LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Clark County is taking its Badlands tax fight to the Nevada Supreme Court, following the same path as the city of Las Vegas, which lost every Badlands court battle at every level in Nevada.
It is another legal gamble that will cost taxpayers even more money.
WATCH: Clark County appeals Badlands tax judgment to Nevada Supreme Court
With no discussion, Clark County commissioners voted Tuesday to appeal the Badlands tax judgment to the Nevada Supreme Court. Taxpayers will cover the cost of the district attorney's office and outside lawyers handling the appeal, which has not yet been filed.
The county is asking the state's highest court to overturn a district court ruling that developer Yohan Lowie did not owe property taxes on land the city of Las Vegas illegally seized for public use. Lowie's attorney, Jim Leavitt, has long argued the county should never have collected those taxes.
"Clark County entirely ignored the District Court orders and the Nevada Supreme Court Badlands decision, which was right on point. And it ignored United States Supreme Court precedent that taxes are not due on public property," Leavitt said in a previous interview about the county's case.
As the appeal moves forward, so does the cost. Interest on the unpaid judgment is growing by more than $3,000 per day.
In a new statement, Leavitt said, "The County never should have received this money, and the right thing to do when you receive money that does not belong to you is to return it. The County's failure to simply do the right thing is what is most troubling here. And, the County is now willing to spend tax dollars on attorney fees trying to keep money that never belonged to it in the first place."
Clark County owes Lowie and the city of Las Vegas more than $12.4 million. Most of that money would go to Lowie if the Supreme Court upholds the lower court ruling.
That amount is separate from the $636 million Badlands settlement Lowie reached with the city. City taxpayers paid $286 million. The rest came from the sale of the property to homebuilder Lennar.
Clark County has already spent about $120,000 on outside attorneys in the tax case and expects the appeal to cost another $50,000. The county argues that forcing public agencies, including the Clark County School District, to return the tax money would have a far greater impact in the current economic climate.
