The Arizona Court of Appeals has allowed South Point Energy Center to challenge the assessment of property taxes on its power plant on the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation.  The appeals court reversed the decision of the Arizona Tax Court that granted summary judgment to the Arizona Department of Revenue and Mohave County.

Judge Peter B. Swann delivered the opinion of the court, in which Presiding Judge Patricia A. Orozco and Judge Andrew W. Gould joined.  An excerpt:

South Point Energy Center, LLC (“South Point”) appeals the tax court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of the Arizona Department of Revenue and Mohave County (collectively, “Defendants”) on South Point’s actions challenging the assessment of property taxes. The tax court concluded that South Point was collaterally estopped from challenging the legality of the taxes and that relief was not available under the error-correction statutes. We disagree. First, issue preclusion did not apply because South Point’s challenges were based on an issue not raised in previous litigation. Second, the alleged error falls within the broad category of mistakes for which relief is available under the error- correction statutes.

View the opinion in South Point Energy Center LLC v. Arizona Dept. of Revenue.