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Judge dismisses lawsuit against Summit County assessor

The lawsuit the Summit County property owner had filed against the assessor and county government contested the assessor's valuation of his property

Robert Tann/Summit Daily News
The Summit County Courthouse building is pictured in Breckenridge on Oct. 10, 2023.
Robert Tann/Summit Daily News

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed against the Summit County county government and the county assessor.

Todd Ruelle, the owner of property in the Peak 7 neighborhood in unincorporated Breckenridge, filed the lawsuit, which contested the county assessor’s valuation of his property in tax years 2023 and 2024, in Summit County court in October. The lawsuit named Summit County Assessor Lisa Eurich and the Summit County government as defendants.

Judge Karen Romeo granted a motion to dismiss in December, with both parties agreeing to the dismissal. Each party will bear its own costs and fees involved in the litigation, according to the court order.



The Summit County government through its attorney argued in a motion to dismiss that the court lacked jurisdiction because Ruelle “failed to timely exercise those judicial or administrative remedies that are all readily available to all real property taxpayers.” Ruelle did not file timely appeals with the county board of equalization in either year, according to the court document.

“We were happy to hear that the plaintiff’s attorney dismissed these novel and refutable claims against Summit County and the Assessor,” Summit County communications director Adrienne Saia Isaac said in a statement. “The assessor encourages property owners who submit an appeal to carefully read appeal information found on the assessor’s (website) and familiarize themselves with the appeal deadlines.”



Ruelle’s attorney, Alex Dorotik, said in a statement that the case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds due to the lack of appeal to the board of equalization. But Dorotik added that Ruelle “never received a written denial of his contest of the property assessment and the Assessor ignored his requests for said document. Had the Assessor simply provided the document when requested, this case would never have been filed.”

The county government in its statement said, “The assessor is required to notify property owners via mail; however, it is the responsibility of property owners to follow up on their appeals in a timely manner if notices were not delivered/received.”

Dorotik said that Ruelle plans to contest the county’s assessment of his property in 2025 and file “an all but identical” lawsuit if his appeal of its valuation is denied again.


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