Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The State of Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission issued an advisory opinion answering the question of whether Omaha firefighters can engage in a campaign to raise funds for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) during on-duty time paid for with taxpayer funds or using city-owned uniforms and equipment. The Commission stated that such activities violated the Nebraska Political Accountability and Disclosure Act (NPADA). Appellants, the Nebraska Professional Firefighters Association, its president, and the MDA, filed an action against the Commission, asking the district court to declare the advisory opinion invalid. The district court dismissed the case, determining that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to review a Commission advisory opinion. The court of appeals dismissed the appeal for lack of jurisdiction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court correctly concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction, and the court of appeals correctly dismissed the appeal. View "Engler v. State" on Justia Law

Appellants in this case operated restaurants in the City of Omaha subject to a municipal ordinance which became effective on October 1, 2010. The ordinance declared itself to be an "occupation tax" on restaurants and drinking places in the City in the amount of 2.5 percent of gross receipts. Appellants filed an action for declaratory judgment and injunctive relief against the City, asking the district court to declare the ordinance unconstitutional, invalid, illegal, and unenforceable. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the City. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) because the legal incidence of the tax fell on the business and not the customer, the restaurant tax was an occupation tax, not an illegal sales tax; (2) the ordinance did not violate limitations in the Nebraska Liquor Control Act on the amount of occupation tax for liquor licensees; and (3) the ordinance did not violate the constitutional prohibition against special legislation. View "Anthony Inc. v. City of Omaha" on Justia Law

The underlying cases here involved Randy and Helen Strodes' unsuccessful challenge to the valuation of certain property located in Saunders County. The court of appeals concluded that the Strodes' appeals were not timely filed and dismissed their appeals for lack of jurisdiction. The jurisdictional issued hinged on whether the Strodes' motions for rehearing filed before the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) were timely filed and therefore tolled the time during which the Strodes could thereafter petition the court of appeals to judicially review the TERC's actions. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the motions were timely filed before the TERC, and therefore, the time to petition to the court of appeals was tolled, and the court had jurisdiction over the appeals. Remanded to the TERC with directions to consider the merits of the Strodes' motions for rehearing. View "Strode v. Saunders County Bd. of Equalization" on Justia Law

On April 30, 2010, Midwest Renewable Energy and Marquette Equipment Finance (Marquette) filed a Nebraska personal property return that reported a value of zero dollars for three items involving ethanol manufacturing equipment. The tax assessor determined that the taxable value of the property should have been $4,170,149 and changed the value on the return. Marquette appealed the action of the assessor. On July 19, 2010, the county board of equalization upheld the assessor's action. Republic Bank, which had rights in the property, did not receive a copy of the Board's decision from Marquette until August 20, 2010. Republic subsequently appealed. The Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) received the appeal on August 23, 2010. TERC dismissed the appeal as untimely under Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-12.33.06(4) because it was filed more than thirty days after the decision of the county board of equalization. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that TERC correctly concluded that it lacked subject matter jurisdiction to consider the appeal, as it was not timely filed under section 77-1233.06(4). View "Republic Bank v. Bd. of Equalization" on Justia Law

Midwest Renewable Energy and Marquette Equipment Finance (Marquette) executed a master lease agreement for certain manufacturing equipment, including two distillation columns. Later, Marquette assigned its interest in the lease to Prime Alliance Bank and agreed to file personal property tax returns on the equipment as an agent for Prime Alliance. On April 30, 2010, Marquette filed a personal property return with the county assessor that showed the taxable value of the two distillation columns as $0. The assessor changed the value of the columns to $776,832. Prime Alliance challenged the assessor's change, and, on July 19, 2010, the county Board of Equalization upheld the change. On August 23, 2010, Prime Alliance filed an appeal from the order to the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC). TERC dismissed the appeal as untimely. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that TERC did not err in dismissing the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, as the appeal was not timely filed under Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1233.06(4). View "Prime Alliance Bank v. Bd. of Equalization" on Justia Law

Dwight Trumble owned property in Sarpy County and paid two levies for the support of school districts in the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties (Learning Community). Trumble subsequently brought suit under Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1735 against the school districts in the Learning Community, claiming the levies were unconstitutional. The district court determined it did not have jurisdiction and dismissed the case. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) a suit to recover unconstitutional taxes cannot be brought under section 77-1735; (2) Trumble filed suit outside the tax year in which the challenged taxes were levied or assessed, so the district court did not have jurisdiction under Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-21,149; and (3) since the district court lacked jurisdiction, it properly dismissed the action. View "Trumble v. Sarpy County Board" on Justia Law

In 2010, the Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties established a common levy for the general fund budgets of its eleven member school districts. After Sarpy County levied this tax on real property, three taxpayers brought an action in the district court seeking a declaration that the tax was unconstitutional. The Learning Community, each of its member school districts, and the Sarpy County treasurer were named defendants in the action. The district court declared the Learning Community's common levy was unconstitutional as a property tax for state purposes. The Learning Community and two of its member school districts appealed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-34442(2)(b), which provides that a learning community may establish a levy for general fund budgets of its member school districts, serves a predominantly local purpose, not a state purpose; and (2) because all members of the learning community received benefits from taxes levied and the levy was uniform throughout the community, there was no violation of either the Nebraska Constitution's prohibition of commutation or the uniformity clause. Remanded with directions to dismiss. View "Sarpy County Farm Bureau v. Learning Cmty. of Douglas & Sarpy Counties" on Justia Law

This case involved a constitutional challenge to an occupation tax levied pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. 2-3226.05. Appellant landowners, who were residents and taxpayers of natural resources districts in the Republican River basin, brought an action for declaratory and injunctive relief seeking to have the occupation tax declared unconstitutional and its levy and collection enjoined. The district court upheld the constitutionality of the occupation tax, determining that it did not violate the Nebraska Constitution as (1) the occupation tax was not a property tax but, rather, an excise tax levied upon the activity of irrigation; (2) the occupation tax did not result in a commutation of taxes; and (3) section 2-3226.05 was not special legislation. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the judgment in Garey v. Nebraska Department of Natural Resources did not bar this action under the doctrine of res judicata; and (2) the landowners did not meet their burden of establishing that the occupation tax was unconstitutional. View "Kiplinger v. Neb. Dep't of Natural Res." on Justia Law

Appellee Betty Vandenberg owned a parcel of land which she leased to individuals who farmed the land. The parcel contained a well, a pump, motor, gear box, and pipe, all of which were used to irrigate the land. The central issue of this case involves the irrigation pump, which hanged inside a cased well and was secured to the land with a cement cap and bolts. The County assessor determined that the pump was taxable as Appelleeâs personal property. She appealed to the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) which reversed the assessor and called the pump a fixture on the land. The County appealed TERCâs decision. The Supreme Court found that the pump is a trade fixture, a fixture that is taxed as personal property. The Court reversed TERCâs determination and remanded the case for further proceedings on the assessment of tax.