Lawsuit filed against Harris County's Appraisal District and ARB

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A local real estate services firm has filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Appraisal District and the Appraisal Review Board, saying that the agencies are not following the law during appraisal protests:

The lawsuit, filed Monday by O’Connor & Associates, alleges that Harris County’s appraisal review board, which weighs protests, does not act independently of the Harris County Appraisal District, which appraises property.

Jim Robinson, Harris County’s chief appraiser, said the lawsuit is without merit and that review panels reduce appraised values in 70 percent to 80 percent of cases brought before them.

The plaintiff argues that the appraisal district has inappropriate influence over the process of challenging appraisals, including controlling the scheduling of hearings, and fails to provide advance copies of its evidence, as required by law.

“Some (appraisal review board) panels ignore the property owner’s evidence of unequal appraisal even under circumstances where the district presents no evidence at all,” the lawsuit says.

RELATED: O’Connor files suit against Appraisal District and Review Board (Houston Business Journal)


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