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IN THE
INDIANA TAX COURT
CAUSE NO. 49T10-9309-TA-00070

TOWN OF ST. JOHN, ET AL.                                                   )
                                                                                )
        Petitioners,                                                            )
                                                                                )
    v.                                                                          )       
                                                                                )       
STATE BOARD OF TAX                                                              )
COMMISSIONERS,                                                                  )
                                                                                )
        Respondent.                                                             )
_____________________________________________________________________________
  

                                                                            
 ORDER OF CLARIFICATION

                                

______________________________________________________________________________
April 2, 1998
FOR PUBLICATION
    In its Order and Judgment Entry of March 2, 1998, this Court ordered
    the State Board to consider all competent real world evidence presented to the State Board by persons filing appeals on or after May 11, 1999. If, and only if, taxpayers introduce real world evidence at the administrative level, will this Court then consider such evidence presented to it.

Town of St. John v. State Bd. of Tax Comm'rs, No. 49T10-9309-TA-00070, slip op. at 6 (Ind. Tax Ct. Mar. 2, 1998) (order).
    Petitioners have moved for clarification of this paragraph. Specifically, the Petitioners note that the first quoted sentence is ambiguous. They contend that it is unclear whether the Court is referring to appeals filed with the State Board on or after May 11, 1999, or if the Court is referring to petitions filed with county boards of review on or after that date.
    In its response to Petitioners' motion, the State Board reads the order correctly. The Court's order should be read as focusing on the date, thereby making May 11, 1999 the date for

the application of competent real world evidence in new tax appeals, which begin at the county board level. Therefore, only those Form 130 petitions filed with the county boards of review pursuant to Ind. Code Ann. § 6-1.1-14-11 (West Supp. 1997) on or after May 11, 1999 may utilize the real world standard. Thereafter, if those taxpayers who file a petition on or after May 11, 1999 seek review of the county board's actions pursuant to Ind. Code Ann. § 6-1.1-15-3 (Form 131), the State Board must also consider any competent real world evidence. The requirement that the State Board consider real world evidence does not apply where the taxpayer's original challenge to his assessment was initiated at the county board level prior to May 11, 1999.
    The Court also notes that a Form 133 Petition for Correction of Errors (Ind. Code Ann. § 6-1.1-15-12) can be filed at any time and can be applied retroactively up to three years under Ind. Code Ann. § 6-1.1-26-1(2) (West 1989) (amended 1997). This, however, is not a concern because of the types of errors correctable via a Form 133 Petition. Form 133 Petitions can only be used to correct objective errors in the tax duplicate. See Bender v. State Bd. of Tax Comm'rs, 676 N.E.2d 1113 (Ind. Tax Ct. 1997). Such objective errors are correctable pursuant to precise and exact standards. A calculation of the effect of real world evidence on an individual assessment will typically require subjective judgment. Because errors involving subjective judgment are not correctable via a Form 133 Petition, the Court does not foresee any opportunity to apply real world evidence retroactively by using the Form 133 process.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

                            _______________________________
                            Thomas G. Fisher, Judge        
                            Indiana Tax Court


DISTRIBUTION:

Richard A. Waples, Attorney at Law
410 North Audubon Road
Indianapolis, IN 46219

Thomas M. Atherton
DUTTON & OVERMAN
710 Century Building
36 South Pennsylvania Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204

James K. Gilday
WOOD TOUHY GLEASON MERCER & HERRIN
3400 Bank One Tower
Indianapolis, IN 46204-5134

Peter H. Donahoe
HILL FULWINDER McDOWELL FUNK & MATTHEWS
One Indiana Square, Suite 2000
Indianapolis, IN 46204

Kenneth J. Falk
Indiana Civil Liberties Union
Price Building
1031 East Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46202

Jeffrey A. Modisett
Attorney General of Indiana
By:     Jon Laramore
    Angela L. Mansfield
    Deputy Attorney General
Indiana Government Center South, Fifth Floor
402 West Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2770

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