.
    In these consolidated cases, a taxpayer challenges the Louisiana Tax Commission' s
    denial of the taxpayer's request for a reduction in the fair market value of the taxpayer's
    pipeline property for tax year 2018 based on economic obsolescence.                         The taxpayer
    appeals two district court judgments, which affirmed three Louisiana Tax Commission
    decisions, which in turn affirmed three parish Board of Review decisions, which in turn
    upheld the correctness of ad valorem property tax assessments by three parish assessors.
    After review, we affirm one judgment, and affirm in part and vacate in part a second
    judgment.
    FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    In 2018, Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC ( RIG) owned pipeline property that traversed
    Caldwell, Franklin, and Jackson Parishes.          When RIG filed its 2018 property tax returns in
    these three parishes, it requested a 31. 04% reduction in its pipeline property's fair market
    value based on economic obsolescence.            Caldwell Parish Assessor Scott Meredith, Franklin
    Parish Assessor Rod Elrod, and Jackson Parish Assessor Glen Kirkland ( the Assessors) each
    denied RIG' s obsolescence reduction request.'            The Caldwell, Franklin, and Jackson Parish
    Boards of Review ( Boards of Review) 2 each rejected RIG' s challenge to the assessments.
    RIG then appealed to the Louisiana Tax Commission ( LTC).                   After a hearing where the
    parties presented documentary evidence and live testimony,                      the   LTC    issued   three
    decisions affirming the Boards of Review decisions upholding the Parish Assessors' 2018
    assessments.
    On September 3,         2019, RIG filed three petitions for judicial             review of LTC' s
    decisions in the district court, naming the LTC and the Assessors as defendants/ appellees.
    The petitions were assigned Docket Number 687, 353 ( Caldwell suit);                     Docket Number
    687, 354 ( Franklin suit); and, Docket Number 687, 355 ( Jackson suit).               The Assessors filed
    1 The Louisiana Tax Commission decisions note that the Caldwell Assessor applied a — 3. 97% reduction for
    obsolescence to RIG' s Canehill compressor station but applied no reduction for RIG' s Caldwell Parish -sited
    pipeline.
    z The record shows the Caldwell, Franklin, and Jackson Parish Police Juries act as their respective parishes'
    Boards of Review when a taxpayer protests the Parish Assessors' property assessments.           See La. R.S.
    47: 1931; 47: 1992( B), ( C), and ( D); accord TBM- WC Sabine, LLC v. Sabine Parish Board of Review, 17- 
    1189 La. App. 3
     Cir. 7/ 18/ 18), 
    250 So. 3d 1075
    , 1077, n. 2.
    2
    an unopposed motion to transfer and consolidate the proceedings, which the district court
    granted.   The administrative record was filed into the consolidated district court record,
    the parties filed briefs, and the district court held a review hearing.
    On October 20, 2020, the district court signed a judgment in favor of the LTC,
    captioned with only the Caldwell suit docket number, against the " petitioner," denying and
    dismissing the petition for judicial review ( October judgment).           The October judgment
    pertinently stated:
    IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the
    Court finds in favor of the appellee/ respondent, Louisiana Tax Commission,
    and against the petitioner.   As such, the Petition for Judicial Review is
    DENIED.      The court finds that the Commission' s decision was neither
    arbitrary nor capricious.
    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Petition for Judicial Review is
    hereby DISMISSED, at Petitioner' s costs.
    The district court granted RIG' s motion for appeal from the October judgment,               and
    signed the order of appeal without the necessity for posting bond on November 20, 2020.
    On December 4, 2020, the district court signed a second ' amended and restated"
    judgment in favor of the LTC, captioned with the Caldwell, Franklin, and Jackson suit
    docket numbers, adding that the judgment was also in favor of the Assessors, specifically
    against RIG as the petitioner,      and denying and dismissing RIG' s petitions for judicial
    review ( December judgment).       The December judgment pertinently stated:
    IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that the
    Court finds in favor of Appellees/ Respondents, Caldwell Parish Assessor Scott
    Meredith, Franklin Parish Assessor Rod Elrod, Jackson Parish Assessor Glen
    Kirkland,  and    the   Louisiana  Tax  Commission,    and    against  the
    Appellant/ Petitioner, Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC. As such, the Petitions for
    Judicial   Review   are     DENIED.    The    Court   finds   the    Louisiana   Tax
    Commission' s decisions were neither arbitrary nor capricious.
    IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Petitions for [ Judicial] Review
    are hereby DISMISSED, at Petitioner's costs.
    RIG also appealed from the December judgment, and the district court granted the
    second appeal.
    3
    APPELLATE JURISDICTION
    Louisiana      Constitution    article     VII, § 18( E)       provides      that     the   correctness    of
    assessments by the assessor shall be subject to review first by the parish governing
    authority, then by the LTC or its successor, and finally by the courts, all in accordance with
    procedures established by law.               See La.    R. S.   47: 1931;        47: 1992;    47: 1989;   47: 1998.
    Louisiana Revised Statutes 47: 1998 authorizes judicial review of the correctness of a tax
    assessment, and the Administrative Procedure Act, specifically La. R. S. 49: 964( F) and ( G),
    govern the extent of that review.            La. R. S. 49: 967( A);    D90 Energy, LLC V. Jefferson Davis
    Parish Bd. of Review, 20- 00200 ( La. 10/ 20/ 20),                    So. 3d ,                
    2020 WL 6145158
    ,
    5.   When reviewing a final decision of an agency, the district court functions as an
    appellate court.     Blue Cube Operations, LLC v. Assumption Parish Bd. of Review, 20- 
    0157 La. App. 1
     Cir. 11/ 6/ 20), 
    315 So. 3d 887
    , 890. An aggrieved party may obtain review of
    any final judgment of the district court by appeal to the appropriate court of appeal.                           La.
    R. S. 49: 965.
    Although the district court functions as an appellate court in reviewing tax
    assessments, certain procedural rules applicable to a district court sitting in its original
    capacity also apply to a district court when it functions in an appellate capacity under La.
    R. S. 49: 965.    E.g., see Bennett v. Louisiana Department of Insurance, 20- 0666 ( La. App. 1
    Cir. 5/ 12/ 21), 
    2021 WL 1904583
    , * 2, n. 1 ( noting the First Circuit has consistently defined
    a final judgment under La. R. S. 49: 965 according to Book II of the Louisiana Code of Civil
    Procedure);      Perdido Energy La., LLC v. Acadia Parish Bd. of Review, 20- 0962 ( La. App. 1
    Cir. 3/ 30/ 21), 
    2021 WL 1207818
    , * 2 ( converting an appeal from an interlocutory judgment
    rendered under La.       R. S. 49: 965 to an application for supervisory writs).                    Generally, the
    district court's jurisdiction over all matters in the case reviewable under the appeal is
    divested, and that of the appellate court attaches, on the granting of the order of appeal
    and the timely filing of the appeal bond. La. C. C. P. art. 2088( A). 3 Any judgment rendered
    after the order granting the appeal is null if that judgment purports to address a matter
    3 Although the legislature recently amended La. C. C. P. art. 2088, the amendment does not apply herein.
    See 2021 La. Sess. Law Serv. Act 259, § 2.
    0
    which is at that time reviewable under the appeal.                     Hernandez v, Excel Contractors, Inc.,
    18- 1091 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 3/ 13/ 19), 
    275 So. 3d 278
    , 283.
    In this case, the district court rendered the October judgment in favor of only the
    LTC and only in the Caldwell suit. Under La. C. C. P. art. 2088( A), after signing the order of
    appeal from the October judgment, the district court was divested of jurisdiction over the
    matter as it pertained to the LTC in the Caldwell suit.                      But, after signing the order of
    appeal from the October judgment, the district court thereafter rendered the December
    judgment purportedly in favor of the LTC and all three Assessors, and in the Caldwell,
    Franklin, and Jackson suits.          As to the LTC in the Caldwell suit, the district court had no
    jurisdiction to render the         December judgment.                  Thus, to the extent the       December
    judgment purports to again rule in favor of the LTC in the Caldwell suit, it is null as it
    purports to address a matter already reviewable under the appeal of the October
    judgment.     See Hernandez, 275 So. 3d at 285 ( nullifying a district court order purporting to
    dismiss claims under review in a then -pending appeal).
