Glasson v. Board of Equal. of City of Omaha


Nebraska Supreme Court Online Library www.nebraska.gov/apps-courts-epub/ 04/12/2019 09:07 AM CDT - 869 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports GLASSON v. BOARD OF EQUAL. OF CITY OF OMAHA Cite as 302 Neb. 869 Robert E. Glasson, appellant, v. Board of Equalization of the City of Omaha and the City of Omaha, appellees. ___ N.W.2d ___ Filed April 12, 2019. Nos. S-18-472, S-18-474. 1. Judgments: Jurisdiction: Appeal and Error. When a jurisdictional question does not involve a factual dispute, its determination is a matter of law, which requires an appellate court to reach a conclusion indepen- dent of the decision made by the lower court. 2. Special Assessments: Municipal Corporations: Appeal and Error. An appeal from a special assessment by a metropolitan-class city taken as specified in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 14-813 (Reissue 2012) means that proceedings from a district court shall be the same as an appeal from a county board, and under this section, that means an appeal is taken by a petition in error and the review is solely of the record made before the tribunal whose action is being reviewed. 3. Statutes: Special Assessments: Words and Phrases: Appeal and Error. As a general rule, the word “shall” in a statute is considered mandatory and is inconsistent with the idea of discretion. Therefore, based on a plain reading of the statute, unless, as contemplated by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 14-101 (Reissue 2012), the Legislature or a city of the metropolitan class alters the procedure for a claimant or appellant to challenge a decision regarding an assessment, the procedure shall follow that which is specified in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 14-813 (Reissue 2012). 4. Statutes: Appeal and Error. When a provision of a statute is plain and unambiguous on its face, an appellate court must apply the provision as written. Appeals from the District Court for Douglas County: W. Russell Bowie III, Judge. Affirmed. - 870 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 302 Nebraska R eports GLASSON v. BOARD OF EQUAL. OF CITY OF OMAHA Cite as 302 Neb. 869 Jason E. Troia, of Dornan, Troia, Howard, Breitkreutz & Conway, P.C., L.L.O., for appellant. Ryan J. Wiesen, Assistant Omaha City Attorney, for appellees. Heavican, C.J., Miller-Lerman, Cassel, Stacy, Funke, Papik, and Freudenberg, JJ. Heavican, C.J. INTRODUCTION This case involves a consolidated appeal in which Robert E. Glasson challenges the decision of the Douglas County District Court. The district court found that it lacked juris- diction over the assessment decision made by the Board of Equalization of the City of Omaha exercising a quasi-judicial function pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 14-547 (Reissue 2012). The district court found that as a result of Glasson’s failure to file an appeal bond with the city clerk within 20 days as required by Neb. Rev. Stat. § 14-813 (Reissue 2012), the court lacked jurisdiction over the appeal. We affirm. BACKGROUND On December 5, 2017, the city council for the City of Omaha sat as a board of equalization ...

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