Charles P Curry & Jennifer Curry v. Harris County Appraisal District , 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 6151 ( 2014 )


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  • Reversed and Remanded and Opinion filed June 5, 2014.
    In The
    Fourteenth Court of Appeals
    NO. 14-12-00898-CV
    CHARLES P. CURRY AND JENNIFER CURRY, Appellants
    V.
    HARRIS COUNTY APPRAISAL DISTRICT, Appellee
    On Appeal from the 55th District Court
    Harris County, Texas
    Trial Court Cause No. 2011-57215
    OPINION
    Today we address the scope of a property owner’s rights and remedies to
    challenge the appraised value of real property for property-tax purposes. The
    property owners asserted protests before the appraisal review board, challenging
    the appraised value of their real property. The appraisal review board concluded
    that the appraisal for the tax year at issue was incorrect and ordered that the market
    and appraised value be lowered substantially to a value that the property owners’
    agent opined was the property’s value in sworn testimony before the appraisal
    review board. Despite this reduction in the market and appraised value of their
    property, the property owners timely appealed the appraisal review board’s order
    to the district court. In reviewing the summary judgment in favor of the appraisal
    district, we consider whether the doctrine of judicial estoppel precluded the
    property owners from asserting on appeal in the district court that the appraised
    value of the property should be less than the value to which the property owners’
    agent testified before the appraisal review board. We conclude that the district
    court had jurisdiction over the appeal, and that the property owners exhausted their
    administrative remedies and have standing to appeal.          Because the summary-
    judgment evidence does not establish as a matter of law the appraisal district’s
    entitlement to summary judgment based on the sole ground asserted, judicial
    estoppel, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand.
    I.     FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    Appellants/plaintiffs Charles P. Curry and Jennifer Curry own real property
    with improvements, including a residence, in Harris County, Texas (“Property”).
    For the 2011 tax year, appellee/defendant Harris County Appraisal District (the
    “Appraisal District”) determined that the market value of the Property was
    $1,633,286 and that the appraised value was $1,633,286. Though the record does
    not contain a copy of the Currys’ notice of protest, the record reflects that the
    Currys timely filed a notice of protest with the Appraisal Review Board of the
    Harris County Appraisal District (the “Review Board”), in which the Currys
    2
    protested that the appraised value was greater than the market value and that the
    appraised value was unequal compared with other properties.
    The summary-judgment evidence contains a document entitled “Hearing
    Affidavit,” which, according to its terms, was signed by the Currys’ designated
    property-tax agent (the “Agent”) shortly before the formal hearing on the Currys’
    protest before the Review Board (the “Formal Hearing”). In the Hearing Affidavit,
    the Agent states that her “opinion of value for this property is [] $1,505,000.” The
    summary-judgment evidence also contains a transcript of the proceedings during
    the Formal Hearing, at which the Agent testified under oath that her “opinion of
    value” was $1,505,000. Following a contested Formal Hearing on the Currys’
    protest, the Review Board issued an order in which it determined that the appraisal
    of the Property was incorrect. The Review Board determined that the market value
    of the Property and the appraised value of the Property for the 2011 tax year each
    should be $1,505,000 (the “Reduced Value”), and ordered the appraisal records
    changed accordingly.
    Notwithstanding this reduction in the market value and appraised value of
    the Property, the Currys timely appealed the Review Board’s order determining
    their protest by filing a petition for review in the district court within sixty days
    after they received notice of the entry of the Review Board’s final order. In their
    petition, the Currys alleged that the Property is excessively appraised and
    unequally appraised, and the Currys sought the remedies provided under Tax Code
    section 42.25, “Remedy for Excessive Appraisal,” and section 42.26, “Remedy for
    Unequal Appraisal.”
    After answering the suit, the Appraisal District filed a traditional motion for
    summary judgment on its defense of judicial estoppel. In its motion, the Appraisal
    3
    District sought judgment as a matter of law on the merits; it did not seek a
    jurisdictional dismissal.          In its sole summary-judgment ground, the Appraisal
    District asserted that the summary-judgment evidence conclusively proves that the
    doctrine of judicial estoppel precludes the Currys from asserting on appeal that the
    appraised value of the Property should be less than the Reduced Value. The only
    summary-judgment evidence tendered by the Appraisal District was (1) the
    Currys’ appointment of property-tax agent, (2) a transcript of the proceedings
    during the Formal Hearing, (3) the Hearing Affidavit, and (4) the Review Board’s
    final order. The Appraisal District based its judicial-estoppel defense on both the
    Agent’s testimony under oath during the Formal Hearing that her “opinion of
    value” was $1,505,000 and on a substantially similar statement by the Agent in the
    Hearing Affidavit. In an order finally adjudicating the Currys’ appeal, the trial
    court granted the Appraisal District’s summary judgment on the merits, and the
    trial court also determined that the Currys failed to exhaust their administrative
    remedies and therefore have no right to appeal to the district court.1 The Currys
    timely appealed to this court.
    II. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
    On appeal, the Appraisal District asserts that the trial court lacked subject-
    matter jurisdiction because (1) Texas statutes do not allow property owners who
    successfully protest the valuation of their real property before an appraisal review
    board to appeal to the district court; (2) the Currys lack standing to challenge or
    appeal the Review Board’s order; and (3) to the extent the Currys claim that the
    market value or appraised value of the Property should be lower than the Reduced
    Value, the Currys have not exhausted their administrative remedies.
    1
    The inconsistent relief granted by the trial court is discussed in Section II.A. below.
    4
    The Currys present three appellate issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in
    granting the Appraisal District’s summary-judgment motion, (2) whether the trial
    court erred in applying judicial estoppel to a statutory claim, and (3) whether the
    trial court erred in considering the Hearing Affidavit over the Currys’ objections to
    this summary-judgment evidence.
    A.    What relief did the trial court grant in its motion?
    We begin by determining what relief that the trial court granted in the order
    from which the Currys appeal.        The title of this order is “Order Granting
    Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment”; however, we give effect to the
    substance rather than the form or title of the order. See Qwest Communications
    Corp. v. AT&T Corp., 
    24 S.W.3d 334
    , 336–38 (Tex. 2000). In the first paragraph
    of the order, the trial court granted the Appraisal District’s summary-judgment
    motion, in which the Appraisal District sought a judgment on the merits based on
    its defense of judicial estoppel. In that motion, the Appraisal District did not
    challenge the trial court’s subject-matter jurisdiction or assert that the Currys had
    failed to exhaust their administrative remedies. Thus, in the first paragraph of the
    order, the trial court granted summary judgment against the Currys on the merits of
    their appeal.
    In the second paragraph of the order, the trial court made various statements
    regarding the Currys’ legal arguments and then concluded that the Currys “failed
    to exhaust their administrative remedies and have no right to appeal to this court.”
    As alluded to by the trial court, if the Currys had failed to exhaust their
    administrative remedies, the trial court would lack subject-matter jurisdiction over
    the Currys’ appeal. See Cameron Appraisal Dist. v. Rourk, 
    194 S.W.3d 501
    , 501–
    02 (Tex. 2006) (per curiam); Houston Indep. School Dist. v. 1615 Corp., 217
    
