Title
County Counsel’s Office recommending the Board deny the claim for refund of property taxes by Denise Cook in the amount of $17,207.55 and authorize the County Counsel’s Office to send a Letter of Denial to Ms. Cook.
FUNDING: General Fund.
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DISCUSSION / BACKGROUND
In this matter, the County Counsel’s Office worked closely with the Assessor, Treasurer-Tax Collector, and Auditor’s Office to conduct a thorough investigation regarding this claim. It has been determined that Ms. Cook’s claim lacks both factual and legal merit. In addition, the burden of proof in this matter rests with Ms. Cook and she has failed to meet that burden.
In early 2005 Ms. Cook purchased a 1.85% property interest in the El Dorado Hills Self Storage property (“Property”). Ms. Cook paid $160,000 for her share of the Property. After the purchase she received two deeds that reflected her partial ownership. There were approximately 20 other individual owners of the Property, in addition to one Limited Liability Corporation (“LLC”). Multiple tax bills were not paid during Ms. Cook’s period of ownership. The property was foreclosed in 2009, and the tax bills gave rise to tax liens on the LLC, Ms. Cook and the other owners. The LLC then declared bankruptcy, so the individual owners bore the tax lien burdens.
When Ms. Cook pursued another financial investment, in 2018, she was reportedly unable to borrow money due to the tax liens on the Property. She claims that she did not understand that her 2005 investment in the Property was as an individual property owner and claims that she thought she was joining the LLC to protect herself from personal liability. Ms. Cook also asserts that she had no knowledge of these tax liens. However, she has acknowledged receiving copies of the 2005 deeds that clearly reflected her individual property ownership.
In 2019 Ms. Cook paid the outstanding tax bills on the Property, in order to proceed with her new investment. The tax liens were the...
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