Newport-Mesa schools await tax decision

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT-MESA -- The county assessor is trying to derail a potential

class-action lawsuit that, if stopped in its tracks, could save the

school district millions of dollars.

On Tuesday, Webster Guillory asked Superior Court Judge John Watson to

dismiss efforts to turn a major property tax ruling into a class-action

lawsuit, said James Harman, deputy county counsel. The judge will decide

April 26.

The case revolves around Rob Pool, a Seal Beach resident who sued the

county for raising his property assessment above the 2% limit mandated by

Proposition 13. In December, Watson found the county acted illegally in

trying to recapture lost assessment when a home loses value and then

rebounds.

If the case is given class-action status, the county would be forced

to refund about $285 million in excess property tax payments, costing the

Newport-Mesa Unified School District about $11.5 million the first year,

according to a report by the county auditor released in January.

Guillory said he was only providing the judge with information he

requested regarding previous property tax case decisions.

“I don’t take sides with these issues,” Guillory said. “My bottom line

is equity and uniformity.”

But Pool’s attorney, Stephen Harris, said Guillory’s request is a

blatant attempt to block the class-action process, which could eventually

include every property owner in the county whose assessment was more than

2% a year from 1998 to April 2002.

And Harris contends that Guillory’s argument that a class can’t be

created in a property tax refund case has no legal standing.

“All we’re trying to do is expand the [initial] ruling [that

recapturing is illegal] to the entire class,” Harris said. “We’re not

seeking a refund at this stage.”

In the meantime, Guillory has a significant decision of his own to

make in the next week: whether to request an expedited appeal of the

initial ruling.

If he decides to put the appeal on the fast track, it could be

resolved within three months rather than three years through a

traditional appeals process, Harris said. Guillory said he will take his

time making a decision because of the complex nature of the case.

Assistant Supt. Mike Fine said he would prefer the assessor wait and

appeal the final decision.

“It would be nice to know sooner than later, but I would not want to

expedite the process for that reason only and take the chance that it did

not have adequate review and adequate briefing time,” Fine said. “So I

prefer that they focus on quality as opposed to timeliness.”