    5 S.W.3d 631
    , 637–38 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. denied). The
    trial court did not vacate its grant in the same order of summary judgment on the
    merits.
    When there is an issue as to the trial court’s subject-matter jurisdiction, the
    trial court first must determine that it has subject-matter jurisdiction before
    addressing the merits. See Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment, 
    523 U.S. 83
    , 93–95, 
    118 S. Ct. 1003
    , 1012–13, 
    140 L. Ed. 2d 210
    (1998); Coastal Oil & Gas
    Corp. v. Garza Energy Trust, 
    268 S.W.3d 1
    , 9 (Tex. 2008); Tex. Ass’n of Bus. v.
    Texas Air Control Board, 
    852 S.W.2d 440
    , 443–46 (Tex. 1993). In the face of an
    issue or doubt as to whether a court has subject-matter jurisdiction, the court
    should not presume that it has subject-matter jurisdiction and proceed to adjudicate
    the merits. See Steel 
    Co., 523 U.S. at 93
    –95, 118 S.Ct. at 1012–13; Coastal Oil &
    Gas 
    Corp., 268 S.W.3d at 9
    ; Tex. Ass’n of 
    Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 443
    –46. If a court
    rules on the merits and then determines that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the
    court should vacate its ruling on the merits. See Steel 
    Co., 523 U.S. at 93
    –95, 118
    S.Ct. at 1012–13; Coastal Oil & Gas 
    Corp., 268 S.W.3d at 9
    ; Tex. Ass’n of 
    Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 443
    –46.
    In its order, the trial court both granted the Appraisal District’s summary
    judgment on the merits of the Currys’ appeal and also determined that the Currys’
    have no right to appeal because they failed to exhaust their administrative
    remedies. Thus, the trial court effectively dismissed the Currys’ appeal on the
    merits based upon judicial estoppel and for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction
    based on failure to exhaust administrative remedies.         On appeal, the Currys
    challenge both the trial court’s granting of the Appraisal District’s summary-
    judgment motion and the trial court’s determination that they failed to exhaust their
    6
    administrative remedies. Nonetheless, the Currys did not complain in the trial
    court or on appeal that the trial court erred in addressing the merits before
    determining whether it had jurisdiction, nor did the Currys complain that the trial
    court erred in dismissing both on the merits and for lack of subject-matter
    jurisdiction.
    If the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, then its ruling on the
    merits is void. See Steel 
    Co., 523 U.S. at 93
    –95, 118 S.Ct. at 1012–13; Tex. Ass’n
    of 
    Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 443
    –46. If the trial court had subject-matter jurisdiction,
    then it had the power to grant the Appraisal District’s summary-judgment motion
    on the merits. See Steel 
    Co., 523 U.S. at 93
    –95, 118 S.Ct. at 1012–13; Tex. Ass’n
    of 
    Bus., 852 S.W.2d at 443
    –46.               In this unusual situation, we first address
    challenges to the trial court’s subject-matter jurisdiction that the Appraisal District
    asserts on appeal, which include the argument that the Currys failed to exhaust
    their administrative remedies, as found by the trial court.2 If we determine that the
    trial court and this court have jurisdiction, then we shall address whether the trial
    court erred in granting summary judgment.
    B.     Does the Tax Code allow the property owners to appeal the order of the
    appraisal review board?
    The Appraisal District suggests that, though the Tax Code allows a property
    owner who is unsuccessful in a protest before an appraisal review board to appeal
    to the district court for review by trial de novo, the Tax Code does not provide for
    an appeal to the district court by a property owner who is successful in such a
    protest. Therefore, we consider the applicable provisions of the Tax Code and the
    2
    If the trial court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction, then this court likewise would lack subject-
    matter jurisdiction over this appeal, so we must inquire into the jurisdictional challenges raised
    by the Appraisal District, even if some of them were not addressed in the trial court’s order.
    7
    Currys’ protest and appeal to decide whether the Tax Code allows the Currys to
    appeal to the district court.
    In construing a statute, our objective is to determine and give effect to the
    Legislature’s intent. See Nat’l Liab. & Fire Ins. Co. v. Allen, 
    15 S.W.3d 525
    , 527
    (Tex. 2000). If possible, we must ascertain that intent from the language the
    Legislature used in the statute and not look to extraneous matters for an intent the
    statute does not state.         
    Id. If the
    meaning of the statutory language is
    unambiguous, we adopt the interpretation supported by the plain meaning of the
    provision’s words. St. Luke’s Episcopal Hosp. v. Agbor, 
    952 S.W.2d 503
    , 505
    (Tex. 1997). We must not engage in forced or strained construction but instead we
    must yield to the plain sense of the words the Legislature selected. See 
    id. The appraised
    value of the Property required by law for a particular tax year
    is the market value of the Property as of the first day of that year. See Tex. Tax
    Code Ann. § 23.01(a) (West 2014); Atascosa County Appraisal Dist. v. Tymrak,
    
