Clark County commissioners vote to take the Badlands property tax fight to the Nevada Supreme Court as interest keeps growing

What happened

Clark County commissioners voted Tuesday, without discussion, to appeal a Badlands property tax judgment to the Nevada Supreme Court, KTNV reported. The appeal has not yet been filed. Taxpayers will pay for the work of the district attorney's office and the outside lawyers handling the case.

The county wants the state's highest court to overturn a district court ruling. That ruling found developer Yohan Lowie did not owe property taxes on land that the city of Las Vegas illegally seized for public use, according to KTNV.

The dispute over the tax money

What the county owes

KTNV reported that Clark County owes Lowie and the city of Las Vegas more than $12.4 million. If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court ruling, most of that money would go to Lowie. Interest on the unpaid judgment is growing by more than $3,000 per day, the station reported.

The developer's argument

Lowie's attorney, Jim Leavitt, has long argued the county should never have collected the taxes. In an earlier interview cited by KTNV, Leavitt said, "Clark County entirely ignored the District Court orders and the Nevada Supreme Court Badlands decision, which was right on point." He also said the county ignored U.S. Supreme Court precedent that taxes are not due on public property.

In a new statement to KTNV, Leavitt said, "The County never should have received this money." He added that the county is now willing to spend tax dollars on attorney fees to keep money he said never belonged to it.

The county's argument

The county argues that forcing public agencies to return the tax money would have a far greater impact in the current economic climate, KTNV reported. Those agencies include the Clark County School District.

What the case is costing taxpayers

According to KTNV, Clark County has already spent about $120,000 on outside attorneys in the tax case. The county expects the appeal to cost another $50,000. Those costs are in addition to the daily interest building on the judgment while it remains unpaid.

KTNV noted that the county is following the same path as the city of Las Vegas, which lost every Badlands court battle at every level in Nevada.

How it connects to the Badlands settlement

The tax judgment is separate from the $636 million Badlands settlement Lowie reached with the city of Las Vegas, KTNV reported. City taxpayers paid $286 million of that settlement. The rest came from the sale of the property to homebuilder Lennar.

For more on land use and building projects around the valley, see our development coverage.

What to watch next

• The formal filing of Clark County's appeal with the Nevada Supreme Court, which KTNV reported has not yet happened.
• Whether the Nevada Supreme Court upholds or overturns the district court ruling on the property taxes.
• Interest on the more than $12.4 million judgment, which KTNV reported is growing by more than $3,000 per day while it goes unpaid.
• The expected additional $50,000 in appeal costs on top of about $120,000 already spent on outside attorneys.