ATLANTIC RICHFIELD COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
R. R. (BOB) WALDEN, AS TAX ASSESSOR OF HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FLORIDA, ET AL., APPELLEES
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Atlantic Richfield sought agricultural property tax assessment for land acquired as a phosphate reserve but currently used as a cattle ranch. The trial court denied the assessment based on precedent holding that peripheral areas supporting industrial operations could have secondary agricultural use, but the appellate court reversed, finding that mere historical intent to mine did not negate the primary agricultural use of land never actually mined.
Land qualifies for agricultural assessment when it is presently used in bona fide agricultural operations, even if acquired with the intent to mine it later, provided the land is not peripheral to an existing mining operation and such agricultural use is primary.
[1] A peripheral area necessary to the operation of a mine may render agricultural use of that land secondary to the industrial purpose, thus warranting a finding that agricu…
[2] Acquisition of land with the intention of future mining does not negate the bona fides of a present agricultural use.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“a peripheral area necessary to the operation of a mine could make the agricultural use of that land secondary to the industrial purpose”
Establishes the limited scope of the Borden precedent: only peripheral areas actually supporting existing mining operations have secondary agricultural use
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAtlantic Richfield's predecessor purchased an extensive tract in Hillsborough County as a phosphate reserve. The land is presently and bona fide used …
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Atlantic Richfield claimed entitlement to agricultural assessment of an extensive tract in southeast Hillsborough County which its predecessor had purchased as a phosphate reserve. It is conceded that the present bona fide use of the property is as a cattle ranch, and that its lessee uses the land pretty much as his in-laws, the former owners, used it. The trial judge denied the relief sought on authority of Walden v. Borden Co., Fla.1970, 235 So.2d 300. We think the crucial factor in that case is missing in this one. There the Supreme Court held that there was sufficient evidence that the agricultural use was not primary, as the statute requires, and over*816turned a summary judgment in the taxpayer’s favor. The Borden Company’s lands were peripheral to an existing phosphate operation, and its lease excluded damages on account of injury done the lessee’s agricultural operations by the lessor’s industrial ones. Thus Borden stands for the proposition that a peripheral area necessary to the operation of a mine could make the agricultural use of that land secondary to the industrial purpose. If that is the case, a finding of primary agricultural use is unwarranted.
This case involves land which has never been mined, and an owner whose intention to mine it was never carried out. That the land was acquired with the thought of mining it does not negate the bona fides of an agricultural use any more than does the anticipation of speculative profits. The case is therefore controlled by Greenwood v. Oates, Fla.1971, 251 So.2d 665. See also Hausman v. Rudkin, Fla.App. 4th 1972, 268 So.2d 407, and cases therein cited.
Reversed and remanded.
LILES and HOBSON, JJ., concur.
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Love PGI P'rs, LP v. Schultz, 706 So. 2d 887 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)…e lands for a bona fide cattle grazing operation on January 1, 1994, we would remand this cause to the trial court for a factual determination of this issue using the factors test set forth in section 193.461(3)(b). Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Walden, 277 So. 2d 815 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973).9 However, Schultz in this case presented no evidence to counter or dispute Sugarmill’s witnesses that, in fact, as of January 1, 1994, Jessie Thomas was conducting a cattle-grazing operation on the disputed property. He fenced th…
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Ridgewood Phosphate Corp. & Int'l Minerals & Chem. Corp. v. Perkins, 487 So. 2d 40 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)…hooley, 371 So. 2d 496 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979). Moreover, Ridge-wood’s intention to use the leased land for mining and its preparatory activities for that future use were insufficient to deny agricultural classification. Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Walden, 277 So. 2d 815 (Fla. 2d DCA), cert. denied, 284 So. 2d 217 (Fla.1973). See also The Glades, Inc. v. Colding, 422 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982); Fisher. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. SCHOONOVER and SANDERLIN, JJ.…
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Roden v. Estech, Inc., 508 So. 2d 728 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)…d. As this court said in The Glades, Inc. v. Colding, 422 So. 2d 349, 351 (Fla. 2d DCA 1982), “Once the court finds a bona fide good faith agricultural use ... the ... future use of the land is irrelevant.” See also Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Walden, 277 So. 2d 815 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973). The fact that other lands owned by Estech in the same area were used for mining does not mean that the lands involved in this litigation were so used. See Daniel v. American Cyanamid Co., 480 So. 2d 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985). On cr…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Carroll v. State, 251 So. 2d 665 (Fla. 1971)
- Ford Hausman v. Rudkin, 268 So. 2d 407 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)
- R. R. (Bob) Walden v. The Borden Co., 235 So. 2d 300 (Fla. 1970)