    858 S.W.2d 335
    , 336 (Tex. 1993); Harris County Appraisal Dist. v. United
    Investors Realty Trust, 
    47 S.W.3d 648
    , 650 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.]
    2001, pet. denied). The Currys were entitled to protest before the Review Board
    that the appraised value of the Property for the 2011 tax year exceeded the market
    value of the Property as of January 1, 2011, and that the Property was appraised
    unequally. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 41.41(a) (West 2014). In their timely-filed
    notice of protest with the Review Board, the Currys protested that the appraised
    8
    value of the Property was greater than the market value of the Property as of
    January 1, 2011, and that the Property was appraised unequally.3
    Following the Formal Hearing, the Review Board determined that both the
    market value of the Property as of January 1, 2011, and the appraised value of the
    Property for the 2011 tax year should be lowered to the Reduced Value. The
    Review Board issued a final order to this effect. The Tax Code provides that “[a]
    property owner is entitled to appeal . . . an order of the appraisal review board
    determining . . . a protest by the property owner as provided by Subchapter C of
    Chapter 41.” Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.01(a) (West 2014). To file such an appeal,
    a property owner must file a petition for review with the district court within sixty
    days after the property owner received notice that such an order of the appraisal
    review board had been entered. SeeTex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.21(a) (West 2014).
    This court has characterized the property owners who have a right to appeal to the
    district court under section 42.01 as property owners who are “dissatisfied by the
    determination of the appraisal review board following the protest hearing.”
    Appraisal Review Board of Harris County Appraisal Dist. v. Spencer Square, Ltd.,
    
