Moseley v. Board of Assessment Review

In Moseley v. Board of Assessment Review, 2000 WL 303326 (Del.Super.Ct.) the owner of a 180 acre parcel developed a golf course that spanned 128 acres of the parcel. New Castle County determined that the remaining 52 acres were not being used for agricultural purposes, and removed the agricultural assessment from the property, and charged roll-back taxes against the owner on the 52 acres. The Superior Court found that the County met its initial burden to show that the property no longer qualified for farmland assessment, based upon its receipt of the site plan for the golf course and visits to the site by an assessor. The court held that the majority of the parcel was in use by the golf course at the time of assessor's visits. Consequently, the burden shifted to the taxpayer to rebut the presumption that the property was no longer eligible for farmland assessment and to prove that any portion of the parcel was entitled to such protection. Id. The court ultimately found that the property owner failed to submit any evidence that would indicate that the 52 acres qualified for reinstatement as farmland and as such, was subject to roll-back taxation. In Moseley, New Castle County met its initial burden to show that the property no longer qualified for farmland assessment, based upon a site plan for defendant Moseley's golf course and corroborated by visits to the site by an assessor. Based on the information set forth by New Castle County, the Moseley Court found that a majority of the parcel (over 60%) was devoted to the golf course.