    However, as to the Caldwell Assessor in the Caldwell suit, the district court retained
    jurisdiction to render the December judgment, because that matter was not reviewable
    under the appeal of the October judgment. See Damond v. Maru//o, 19- 0675 ( La. App. 1
    Cir. 6/ 22/ 20), 
    307 So. 3d 234
    , 239, writ denied, 20- 01243 ( La. 3/ 23/ 21), 
    312 So. 3d 1104
    noting the district court retained jurisdiction over claims against one defendant after an
    appeal was granted from a judgment ruling on claims against other defendants).
    Similarly, as to the LTC in the Franklin and Jackson suits, and as to the Caldwell,
    Franklin, and Jackson Assessors in those suits, the district court retained jurisdiction to
    render the December judgment, because these matters were not reviewable under the
    appeal of the October judgment.                Accordingly, we conclude the October judgment is
    properly before us as to the LTC in the Caldwell suit.4 The December judgment is properly
    before us as to: ( 1)       the Caldwell Assessor in the Caldwell suit; ( 2) the LTC and the
    4 The October judgment is a partial final judgment immediately appealable under La. C. C. P. art. 1915( A)( 1),
    because it dismissed a party ( the LTC) from the principal demand in the Caldwell suit and resolved all issues
    between RIG and the LTC in that suit.    Herrera v. First National Insurance Company of America, 15- 
    1097 La. App. 1
     Cir. 6/ 3/ 16), 
    194 So. 3d 807
    , 811. The October judgment's failure to identify RIG as the
    petitioner" against whom it is rendered is not fatal to the judgment's certainty, because RIG is easily
    identifiable as the sole petitioner in the Caldwell suit.       Accord Micken v. DHC OPCO-Napoleonville, LLC, 18-
    0140 ( La. App. 1 Cir. 11/ 2/ 18), 
    2018 WL 5732482
     * 2.
    5
    Franklin Assessor in the Franklin suit; and, ( 3) the LTC and the Jackson Assessor in the
    Jackson suit.     Concomitantly, we vacate the December judgment insofar as it purports to
    rule in favor of the LTC in the Caldwell suit. We now address the merits of RIG' s appeals.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    On review of a district court judgment rendered under La.                  R. S.   49: 965, the
    appellate      court owes       no   deference to the district court' s factual   findings   or legal
    conclusions.     Blue Cube Operations, LLC, 315 So. 3d at 890.           Rather, the appellate court
    conducts its own independent review of the administrative                  record and     reviews the
    administrative agency's decision and findings using the standards found in La.                    R. S.
    49: 964( G).    Id.     Thus,    we may affirm or remand the agency decision for further
    proceedings.      We may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant
    have been       prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences,           conclusion,   or
    decisions are:        in violation of constitutional or statutory provisions; in excess of the
    agency's statutory authority;         made upon    unlawful procedure;   affected by other error of
    law;   arbitrary or capricious or characterized by an abuse of discretion or a clearly
    unwarranted exercise of discretion; or, not supported by a preponderance of the evidence.
    La. R. S. 49: 964( G)( 1)-( 6).       This court shall make its own factual determinations by a
    preponderance of the evidence based on its own evaluation of the record reviewed in its
    entirety upon judicial review. La. R. S. 49: 964( G)( 6).      In conducting this review, however,
    this court affords considerable weight to an administrative agency' s construction and
    interpretation of its rules and regulations, and the agency's construction and interpretation
    should control unless found to be arbitrary, capricious, or manifestly contrary to its rules
    and regulations.        D90 Energy, LLC,         So. 3d at ;    
    2020 WL 6145158
     at * 5.       Further,
    this court shall give due regard to the administrative agency' s determinations regarding
    witness credibility, where the agency had first-hand observation of a witness' s credibility
    on the witness stand.       La. R. S. 49: 964( G)( 6).