    252 S.W.3d 842
    , 845 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2008, no pet.).
    Review in the district court is de novo, and the district court must try all
    issues of fact and law raised by the pleadings in the district court in the manner
    applicable to civil suits generally. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.23(a) (West
    2014). If a property owner protested the property’s appraised value before the
    appraisal review board, then this trial de novo on appeal in the district court
    3
    This protest is reflected by the order of the Review Board. In addition, in their petition in the
    district court, the Currys alleged that they protested before the Review Board that the Property
    was excessively appraised and unequally appraised, and the Appraisal District has presented no
    evidence that the Currys did not protest these matters before the Review Board.
    9
    permits any party to offer evidence regarding the property’s appraised value as
    determined in accordance with the requirements of law, even if that evidence was
    not presented to the appraisal review board. See 
    id. §§ 42.23(a),
    42.24 (West
    2014); PR Investments v. State of Texas, 
    251 S.W.3d 472
    , 476 (Tex. 2008)
    (concluding that a trial de novo conducted in the same manner as in other civil
    cases is not limited to the same evidence that was presented in prior administrative
    proceedings); Harris County Appraisal Dist. v. ETC Marketing, Ltd., 
    399 S.W.3d 364
    , 372 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, pet. filed) (noting that a trial de
    novo on appeal from the appraisal review board’s determination of appraised value
    permits each party to put on new evidence of value). Following such a trial de
    novo, the district court has the power to determine the appraised value of the
    property in accordance with the requirements of law, and the district court may
    determine that this value is either lower or higher than the appraised value
    determined by the appraisal review board, regardless of whether the appraisal
    district has appealed. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.24; Cherokee Water Co. v.
    Gregg County Appraisal Dist., 
    801 S.W.2d 872
    , 877 (Tex. 1990).                           Thus, by
    appealing to the district court, a property owner incurs additional transaction costs
    and runs the risk that the appraised value may be raised, rather than lowered, as a
    result of the appeal to the district court.              See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.24;
    Cherokee Water 
    Co., 801 S.W.2d at 877
    .
    A property owner is entitled to appeal an order of the appraisal review board
    determining a protest by the property owner under Subchapter C of Chapter 41.4
    Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.01(a). Giving effect to section 1.111(e), a property
    owner is not entitled to appeal an order of the appraisal review board if the review
    4
    Unless otherwise specified, all statutory references herein are to the Texas Tax Code.
    10
    board’s determination is based on an agreement between the property owner or the
    owner’s agent and the chief appraiser or the chief appraiser’s representative. See
    
    id. § 1.111(e)
    (West 2014) (stating that “[a]n agreement between a property owner
    or the owner’s agent and the chief appraiser is final if the agreement relates to a
    matter . . . which may be protested to the appraisal review board or on which a
    protest has been filed but not determined by the board”); KM TS Spring Cypress
    L.L.C.v. Harris County Appraisal Dist., No. 14-09-00978-CV, 
    2010 WL 3921126
    ,
    at *1–2 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Oct. 7, 2010, pet. denied) (holding that
    district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction over property owner’s attempt to
    appeal under section 42.01 because during the hearing on the property owner’s
    protest before the appraisal review board, an agreement under section 1.111(e) was
    reached and the appraisal review board’s order gave effect to this agreement) (per
    curiam, mem. op.).
    The record reflects that the Currys did not enter into a section 1.111(e)
    agreement that would deprive the district court of jurisdiction over an appeal under
    section 42.01.5 See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 1.111(e); KM TS Spring Cypress L.L.C.,
    
