Bloom Parham successfully obtained summary judgment for an owner of an apartment complex in DeKalb County in an ad valorem property tax appeal.  The client had appealed its 2021 tax assessment to the Board of Equalization and obtained a lower fair market value, which under Georgia law rolled over to the following two tax years.  Despite this, the County substantially increased the assessed fair market value for tax year 2023, claiming that the client was not entitled to the two-year freeze in value because it had made substantial additions or improvements to the property.  However, Bloom Parham showed the court that the County could not prove that it had conducted an on-site inspection of the property prior to increasing the valuation as was required by Georgia law.  Therefore, the court entered summary judgment that the client was entitled to the property’s 2021 valuation for tax year 2023, and this valuation also further rolled over to tax years 2024 and 2025.

Since Bloom Parham obtained a valuation for tax year 2023 that was less than 85% of the value being appealed, the court also entered a statutory award of attorney’s fees in favor of the property owner.  Bloom Parham obtained a full recovery of all attorney’s fees and expenses that its client had expended in the tax appeal.