Midland Judicial Appeals Save $9 Million
With taxpayers struggling at the informal and formal levels, there has been a large uptick in recent years of litigation against the Midland Central Appraisal District (MCAD). Typically reserved for premium properties, lawsuits are gaining momentum as the success of administrative appeals drops while property taxes keep increasing. From binding arbitration to judicial appeals, get the best shot in your legal endeavor by joining O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today. Enroll, relax, and save.
Number Appealed to Binding ArbitrationSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Number Determinations appealed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 24 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since Texas has one of the best systems for appeals for property owners.
Midland County Legal Appeals of ARB Hearing
Midland County protests feature a much larger portion of businesses than most counties, especially those in the petroleum industry. While it is typical for businesses to dominate in tax savings and value reductions, seeing companies rule the charts with the number of appeals is nearly unheard of. This emphasis on businesses means that lawsuits will become a bigger part of the overall tax reduction effort, as businesses struggle to find initial success.
If you need to file a lawsuit against MCAD, there is no better partner than O’Connor. For over 50 years, O’Connor has fought appraisal districts across Texas with appeals and lawsuits. O’Connor can even build your legal team for you, including expert witnesses and attorneys. Armed with expert evidence, your legal team will have the best shot to win.
MCAD Binding Arbitration Cases
The number of taxpayers going for binding arbitration has increased every year for the past decade. These simple lawsuits see the taxpayer and MCAD face off in front of an expert arbiter. This expert reviews the evidence from both sides and chooses the winner strictly on merit. These lawsuits can decide the values of homes under $5 million, though homesteads have no such cap. There were 24 cases of binding arbitration in 2024.
Appealed to State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)Source: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Appealed to SOAH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Midland State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH)
Made exclusively for homes valued at over $1 million, State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) cases are the rarest type of lawsuit. Being just over a decade old, this form of litigation has often never been seen in many counties, even major ones. Midland is certainly one of these counties, and there has never been an SOAH case held in the county.
Judicial AppealsSource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Judicial Appeals | 12.00 | 6.00 | 7.00 | 9.00 | 13.00 | 33.00 | 34.00 | 34.00 | 33.00 | 29.00 | 24.00 | |
MCAD Judicial Appeals
Typically, when businesses go for a lawsuit, it is for a judicial appeal. These are district court lawsuits that have all the trimmings of the usual court case. This includes judges, teams of lawyers, expert witnesses, and more. These are the cases that often decide millions of dollars each, making them the appeal type with the highest stakes in the whole tax reduction process.
There were 24 judicial appeals filed in 2024. This was the lowest since 2018, but it is hard to keep track of how these lawsuits perform. Each can take years to navigate through the court system, so one filed now could be resolved in several years. While the number of suits was down, that does not necessarily mean that the value contested was. In many counties, years with small judicial appeals often see the largest returns.