    2010 WL 3921126
    , at *1–2. The Currys are property owners who timely filed a
    petition for review in the district court seeking appellate review by trial de novo of
    the Review Board’s final order determining their protest under Subchapter C,
    Chapter 41. Based on the unambiguous wording of section 42.01, the Currys may
    prosecute such an appeal. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.01(a); KM TS Spring
    Cypress L.L.C., 
    2010 WL 3921126
    , at *1–2 (noting that under section 42.01, a
    property owner is entitled to appeal an order of the appraisal review board
    5
    This lack of agreement is reflected by the order of the Review Board. In addition, in their
    petition in the district court, the Currys alleged that they did not reach any such agreement, and
    the Appraisal District has not argued or presented evidence that would show otherwise.
    11
    determining a protest by the property owner, but that a property owner may not do
    so if the appraisal review board’s order was based on an agreement under section
    1.111(e)); G.E. American Comm’n v. Galveston Central Appraisal Dist., 
    979 S.W.2d 761
    , 763 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1998, pet. denied) (noting that
    “if [a property owner] is dissatisfied with the decision of the appraisal review
    board, the property owner is authorized to appeal by a trial de novo in the district
    court”).
    The Appraisal District suggests that the Tax Code does not provide for an
    appeal to the district court by a property owner who is successful in a protest
    before an appraisal review board. But, the Appraisal District cites no case law that
    supports this proposition. In addition, section 42.01 contains no language that
    would support this notion, and there is no statute analogous to section 1.111(e)
    providing that an order of an appraisal review board is final if the appraisal review
    board fixes the appraised value based on an opinion of value offered by the
    property owner. Moreover, nothing in our record reflects that the Currys limited
    their protest regarding excessive appraisal or unequal appraisal to a single request
    that the appraised value be lowered to the Reduced Value. Though the Agent
    testified at the Formal Hearing that her “opinion of value” was $1,505,000, the
    Agent did not state that the Currys were waiving their unequal-appraisal complaint
    or that the only ground of protest that the Currys were presenting to the Review
    Board was that the appraised value and market value of the Property should be
    lowered to the Reduced Value. Thus, on this record, we cannot conclude that the
    Currys were completely successful in their protest before the Review Board that
    the Property’s appraised value was greater than the market value and that the
    appraised value was unequal compared with other properties.
    12
    The Appraisal District notes that “[t]he intent of the administrative review
    process is to resolve the majority of tax protests at [the administrative] level,
    thereby relieving the burden on the court system.” Webb County Appraisal Dist.
    v. New Laredo Hotel, Inc., 
    792 S.W.2d 952
    , 954 (Tex. 1990). The Appraisal
    District asserts that providing a right to appeal to property owners who prevailed at
    the administrative level would defeat this intent and would waste the district
    court’s resources. This court must give effect to the Tax Code’s unambiguous
    language; it is not the office of this court to pass on the wisdom of the
    Legislature’s statutory creation or to rewrite a statute the Legislature has enacted or
    to substitute our view of public policy for that of the Legislature. See Nat’l Liab.
    & Fire Ins. 
    Co., 15 S.W.3d at 527
    ; Lee v. City of Houston, 
    807 S.W.2d 290
    , 293
    (Tex. 1991).     The Legislature could have promulgated a statute precluding a
    property owner from appealing to the district court if the appraisal review board
    fixed the appraised value based on an opinion of value offered by the property
    owner. It did not.       The current statutory regime and system for challenging
    property-tax appraisals has been in effect for more than three decades, yet today is
    the first occasion for this court (or apparently any other appellate court) to address
    whether such a property owner has the right to appeal.6 The Legislature put in
    place a system that provides for a review by trial de novo in the district court.
    We note, however, that the statute has built-in deterrents that operate in a
    way that strongly suggests the Appraisal District’s concerns about potential
    inefficiencies and wasted resources are unwarranted. A property owner who
    chooses to appeal to the district court even though the appraised value has been
    substantially lowered by the appraisal review board incurs the substantial
    6
    The same issue is addressed today by this court in Patel v. Harris County Appraisal District,
    Cause No. 14-12-00892-CV.
    13
    transaction costs of prosecuting a civil case in the district court and runs the risk
    that the appraised value may remain the same or even be raised as a result of the
    appeal to the district court. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.24; Cherokee Water 
    Co., 801 S.W.2d at 877
    . A property owner who appeals to the district court is entitled
    to recover attorney’s fees only if the owner prevails on appeal. See Tex. Tax Code
    Ann. § 42.29 (West 2014).         With these attendant risks and transaction costs,
    property owners are not likely to pursue appeals lightly.
    For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the Currys were entitled to
    appeal to the district court for review by trial de novo of the Review Board’s final
    order.
    C.       Do the property owners have standing to appeal the appraisal review
    board’s order to the district court?
    The Appraisal District also asserts that the Currys lack standing to appeal the
    the Review Board’s order to the district court because: (1) the Currys were not
    aggrieved by, nor did they suffer any injury from this order; and (2) there is no
    controversy between the Appraisal District and the Currys. In considering the
    issue of standing, courts focus on whether a party has a sufficient relationship with
    the lawsuit so as to have a “justiciable interest” in its outcome. Austin Nursing
    Ctr., Inc. v. Lovato, 
    171 S.W.3d 845
    , 848 (Tex. 2005). A plaintiff has standing
    when it is personally aggrieved. 
    Id. The standing
    doctrine requires that there be a
    real controversy between the parties that actually will be determined by the judicial
    declaration sought. 
    Id. at 849.
    The record reflects that the Currys are the owners of the Property and that
    they have a justiciable interest in the amount of property taxes that they must pay
    based on their ownership of it. In their petition in the district court, the Currys
    14
    allege that, even after the Review Board lowered the market value and appraised
    value, the Property is unequally appraised and excessively appraised, and the
    Currys ask the district court to fix the market value of the Property as of January 1,
    2011, at a value below the Reduced Value. In its answer, the Appraisal District
    denies these allegations, and asserts that the Currys are not entitled to the relief
    they seek. The Appraisal District asserts that the market value and appraised value
    of the Property determined by the Review Board should not be changed. Thus,
    there is a real controversy between the parties that actually will be determined by
    the proceedings in the district court. See Anambra State Community in Houston,
    Inc. v. Ulasi, 
    412 S.W.3d 786
    , 791–92 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no
    pet.).
    According to the Appraisal District, the Currys protested that the market
    value and appraised value of the Property should be lowered to the Reduced Value,
    the Review Board granted this relief, and the Appraisal District is not contesting
    the Currys’ entitlement to this relief. Therefore, the Appraisal District asserts, the
    Currys were not aggrieved by the Review Board’s order and there is no
    controversy between the parties. As explained in the previous section, nothing in
    our record reflects that the Currys limited their protest regarding excessive
    appraisal or unequal appraisal to a single request that the appraised value be
    lowered to the Reduced Value. Thus, on this record, we cannot conclude that the
    Currys received the greatest possible relief that they could have received based on
    their protest before the Review Board.
    Accordingly, we conclude that the Currys have standing to appeal the
    Review Board’s order to the district court. See Anambra State Community in
    15
    Houston, 
    Inc., 412 S.W.3d at 791
    –92; Smalley v. Smalley, 
    399 S.W.3d 631
    , 636
    (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.).
    D.    Have the property owners exhausted their administrative remedies?
    The Appraisal District asserts that, to the extent the Currys claim that the
    market value or appraised value of the Property should be lower than the Reduced
    Value, the Currys have not exhausted their administrative remedies before the
    Review Board. In its order, the trial court concluded that the Currys failed to
