Stubbs Alderton & Markiles client, Growers Cold Storage celebrated a victory recently, when the LA County Assessor determined to reverse the reappraisal of their property. The Los Angeles County Assessor originally had determined that a change of ownership for property tax assessment purposes resulted from a series of mergers and recapitalizations involving commonly owned corporations and reassessed the surviving corporation's real properties. The assessor's office incorrectly determined that the totality of the transactions resulted in a change of ownership for the former group's real property. Our [SA&M] protest letter laid out the substance of the series of transactions and showed that the same shareholder controlled the corporation owning the real estate before and after the transactions, qualifying for an exemption from reassessment. The ownership division of the assessor's office agreed and reversed the reappraisal of the property.
Stubbs Alderton & Markiles' attorneys representing Growers Cold Storage in this matter were Michael Shaff and Scott Galer.
About Michael Shaff
Michael Shaff joined the firm in 2011 as Of Counsel. He is the Chair of the Tax Practice group. Michael specializes in all aspects of federal income taxation. Mr. Shaff has served as a trial attorney with the office of the chief counsel of the internal revenue service for three years. Mr. Shaff is certified by the board of legal specialization of the state bar of California as a specialist in tax law. Mr. Shaff is a past chair of the tax section of the orange county bar association. He is co-author of the “Real Estate Investment Trusts Handbook” published annually by West Group.
Michael received his A.B. at Columbia college in 1976, his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1979 and his LL.M. in taxation from New York University School of Law in 1986. He is admitted to practice law in the states of California, New York, and Massachusetts and is a member of the Orange County Bar Association.
For more information about our Tax & Estate Practice contact Michael Shaff at
