SWEET TASTE OF VICTORY
August 1, 2023 started out like most of my work week days. I got up, fixed my morning cup of coffee after downing a big glass of filtered water, and spent time with the Lord on our screened porch in His Word and prayer. After that I checked my emails and local newspaper headlines and obituaries. After breakfast I said good-bye to my sweet wife Terrie, and pedaled the two and half miles to the county Government Center. I gave a Bible chapter to read to a couple of men who read daily. Work settled in as usual. Tax roll preparations are going well with final checks to prepare for preliminary notices to be mailed soon.
I drove home to the house to eat lunch. It was then that my phone rang. Raymond McIntyre, my friend and boss was on the line. With an excited voice he told me we won our court case! Praise the Lord! We were both very grateful and spoke briefly about it before telling him I would eat a celebratory sandwich and see him again soon.
The backstory is a court case that goes back a few years. AdventHealth is a non-profit religious organization that operates hospitals and health facilities in our area. Most of them are exempt from property taxation. But the largest hospital in our county has a very interesting scenario on campus. Right next to the main hospital is a two story medical office building. Several years ago they wanted to have it built without tying up all the funds required. So they leased the land to a for-profit company and they built it and leased it out to medical practices. Since then it subsequently was leased entirely to the AdventHealth land owner they lease the land from. So a for profit company owns and leases their building to AdventHealth. In addition the original for profit company subsequently sold the building for $12.75 million with the ground lease in place to another for profit company.
AdventHealth applied to our Property Appraiser office for an exemption claiming they ‘owned’ the building. We denied it. So they sued us. That took us to the local circuit court. We had three years of these all consolidated in that case. The circuit court judge found in our favor after a very lengthy wait for the decision. Our attorney is very skilled in this field and exclusively practices property tax law in Florida as well as representing county Property Appraisers Association of Florida as a lobbyist in state legislature. He is the second generation to represent us, his father having been a very renowned and respected attorney in this unique field of law.
Last week, July 27,2023, we were on the docket in the district court of appeals. AdventHealth appealed the circuit court decision. We were one of only two cases heard that day and ours was first. The court building is being remodeled so we met at the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland. It just happens to be the largest collection in the world of Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings. We had oral arguments in the original library, the ‘Thad Buckner’ Building. It is circular and has the distinctive architectural features of his designs throughout. An interesting and unique venue.
After the usual pleasantries of shaking hands with the opposition and greetings we all stood when the three judge panel entered and were seated. The whole affair was video livestreamed on Youtube
I drove home to the house to eat lunch. It was then that my phone rang. Raymond McIntyre, my friend and boss was on the line. With an excited voice he told me we won our court case! Praise the Lord! We were both very grateful and spoke briefly about it before telling him I would eat a celebratory sandwich and see him again soon.
The backstory is a court case that goes back a few years. AdventHealth is a non-profit religious organization that operates hospitals and health facilities in our area. Most of them are exempt from property taxation. But the largest hospital in our county has a very interesting scenario on campus. Right next to the main hospital is a two story medical office building. Several years ago they wanted to have it built without tying up all the funds required. So they leased the land to a for-profit company and they built it and leased it out to medical practices. Since then it subsequently was leased entirely to the AdventHealth land owner they lease the land from. So a for profit company owns and leases their building to AdventHealth. In addition the original for profit company subsequently sold the building for $12.75 million with the ground lease in place to another for profit company.
AdventHealth applied to our Property Appraiser office for an exemption claiming they ‘owned’ the building. We denied it. So they sued us. That took us to the local circuit court. We had three years of these all consolidated in that case. The circuit court judge found in our favor after a very lengthy wait for the decision. Our attorney is very skilled in this field and exclusively practices property tax law in Florida as well as representing county Property Appraisers Association of Florida as a lobbyist in state legislature. He is the second generation to represent us, his father having been a very renowned and respected attorney in this unique field of law.
Last week, July 27,2023, we were on the docket in the district court of appeals. AdventHealth appealed the circuit court decision. We were one of only two cases heard that day and ours was first. The court building is being remodeled so we met at the campus of Florida Southern College in Lakeland. It just happens to be the largest collection in the world of Frank Lloyd Wright designed buildings. We had oral arguments in the original library, the ‘Thad Buckner’ Building. It is circular and has the distinctive architectural features of his designs throughout. An interesting and unique venue.
After the usual pleasantries of shaking hands with the opposition and greetings we all stood when the three judge panel entered and were seated. The whole affair was video livestreamed on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/live/7JTylO7RJec?feature=share
Within a little more than one minute after their attorney started his oral presentation a judge interrupted with a question that was very favorable to our position. Throughout his twenty minute allotted time this happened. Then when our attorney was allowed to give his twenty minute presentation he was only asked a few questions that were to clarify and expand on some technical aspects of the question regarding ownership and exempt status.
We were fairly positive about the outcome but you never know with a court how they will decide until they release their decision. August 1 they gave a one word decision, ‘AFFIRMED’. That upheld our winning decision at the lower circuit court. Thus, the sweet taste of victory.
Ironically and providentially Raymond McIntyre’s wife, Becky, works for AdventHealth! Back in the 1990’s we had a series of well known cases with Sebring International Raceway, that operated the Twelve Hour races. Raymond’s mother, Vivian, worked for them at the time!
Raymond’s son, Garrett, is now an attorney. While in law school, they were studying the Sebring Raceway v. McIntyre cases. The professor stopped during his lecture, and asked Garrett if he was related? He told him, ‘yes, that is my father.’ So those cases regarding exemption of municipally owned property used for profit purposes set a precedent that is studied in law school.
The taste of victory is sweet, indeed. When we went to the state of Florida Supreme Court for the second time some years ago to have oral arguments in the Raceway case our attorney met us at his office in the morning. He told us he had to pick up his friend Dick and would meet us at the attorney’s lounge. When we were waiting we heard people fussing over an old gentleman in a seersucker suit with a cane. Everybody knew him. It was our attorney’s friend DIck, RIchard Ervin. He had served as state Attorney General and then Supreme Court Justice from 1964-1975. As Attorney General he was involved in some groundbreaking cases and was quite respected and renowned. I think at that time of our hearing he was in his early nineties. I was seated next to him during oral arguments. He would whisper questions to me and observations during the proceedings. He was still very sharp and the court publicly acknowledged him. I am sure that did not hurt our case.
I have some wonderful memories of being challenged in courts regarding the decisions we made to uphold the state constitution and laws of Florida in our office over these forty eight years. The process is arduous, expensive and intimidating. Every detail of our work and decision is scrutinized. Having documents required in discovery can be very tedious. Being deposed and having every word taken down is quite an experience. Being on the stand in front of a judge or jury is not for the faint of heart. Raymond McIntyre has been an amazing blessing to work with and for. His commitment to integrity and doing what is right has been repeatedly tested and proven. Our attorney, Loren Levy and before him, his father, Larry Levy, have been truly remarkable in representing us. I am blessed to be involved in being victorious in yet another legal case in my secular vocation. It does taste sweet.
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