    exhaust their administrative remedies. With certain limited exceptions that do not
    apply in the case under review, the procedures prescribed by Title 1 of the Tax
    Code for adjudication of the grounds of protest authorized by this title are
    exclusive. See Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 42.09 (West 2014). Though review on
    appeal in the district court is by trial de novo, a property owner’s failure to protest
    a ground of protest before the appraisal review board deprives the district court of
    jurisdiction because the property owner has failed to exhaust administrative
    remedies as to that ground. See ETC Marketing, 
    Ltd., 399 S.W.3d at 371
    –72.
    Nonetheless, the Tax Code defines the ground of protest regarding appraised value
    broadly as a protest of the appraisal district’s “determination of the appraised value
    of the owner’s property.” Tex. Tax Code Ann. § 41.41(a)(1). See 
    id. § 41.44(d)
    (West 2014) (stating that “[a] notice of protest is sufficient if it identifies the
    protesting property owner, . . . identifies the property that is the subject of the
    protest, and indicates apparent dissatisfaction with some determination of the
    appraisal office”); ETC Marketing, 
    Ltd., 399 S.W.3d at 371
    –72 (indicating that the
    threshold for exhausting administrative remedies as to issues regarding appraised
    value is low); Koll Bren Fund VI, LP v. Harris County Appraisal Dist., No. 01-07-
    003210-CV, 
    2008 WL 525799
    , at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Feb. 28,
    16
    2008, pet. denied) (stating that section 41.41(a)(1) recognizes the right of a
    property owner to a determination of the appraised value of the owner’s property)
    (mem. op.). Indeed, the Appraisal District indicated in argument in a prior case in
    this court that a protest that the appraised value exceeded the market value of the
    property would be sufficient to exhaust administrative remedies as to a claim that
    the property was unequally appraised. See ETC Marketing, 
    Ltd., 399 S.W.3d at 372
    .
    As stated above, nothing in our record reflects that the Currys limited their
    protest regarding excessive appraisal or unequal appraisal to a single request that
    the appraised value be lowered to the Reduced Value. The record does reflect that
    the Currys timely filed a notice of protest with the Review Board, in which the
    Currys protested that the appraised value was greater than the market value and
    that the appraised value was unequal compared with other properties.                         We
    conclude that the Currys have exhausted their administrative remedies. See 
    id. Accordingly, the
    district court erred in concluding otherwise.
    We have rejected all of the Appraisal District’s jurisdictional challenges.
    We conclude that the trial court had jurisdiction over the appeal in the district court
    and that this court likewise has jurisdiction over this appeal.7 Accordingly, we
    now address the Currys’ challenge to the trial court’s granting of the Appraisal
    District’s summary-judgment motion.
    7
    Having concluded that the trial court had jurisdiction over the appeal in the district court and
    that this court has jurisdiction over this appeal for the reasons stated above, we need not and do
    not address whether section 42.21(h) applies to the case under review and whether it provides a
    basis for concluding that the trial court had jurisdiction. See Act of May 24, 2013, 83rd Leg.,
    R.S., ch. 1259, §25, 2013 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. 3183, 3193 (codified at Tex. Tax Code Ann. §
    42.21(h) (West 2014)).
    17
    E.    Does the summary-judgment evidence conclusively prove that the
    appraisal district is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law?
    In their first issue, the Currys assert that the trial court erred in granting the
    Appraisal District’s summary-judgment motion.          The only summary-judgment
    ground asserted in this motion was that the summary-judgment evidence
    conclusively proves that the doctrine of judicial estoppel precludes the Currys from
    asserting on appeal that the appraised value of the Property should be less than the
    Reduced Value. Thus, this court may affirm the trial court’s summary judgment
    only if this ground has merit. See Stiles v. Resolution Trust Corp., 
    867 S.W.3d 24
    ,
    26 (Tex. 1993).
    In a traditional motion for summary judgment, if the movant’s motion and
    summary-judgment evidence facially establish its right to judgment as a matter of
    law, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to raise a genuine, material fact issue
    sufficient to defeat summary judgment. M.D. Anderson Hosp. & Tumor Inst. v.
    Willrich, 
    28 S.W.3d 22
    , 23 (Tex. 2000). In our de novo review of a trial court’s
    summary judgment, we consider all the evidence in the light most favorable to the
    nonmovant, crediting evidence favorable to the nonmovant if reasonable jurors
    could, and disregarding contrary evidence unless reasonable jurors could not. Mack
    Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez, 
    206 S.W.3d 572
    , 582 (Tex. 2006). The evidence raises a
    genuine issue of fact if reasonable and fair-minded jurors could differ in their
    conclusions in light of all the summary-judgment evidence. Goodyear Tire &
    Rubber Co. v. Mayes, 
    236 S.W.3d 754
    , 755 (Tex. 2007).
    The doctrine of judicial estoppel bars a party who successfully has
    maintained a position in a prior judicial proceeding from later adopting an
    inconsistent position unless the party can show that the prior statement was made
    inadvertently due to mistake, fraud, or duress. Graves v. Tomlinson, 
    329 S.W.3d 18
    128, 138 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, pet. denied). This doctrine
    upholds the sanctity of the oath and targets the prejudice that would result to the
    administration of justice if a litigant were allowed to swear one way in one
    proceeding and a different way in a subsequent proceeding. See 
    id. Judicial estoppel
    applies when (1) a sworn, prior inconsistent statement was made in a
    judicial proceeding; (2) the party now sought to be estopped successfully
    maintained the prior position; (3) the prior inconsistent statement was not made
    inadvertently or because of mistake, fraud, or duress; and (4) the statement was
    deliberate, clear, and unequivocal. 
    Id. Judicial estoppel
    does not apply to a
    contradictory position taken in the same proceeding; it comes into play only in a
    subsequent action. 
    Id. Our court
    has held that an appeal in the same case is not a
    subsequent action to which judicial estoppel applies. See 
    id. This court
    has concluded that judicial estoppel does not apply on appeal in
    this court regarding allegedly contradictory statements made in the trial court,
    because the statements were made in the same proceeding for the purposes of the
    judicial-estoppel doctrine. See id.; Vinson & Elkins v. Moran, 
    946 S.W.2d 381
    ,
    397 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1997, writ dism’d). These cases involved
    an appeal in this court in which the lower court’s fact findings were reviewed
    under a deferential standard; these cases did not involve an appeal in which review
    was by trial de novo, as was the case in the district court below. See 
    Graves, 329 S.W.3d at 138
    –39; Vinson & 
    Elkins, 946 S.W.2d at 411
    –13. Nonetheless, this
    court has concluded that statements in a lower court may not be used as a basis for
    judicial estoppel on appeal from the judgment in the lower court, and an appeal in
    which review is by trial de novo is even more closely connected with the lower
    court proceedings than an appeal in which the court defers to the lower court’s fact
    findings. Under precedent from this court, for judicial-estoppel purposes, the
    19
    Hearing Affidavit and the Agent’s sworn testimony at the Formal Hearing were a
    part of the proceedings before the Review Board, which are part of the same
    proceeding as the appeal in the district court. See 
    Graves, 329 S.W.3d at 138
    ;
    Vinson & 
    Elkins, 946 S.W.2d at 396
    –97. Therefore, any statement in the Hearing
    Affidavit or at the Formal Hearing cannot be a basis for application of the judicial-
    estoppel doctrine in the district court, and the district court erred in granting
    summary judgment based on judicial estoppel. See 
    Graves, 329 S.W.3d at 138
    ;
    Vinson & 
    Elkins, 946 S.W.2d at 396
    –97.
    The Appraisal District relies upon the Fifth Court of Appeals’s opinion in
    Webb v. City of Dallas. See 
    211 S.W.3d 808
    , 820 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2006, pet.
    denied). In that opinion, the court relied on judicial estoppel as an additional basis
    for its decision. See 
    id. The statement
    upon which the Webb court relied was an
    unsworn statement in proceedings before the administrative law judge that were
    appealed to the district court and then to the court of appeals. See 
    id. This part
    of
    the Webb opinion conflicts with the precedent of this court; therefore, we do not
    follow it. Compare 
    Webb, 211 S.W.3d at 820
    , with 
    Graves, 329 S.W.3d at 138
    ;
    
