Athena Providence Place v. Elyse M. Pare, in her capacity as Tax Assessor for the City of Providence

Syllabus

The respondent, the tax assessor for the City of Providence, appealed from two judgments of the Superior Court entered in favor of the petitioners, who are property owners in the Providence real property development known as The 903. On appeal, the city contended that the trial justice improperly weighed the evidence and erred as a matter of law in finding that revaluation of the petitioners' real property was illegal, invalid, selective, arbitrary, and discriminatory. The Supreme Court held that the trial justice's conclusion that the revaluation at issue was selective and discriminatory was clearly erroneous. The Supreme Court concluded that the trial justice overlooked and misconceived material evidence because the record before the Court evidenced that the city's normal practice was to revalue and reassess properties upon the expiration of a tax stabilization agreement, and there was not a scintilla of evidence in the record to suggest that the city singled out the petitioners' properties for revaluation. The Supreme Court also concluded that the city complied with the statutory notice provisions for property tax assessment. Accordingly, the Supreme Court reversed the judgments of the Superior Court and remanded the cases to that court for entry of judgments in favor of the city.