Shoosmith Bros., Inc. v. County of Chesterfield

Summary

The Supreme Court of Virginia reviewed Chesterfield County's assessment of property used as a sanitary landfill. The court held that the County properly considered the property's permitted landfill use and applied the income-capitalization method, because doing so did not improperly tax nontransferable permits or intangible assets. The court affirmed the trial court's judgment upholding the assessment.

Holdings

1. Consideration of the use of land in assessing its fair market value is proper even when the use depends on non-transferable governmental permits; doing so does not constitute assessment of the permits as intangible assets.
2. For an owner-operated landfill that is not under lease and for which comparable lease data is unavailable, the County may estimate the net income attributable to the real estate by analyzing the property's gross income and expenses rather than relying exclusively on rental income.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the County's use of the income-capitalization method to assess the permitted landfill property was appropriate.
2. Whether consideration of the landfill's permitted use improperly assessed the value of intangible, non-transferable permits.
3. Whether the income-capitalization method required the County to use only rental income attributable to the land.
4. Whether Shoosmith proved that the assessment was manifestly erroneous or that the County ignored controlling evidence.

Disposition

affirmed