    Spera, 25 S.W.3d at 871
    –72; Vinson & 
    Elkins, 946 S.W.2d at 396
    –97. See also
    Chase Home Fin., L.L.C. v. Cal. W. Reconveyance Corp., 
    309 S.W.3d 619
    , 630
    (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2010, no pet.) (stating that “[a]bsent a decision
    from a higher court or this court sitting en banc that is on point and contrary to the
    prior panel decision or an intervening and material change in the statutory law, this
    court is bound by the prior holding of another panel of this court”).
    The summary-judgment evidence did not conclusively prove that the
    Appraisal District was entitled to judgment as a matter of law based upon the
    20
    doctrine of judicial estoppel. Accordingly, we sustain the Currys’ first issue, and
    reverse and remand.8
    III. CONCLUSION
    The Tax Code allows the Currys to appeal the order of the Review Board on
    their protest to the district court for review by trial de novo. The Currys have
    standing to appeal this order to the district court, and they have exhausted their
    administrative remedies.           Under this court’s precedent, any statement in the
    Hearing Affidavit or at the Formal Hearing cannot be a basis for application of the
    judicial-estoppel doctrine in the district court, and the trial court erred in granting
    the Appraisal District’s summary-judgment motion. Therefore, we reverse the trial
    court’s judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
    /s/    Kem Thompson Frost
    Chief Justice
    Panel consists of Chief Justice Frost and Justices Donovan and Brown.
    8
    We need not and do not address the Currys’ second or third issues.
    21
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-12-00898-CV

