James G. Walker

The moving parties brought a motion for the production of rents and current values from a settlement between MPAC and the GTAA regarding other airport properties.

MPAC opposed the motion, arguing the information was protected by settlement privilege, irrelevant, and requested too late.

The Board granted the motion in part, ordering the production of the returned values prior to settlement and the final values placed on the public roll, finding this information relevant and not privileged, while protecting the confidential settlement process itself.

The parties stated a question of law to the Assessment Review Board regarding whether the market value of the rights associated with an Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA) should be reflected in the current value of a landfill site for property assessment purposes.

The Board held that the principle established by the Court of Appeal in Restfulcare applies to landfills, meaning that where lands have an inherent capacity for a certain use and a government approval authorizes that use, the value of the approval is a component part of the value of the land.

Consequently, the Board concluded that the market value of the rights associated with the ECA must be reflected in the current value of the landfill site.

The appellants, owners of several hotel properties, brought a motion seeking disclosure from MPAC of financial and performance information regarding comparable hotel properties to assist their valuation experts in an assessment appeal.

MPAC consented to the motion subject to the execution of confidentiality undertakings.

The Assessment Review Board granted the motion, ordering MPAC to produce the requested information upon receipt of executed undertakings of non-disclosure, while adjourning the motion with respect to two disputed properties to allow for further submissions.