Opinion
March 25, 1937.
April 19, 1937.
Taxation — Assessment — Appeal — Findings of trial judge — Appellate review — Costs — Discretion of trial court — Division between parties — Act of April 19, 1889, P. L. 37.
1. In an appeal from an assessment for taxes, the findings of fact of the court below have great force, and these findings will not be set aside unless clear error is made to appear. [246]
2. Under the Act of April 19, 1889, P. L. 37, section 1, regulating appeals to the court of common pleas from tax assessments, which provides that the costs of appeal and hearing are to be apportioned or paid as the court may direct, the disposition of costs is within the discretion of the court. [247]
3. In this case, an equal division of the costs between the parties was held not to be an abuse of discretion. [247]
Before KEPHART, C. J., SCHAFFER, MAXEY, DREW, LINN, STERN and BARNES, JJ.
Appeal, No. 18, March T., 1937, from order of C. P. Allegheny Co., April T., 1935, No. 1439, in re appeal of Trustees of Elizabeth Steel Magee Hospital from triennial assessment of Board of Assessors of City of Pittsburgh against property in first ward of City of Pittsburgh. Order affirmed.
Appeal to common pleas from assessment of taxes. Before ROWAND, J., without a jury.
The opinion of the Supreme Court states the facts.
Decree entered fixing stated value, and dividing costs equally between property owner and the city. Property owner appealed.
Errors assigned, among others, were dismissal of exceptions to adjudication of trial judge.
Richard W. Ahlers, with him Lee C. Beatty, for appellants.
Anne X. Alpern, First Assistant City Solicitor, John J. Kennedy, City Solicitor, and Loran L. Lewis, Assistant City Solicitor, for appellee, were not heard.
Argued March 25, 1937.
This is an appeal from a real estate assessment in the City of Pittsburgh. The property is an eight story office building. The Board of Revision fixed the assessment at $410,250. On appeal to the Common Pleas, after hearing, the court reduced the figure to $345,250, a reduction of $65,000. From this reduced figure the property owner appeals to us, the principal ground of complaint being that the valuation as finally made was not the price the property would bring at public sale after due notice.
Our review of the record and of the two opinions of the court convinces us that the court took into account all elements presented to it in coming to a conclusion. "In an appeal from an assessment for taxes, the findings of fact of the court below have great force, and these findings will not be set aside unless clear error is made to appear": Westbury Apartments, Inc., Appeal, 314 Pa. 130, 131, 170 A. 267; American Academy of Music Appeal, 321 Pa. 433, 184 A. 657; Phila. Reading Coal Iron Co. v. Commissioners of Northumberland County, 323 Pa. 185, 186 A. 105.
The court divided the costs between the parties. Complaint is made of this. The Act of April 19, 1889, P. L. 37, No. 34, Sec. 1, 72 P. S. Sec. 5241, regulating appeals to the Court of Common Pleas from tax assessments provides: " . . . the costs of appeal and hearing to be apportioned or paid as the court may direct." The disposition of costs was in the court's discretion and we cannot see that it was abused.
Order affirmed at appellant's cost.