Citation Numbers: 434 S.W.3d 815, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 6151, 2014 WL 2535270

Judges: Frost, Donovan, Brown

Filed Date: 6/5/2014

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 11/14/2024

Authorities (18)

Steel Co. v. Citizens for a Better Environment , 118 S. Ct. 1003 ( 1998 )

Webb v. City of Dallas , 211 S.W.3d 808 ( 2007 )

Lee v. City of Houston , 807 S.W.2d 290 ( 1991 )

Atascosa County Appraisal District v. Tymrak , 858 S.W.2d 335 ( 1993 )

Harris County Appraisal District v. United Investors Realty ... , 47 S.W.3d 648 ( 2001 )

Cameron Appraisal District v. Rourk , 49 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 660 ( 2006 )

Texas Ass'n of Business v. Texas Air Control Board , 852 S.W.2d 440 ( 1993 )

Qwest Communications Corp. v. AT & T CORP. , 24 S.W.3d 334 ( 2000 )

Appraisal Review Board of Harris County Appraisal District ... , 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 3045 ( 2008 )

M.D. Anderson Hospital & Tumor Institute v. Willrich , 43 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 1175 ( 2000 )

Austin Nursing Center, Inc. v. Lovato , 48 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 624 ( 2005 )

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. v. Mayes , 50 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 886 ( 2007 )

Chase Home Finance, L.L.C. v. Cal Western Reconveyance Corp. , 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 1285 ( 2010 )

G.E. American Communication v. Galveston Central Appraisal ... , 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 6451 ( 1998 )

MacK Trucks, Inc. v. Tamez , 50 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 80 ( 2006 )

National Liability & Fire Insurance Co. v. Allen , 43 Tex. Sup. Ct. J. 690 ( 2000 )

Vinson & Elkins v. Moran , 946 S.W.2d 381 ( 1997 )

St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital v. Agbor , 952 S.W.2d 503 ( 1997 )

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