The Lee Memorial Methodist Church of Norwich, Connecticut v. City of Norwich

Summary

The Connecticut Appellate Court affirmed a judgment granting a tax exemption under General Statutes § 12-81 (14) for church-owned property leased to a for-profit daycare facility. The court held that the statute does not require the religious organization to operate or be affiliated with the daycare facility, and that the property’s exclusive use as a daycare facility satisfied the applicable requirements of §§ 12-81 (14) and 12-88.

Holdings

1. Property owned by a religious organization and used exclusively as a daycare facility qualifies for the § 12-81 (14) exemption even when the daycare facility is operated by an unaffiliated for-profit lessee; the statute does not require the religious organization to operate or be affiliated with the daycare facility.
2. Under §§ 12-81 (14) and 12-88, the property qualified for exemption because it belonged to a religious organization, was used exclusively as a daycare facility, and was not leased or used for a purpose other than a daycare facility. The receipt of rent did not independently defeat the exemption.
3. Noscitur a sociis does not justify adding a not-for-profit requirement to the daycare-facility exemption because the term daycare facility is not ambiguous in § 12-81 (14), and courts may not use the canon to supply omitted statutory language.
4. The analytical framework in St. Joseph's Living Center, which concerns exemptions under § 12-81 (7) for charitable corporations and property used for charitable purposes, does not apply to this religious-organization daycare exemption under § 12-81 (14).
5. The court declined to consider the city's public-policy argument because § 12-81 (14) is clear and unambiguous and its application does not produce an absurd or unworkable result.

Questions Presented

1. Whether property owned by a religious organization and leased to an unaffiliated for-profit daycare facility is exclusively used as a daycare facility and qualifies for a tax exemption under General Statutes § 12-81 (14).
2. Whether General Statutes § 12-88's provisions concerning exclusive use, leasing, and rents, profits, or income preclude the exemption.
3. Whether the canon of noscitur a sociis permits reading a not-for-profit requirement into the daycare-facility exemption in § 12-81 (14).
4. Whether the analytical framework of St. Joseph's Living Center, Inc. v. Windham applies to an exemption claimed under § 12-81 (14).
5. Whether the court should consider the city's public-policy and unfair-advantage argument despite the statute's plain and unambiguous language.

Disposition

affirmed