154819 - Harmony Montessori Center v City of Oak Park
Attorney Information
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Harmony
Montessori Center,
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Joshua M. Wease
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Petitioner-Appellant,
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v
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(Appeal from Ct of Appeals)
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(Tax Tribunal – Gadola, P.)
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City of Oak Park,
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Megan K. Cavanagh
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Respondent-Appellee.
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Order Link
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Opinions Link
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Summary
Page Content
Petitioner Harmony Montessori Center is a
private, nonprofit preschool and kindergarten. In 2009, respondent City of Oak
Park assessed ad valorem property taxes against the school. Harmony protested
the assessment, contending that it was entitled to the exemptions in the
General Property Tax Act as an educational institution and charitable
institution. The Michigan Tax Tribunal determined that Harmony was entitled to
neither exemption because it did not substantially alleviate the state’s
educational burden and because it charged tuition to the vast majority of its
students and offered reduced pricing to only a few. In 2012, the Court of
Appeals reversed the tribunal and remanded the case, finding errors of law in the
tribunal’s conclusions regarding both exemptions. The Supreme Court denied the
city’s application for leave to appeal. In 2015, the tax tribunal again
determined that Harmony was not entitled to claim either exemption. In 2016, a
different panel of the Court of Appeals affirmed in a split unpublished
opinion. The Supreme Court has directed oral argument on Harmony’s application
for leave to appeal to address whether Ladies Literary Club v Grand Rapids, 409
Mich 748 (1980), and David Walcott Kendall Memorial School v Grand Rapids, 11
Mich App 231 (1968), continue to provide the appropriate test of what
constitutes a “nonprofit . . .
educational . . . institution[]” under MCL 211.7n.