Darden Restaurants, Inc. v. Rick Singh, as Property Appraiser

We agreed to file an amicus in a state case where Darden Restaurants, Inc. (“Darden”) is appealing a final judgment reinstating Orange County property appraiser Rick Singh’s 2013 and 2014 assessments of Darden’s tangible personal property (“TPP”), which had been reduced by an evidentiary hearing of the Orange County Value Adjustment Board. Darden’s counsel argues that “[i]f allowed to stand, the Final Judgment all but eliminates the ability of Florida taxpayers to contest assessments of TPP and therefore poses an existential threat to fair taxation going forward.” Mr. Singh has been sued by a number of entities for his tax appraisals, including Wyndham, Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, and many others currently involved in litigation arguing that his assessments are unreasonable and unjustified, which expose them to a total of up to $1 billion in additional tax liability.

Resolution

We filed our amicus brief on October 13, 2017. On April 6, 2018, the Department of Revenue filed its answer brief and now agrees with our position and disagrees with the position of the County Appraiser, a co-defendant in the case. Oral argument has not been scheduled