Todora v. Silverstein
Todora v. Silverstein
Opinion of the Court
James Todora, as Property Appraiser for Sarasota County, appeals a final declaratory judgment. We reverse the judgment, concluding that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to consider the claim.
Dr. Herbert Silverstein, as Trustee, filed an action for declaratory judgment. He maintained that the Property Appraiser had improperly failed to list his home as homestead for all years since 1985.
We are inclined to believe that the trial court should have placed the burden to prove an entitlement to the homestead exemption on Dr. Silverstein
When the trial court decided this case, it logically believed that it had jurisdiction under this court’s holding in Department of Revenue v. Pepperidge Farm, Inc., 847 So.2d 575 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). The supreme court recently disapproved our Pepperidge Farm decision and held that section 194.171(2) “applies broadly to taxpayers’ actions challenging the assessment of taxes against their property regardless of the legal basis of the challenge.” Ward v. Brown, 29 Fla. L. Weekly S611, S611, — So.2d -, -, 2004 WL 2360129 (Fla. Oct. 21, 2004). We conclude that Ward controls in this case. Dr. Silver-stein did not file this action within the sixty-day window for any individual tax year. Accordingly, we reverse the declaratory judgment and order the trial court on remand to dismiss this action for lack of jurisdiction.
Reversed and remanded.
. Apparently, Dr. Silverstein has placed his home into a trust for which he is trustee.
. Dr. Silverstein did not challenge any of these assessments under the procedures provided in section 194.011, Florida Statutes. Neither party relies upon the procedures for homestead exemptions contained in section 196.151, Florida Statutes.
. See Volusia County v. Daytona Beach Racing & Recreational Facilities Dist., 341 So.2d 498 (Fla. 1977) (holding the burden is on the claimant to show clearly any entitlement to an ad valorem tax exemption on realty); J.W. Mikos v. City of Sarasota, 636 So.2d 83 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (holding when municipal property claims an ad valorem tax exemption, it has the burden to prove entitlement to the exemption); Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks v. Dade County, 166 So.2d 605 (Fla. 3d DCA 1964) (finding that one seeking to establish an ad valorem tax exemption has the burden of showing entitlement to the exemption).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.