Ashlan Park Center, LLC v. Crow
Annotate this CaseThe prior owners were unable to pay the property taxes on the shopping center beginning in 2010. When petitioner purchased the property, taxes assessed for fiscal years 2010-2011, 2011-2012, and 2012-2013 were delinquent, totaling $568,627.94. Petitioner requested that the tax collector cancel penalties. Revenue and Taxation Code section 4985.2(a) provides that a penalty resulting from failure to make a timely property tax payment may be canceled if the failure “is due to reasonable cause and circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control ... notwithstanding the exercise of ordinary care in the absence of willful neglect, provided the principal payment for the proper amount of the tax due is made.” The tax collector determined only $2,670.10 of the $142,521.68 in penalties should be waived, because the statement for the second installment of taxes due in the 2012-2013 fiscal year had been mailed to the previous owners’ address. The trial court dismissed the owner’s suit, concluding that writ of mandate was not the appropriate remedy and payment of the tax was a prerequisite to cancellation of penalties and the taxes had not been paid. The court of appeal affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.