    2
    APPLICABLE LAWS AND ANALYSIS
    Each assessor is charged with the responsibility of determining the fair market
    value of all property subject to taxation within his parish or district at intervals of not more
    than four years.   Fair market value is determined in accordance with criteria established by
    law and applied uniformly throughout the state.         La. Const. art. VII, § 18( D).      Fair market
    value is the price for property which would be agreed upon between a willing and
    informed buyer and a willing and informed seller under usual and ordinary circumstances;
    it shall be the highest price estimated in terms of money which property will bring if
    exposed for sale on the open market with reasonable time allowed to find a purchaser
    who is buying with knowledge of all uses and purposes to which the property is best
    adapted and for which it can be legally used. La. R. S. 47: 2321; LAC 61: V. 109.                To ensure
    uniformity, the LTC has adopted guidelines, procedures, rules, and regulations, which each
    assessor shall follow in determining fair market value.              La.    R. S. 47: 2323( A)    and (   B).
    Louisiana Administrative Code Title 61, Pt. V, Chapter 13 contains the " Guidelines for
    Ascertaining the Fair Market Value of Pipelines." LAC 61: V. 1301. Here, the parties do not
    dispute that the subject pipeline property is valued using a cost approach based on
    schedules found in LAC 61: V. 1307.        See LAC 61: V. 1301( A).        In using the cost approach,
    the assessor values the property by estimating the replacement or reproduction cost of the
    improvements and then deducting the estimated depreciation.                   La. R. S. 47: 2323( C)( 2);
    LAC 61: V. 1301( A)( 2).     The assessor shall also consider functional and/ or economic
    obsolescence in the fair market value analysis, as substantiated by the taxpayer in writing.
    LAC 61: V. 1301( A)( 2); LAC 61: V. 1305( F).
    Although La. R. S. 47: 2324 requires the assessor to gather all data necessary to
    properly determine fair market value of property in his jurisdiction, it is the party seeking a
    fair market value reduction for its pipeline property based on obsolescence who has the
    burden of producing sufficient data and information to substantiate its claim.                    TSM -WC
    Sabine, LLC v. Sabine Parish Bd. of Review, 17- 1189 ( La. App. 3 Cir. 7/ 18/ 18), 
    250 So. 3d 1075
    ,   1079.    Consistent with La.      R. S. 47: 1957, the assessor may request additional
    5 Although the legislature recently amended several statutory provisions relevant to ad valorem taxation,
    those amendments do not apply herein. See 2021 La. Sess. Law Serv. Act 343, § 3, approved June 15, 2021.
    7
    documentation.            LAC 61: V. 1301( A)( 2).
    The dispute in this case involves the Assessors' rejection of RIG' s request for a
    31. 04%       reduction        in   its pipeline property' s fair market value based on economic
    obsolescence.             In    support    of    its   request,    RIG   provided    the   Assessors with       three
    documents:       RIGS Haynesville Partnership Co. 2017 financial statements ( 2017 Financial
    Statements);         an     October       2017    Impairment       Analysis    performed      by Pricewaterhouse
    Coopers LLP for RIGS Haynesville Partnership Co. ( Impairment Analysis); and, an April
    2018 sale agreement whereby two partners, Alinda Gas Pipeline I, LP, and Alinda Gas
    Pipeline II, LP, ( Alinda I and II) sold their interest in RIGS Haynesville Partnership Co. for
    25    million to a third partner, Regency Haynesville Intrastate Gas LLC ( April 2018
    6
    partnership interest sale).                At the LTC hearing, the Assessors all testified that they
    received and         reviewed        RIG' s evidence       but considered        it insufficient to warrant the
    reduction for the 2018 tax year; they also presented the testimony of a property tax
    appraisal     witness,         Rodney Kret.        RIG presented the testimony of Mike Smith,                 its tax
    representative,       and of Brian Riley, a corporate official involved in RIG' s Texas and
    Louisiana operations.'
    On    appeal to this court,              RIG contends the LTC's decision was arbitrary and
    capricious, because the LTC disregarded " competent evidence" showing that RIG' s 2018
    valuation of its pipeline property, including the 31. 04% fair market value reduction, was
    proper.     RIG argues that the best evidence of the fair market value of any property is the
    purchase price paid in a recent sale, and the 2018 purchase price of RIG' s property in this
    case showed that its pipeline system' s throughput was significantly below capacity,
    Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP had written off about two-thirds of the value of RIG' s
    property and doubted RIG' s viability as an ongoing concern, and RIG' s firm transportation
    contracts with producers would expire in about two years.
