Brent Roszell and Fireball Holdings Inc. v. Municipal Property Assessment Corporation ("MPAC") Region 18 and Township of West Lincoln, 2019 CanLII 83967

Assessment Review Board

Commission de révision de l’évaluation foncière

ISSUE DATE:

September 6, 2019

FILE NO.:

DM 2019M40

Moving Party(ies):

Brent Roszell and Fireball Holdings Inc.

Respondent(s):

Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (“MPAC”)

Region 18

Respondent(s):

Township of West Lincoln

Property Location(s):

6209 Skyway Road

Municipality(ies):

Township of West Lincoln

Roll Number(s):

2602-030-013-03605-0000

Taxation Year(s):

2019

Hearing Event No.:

722165

Legislative Authority:

Rule 26(b) of the Assessment Review Board Rules of Practice and Procedure

Heard:

August 19, 2019 by written submission

Parties

Representative

Submissions

Brent Roszell and

Fireball Holdings Inc.

Brent Roszell

Moving Party

MPAC

Not Received

Township of West Lincoln

Not Received

DISPOSITION OF THE BOARD DELIVERED BY JOANNE LAWS

DISPOSITION OF MOTION

1Brent Roszell submits that Fireball Property Holdings Inc. (“Fireball”) is the owner of 6209 Skyway Road, Township of West Lincoln (the “Property”). He seeks leave of the Assessment Review Board (the “Board”) to file an appeal for the 2019 taxation year because Fireball did not file an appeal prior to the deadline set out in the Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. A.31 (the “Act”).

2A short affidavit and supporting documents were submitted by Mr. Roszell in support of the motion. No submissions were received from MPAC or the Township of West Lincoln.

3For the reasons that follow, the motion to file a late appeal for the 2019 taxation year is denied.

Background

4Mr. Roszell supports Fireball’s motion with his affidavit affirmed on July 4, 2019. This affidavit contains limited details. He affirms that the Property was purchased on April 2, 2019 and that he is seeking a change in classification from Industrial and Commercial to wholly Commercial because the Property’s use will change from manufacturing to storage and parking. Mr. Roszell provided no detail regarding how he and Fireball are related. Presumably, he either works for or owns Fireball. He references the change in use as both having occurred and occurring sometime in the future but provides no date as to when that change has or will take place.

5With his affidavit, he filed the following documents:

• A copy of a Request for Reconsideration Extension of Time Form – (2017-2010) form, dated May 27, 2019

• A copy of MPAC’s Request for Reconsideration (For Non-Residential Properties) 2019 Tax Year form, also dated May 27, 2019.

• Copies of the 2019 taxation year property tax statements from the Township of West Lincoln which set out two legal descriptions for the Property, one for the Commercial portion and one for the Industrial portion. Both are dated May 24, 2019.

• A copy of an ARB Property Assessment Appeal Form (“Appeal Form”) requesting a change in classification. The Board’s records show that the Appeal Form was received on July 5, 2019 but has since been closed.

6Neither MPAC nor the Township of West Lincoln responded to the Motion.

Late Appeal

7The property is classified as having both Commercial and Industrial lands and while it is not a requirement to file a Request for Reconsideration (“RfR”) through MPAC before being eligible to file an appeal with this Board for properties with these classifications, it is available (see sections 39 and 40 of the Act). Mr. Roszell submitted a copy of an RfR form in support of this Motion, however, he did not indicate whether he filed it with MPAC or, if he did, what transpired.

8Where no RfR was made, the last day to file an appeal of the 2019 taxation year is March 31, 2019 (see section 40.(6) of the Act).

9Rule 26(b) of the Board’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (“Rules”) sets out the Board’s authority to accept a late appeal. It provides that:

26. The Board may accept an appeal received after the time set out in the Assessment Act only if the appellant satisfies the Board, by way of affidavit evidence, that:

(b) the appellant is a person entitled to receive a notice of assessment who did not receive notice and filed the appeal with the Board within 30 days of becoming aware of the assessment or classification that is the subject of the appeal.

Entitled to Notice

10The first requirement is that Mr. Roszell be a person entitled to receive a notice of assessment. His undisputed evidence is that Fireball is the owner of the Property and he is the contact person for Fireball. He therefore satisfies the first requirement.

Did not Receive Notice

11The second requirement is that Mr. Roszell did not receive a notice of assessment. Mr. Roszell does not mention any notice of assessment in his affidavit. The only reference is found in his supporting material. On his Appeal Form he ticked a box indicating he received a Property Assessment Change Notice (“PACN”) for the 2019 and 2020 taxation years effective April 2, 2019. A copy of a PACN was not submitted and Mr. Roszell makes no reference to receiving a PACN from MPAC in his affidavit or anywhere else in his supporting documents. Based on the options provided on the Appeal Form and his limited submissions I conclude that he did not receive a notice of assessment but is referencing the change in classification that he is seeking as of April 2, 2019.

12Mr. Roszell did not state when he or Fireball first became aware of the Property’s classification. The only reference to a date in relation to the Property’s classification is the municipality’s May 24, 2019 tax statements. This would be the latest date Fireball or Mr. Roszell became aware of the Property’s classification.

13Based on the evidence before me, I am not satisfied that Mr. Roszell or Fireball received a “notice of assessment.” However, I find that Fireball or Mr. Roszell knew of the Property’s classification by May 24, 2019.

Timely Application

14On the third and most important question, the affidavit fails to identify when Mr. Roszell or Fireball first became aware of the classification. I was not provided with clear affidavit evidence as to when the “person entitled to receive a notice of assessment” became “aware of the assessment or classification.” However, there are more than 30 days between the latest possible date of becoming aware of the assessment and classification, which is May 24, 2019, and July 4, 2019, which is the date this motion for a late appeal was received by the Board. Mr. Roszell provided no explanation as to what transpired between these two dates.

15Fireball only meets only two of the three essential requirements of Rule 26(b). Its motion is therefore denied with respect to an appeal for the 2019 taxation year.

CONCLUSION

16Fireball Property Holdings Inc. cannot file a 2019 taxation year appeal late because the mandatory requirements of Rule 26(b) are not met. Fireball Property Holdings Inc.’s motion to file its appeal for the 2019 taxation year is therefore denied.