    6 Notes to the 2017 Financial Statements indicate that RIG is a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIGS Haynesville
    Partnership Co., a Delaware partnership, formed in 2009 by Alinda I and II; Regency Haynesville Intrastate
    Gas LLC, a wholly- owned subsidiary of Regency Gas Services LP; and EFS Haynesville, LLC. Regency Gas
    Services LP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Energy Transfer Partners, LP. As of December 31, 2017, RIGS
    Haynesville Partnership Co. was 50% owned by Alinda I and II, 49. 99% owned by Regency Haynesville
    Intrastate Gas LLC, and 0. 01% owned by EFS Haynesville, LLC.
    On appeal, the LTC can accept additional evidence.               La. R. S. 47: 1989; LAC 61: V. 3103; D90 Energy, LLC,
    So. 3d at _;   
    2020 WL 6145158
     at * 4.
    8
    In its decisions, the LTC defined economic obsolescence as "'a diminution in value or
    usefulness from economic factors, such as decreased demand or changed governmental
    regulations."       The LTC determined RIG' s economic obsolescence request was '                     almost
    entirely"    based on the book value of the subject pipeline property.                       The LTC further
    determined, however, that RIG' s reliance on book value as a measure of its pipeline
    property' s fair market value was flawed, explaining:
    Importantly, book value does not equate to fair market value.
    Indeed, book value is the value at which an asset is carried on a balance
    sheet, while fair market value is what a willing and informed buyer would
    pay a willing and informed seller under usual and ordinary circumstances for
    the asset. [ RIG' s] representative correctly stated during oral testimony that
    book value is           the Taxpayer' s viewpoint of what [ its] assets are worth."
    From      an   appraisal    or assessment perspective,         there is no relationship
    between book value, except by coincidence, and fair market value of an
    individual asset, such as a pipeline system.              As such, the [ LTC] finds that
    RIG' s] request for a 31. 04% reduction for economic obsolescence based on
    the book value of the subject pipeline to be unsubstantiated.
    The LTC also discounted RIG' s alternative arguments that the upcoming expiration
    of its firm transportation contracts in 2020 and the April 2018 partnership interest sale
    supported its economic obsolescence request.
    After our own evaluation of the record under La. R. S. 49: 964( G), we conclude the
    LTC did not arbitrarily and capriciously disregard RIG' s obsolescence evidence.                  Rather, we
    agree with the LTC and the Assessors that RIG' s data and information was insufficient to
    warrant the 31. 04% reduction for the 2018 tax year.                    At the LTC hearing, RIG' s tax
    representative, Mike Smith, while admitting the evidence was " hard to follow," earnestly
    attempted to explain how the Impairment Analysis, which purportedly showed a 31. 04%
    reduction in the value of RIG' s assets as of October 2017, justified using RIG' s book value
    to determine the fair market value of its pipeline property for 2018.                        In contrast, the
    Assessors' property tax appraisal witness, Rodney Kret, testified that book value rarely
    equals      fair   market    value,       primarily   because    accountants    and    appraisers   calculate
    depreciation       differently      for   the   two    values.     Further,    Mr.    Kret   questioned   the
    independence" of the Impairment Analysis and testified that an " impairment expense
    was]    not something [ he had seen]             very often in the ... property tax appraisal world."
    Apparently, the LTC relied upon Mr. Kret's professional opinion as a sound reason for
    9
    refusing to equate RIG' s internal book value with fair market value. We find no basis to
    reverse this determination. See La. R. S. 49: 964( G).
    Regarding the then upcoming expiration of RIG' s firm transportation contracts in
    2020, RIG argues that the 2017 Financial Statements project a 50% drop in revenue as
    soon as the contracts expire.       According to RIG, a hypothetical willing buyer in 2018 would
    have considered the imminent termination of the contracts in assessing the value of RIG' s
    pipeline property, and the LTC ignored this fact in its denial of the economic obsolescence
    request.   At the LTC hearing, at least one LTC Commissioner questioned how future
    revenue losses projected to occur in 2020 justified an economic obsolescence reduction for
    the 2018 tax year.       Further,    the Assessors all generally testified that projected 2020
    revenue losses would not impact 2018 property tax assessments.                Although RIG argues
    that the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice rules require an assessor to
    consider future economic conditions,           RIG has provided no controlling authority that
    requires   Louisiana assessors or the          LTC to follow these      uniform    standards.     Giving
    considerable    weight   to   the   LTC' s   construction   and   interpretation   of   its   rules   and
    regulations,   we cannot find that the LTC acted arbitrarily, capriciously, or manifestly
    contrary to its rules, based on the evidence before it, in refusing to consider RIG' s future
    revenue losses in the determination of its pipeline property's 2018 fair market value.
    Regarding the April 2018 partnership interest sale, RIG correctly points out that,
    under LAC 61: V. 1305( G),     an   assessor   should   consider "   properly documented"       pipeline
    sales as fair market value, provided the sale meets all tests relative to it being a valid sale.
    The LTC determined RIG' s evidence was insufficient to prove that a " valid, arms -length
    sale" of the pipeline property occurred for purposes of determining its fair market value.
    After our own review of the sale contract, we agree.          The April 2018 partnership interest
    sale is not a pipeline sale at all; rather, it is the sale of a partnership interest in an entity of
    which RIG apparently is a wholly-owned subsidiary. The sale contract does not clearly
    indicate exactly what Alinda I and II sold to Regency Haynesville Intrastate Gas LLC for
    25 million,   and,   as relevant herein,     does not specifically indicate that RIG' s Caldwell,
    Franklin, and Jackson Parish pipeline property was being sold at a specific value. Although
    10
    the sale did include the transfer of general partnership units, the sale document does not
    define that term, but references a separate document not in the appellate record. Without
    more information, we are unable to determine the value of the ' property" sold.         Thus, we
    conclude the sale of an undefined partnership interest does not establish fair market value
    of pipelines as defined in La. R. S. 47: 2321 and LAC 61: V. 109.      Contrast D90 Energy, LLC,
    So. 3d at ;      
    2020 WL 6145158
     at * 1, *       6, wherein the taxpayer proved the fair
    market value of gas and salt water disposal wells with clear, documentary evidence and
    live testimony establishing a valid, arms -length sale of the wells themselves.
    In sum, based on the administrative record, and giving due regard to the LTC's
    interpretation of its rules and to its witness credibility determinations, we conclude RIG
    failed to carry its burden of proving entitlement to a fair market value reduction for its
    pipeline property based on economic obsolescence for the 2018 tax year.                 See D90
    Energy, LLC,        So. 3d at;     
    2020 WL 6145158
     at * 5; TBM- WC Sabine, LLC, 
    250 So. 3d at 1079
    .    We find no basis in La. R. S. 49: 964( G) requiring reversal of the LTC' s decisions.
    The LTC' s decisions are legally supported by applicable statutory and administrative
    authority and are factually supported by the record evidence.
    CONCLUSION
    We affirm the October 20, 2020 judgment in favor of the Louisiana Tax
    Commission, and dismissing petitioner Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC' s petition for judicial
    review against the Louisiana Tax Commission, in 19th Judicial District Court Number
    687, 353.
    We affirm the December 4, 2020 judgment insofar as it ruled in favor of Caldwell
    Parish Assessor Scott Meredith, and dismissed Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC' s petition for
    judicial review against Caldwell Parish Assessor Scott Meredith, in 19th Judicial District
    Court Number 687, 353.
    We also affirm the December 4, 2020 judgment insofar as it ruled in favor of the
    Louisiana Tax Commission,        Franklin   Parish   Assessor   Rod   Elrod,   and Jackson   Parish
    Assessor Glen Kirkland, and dismissed Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC' s petitions for judicial
    review in 19th Judicial District Court Numbers 687, 354 and 687, 355.
    11
    We vacate the December 4, 2020 judgment insofar as it purported to rule in favor
    of the Louisiana Tax Commission in 19th Judicial District Court Numbers 687, 353.
    We assess appeal costs to Regency Intrastate Gas, LLC.
    OCTOBER       20,   2020    JUDGMENT        AFFIRMED;      DECEMBER           4,   2020
    JUDGMENT AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART.
    12
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 2021CA0271, 2021CA0273, 2021CA0272

Filed Date: 9/27/2021

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/22/2024