Midland Lawsuit Property Tax Savings over $9.74 MM in 2024
When the largest homes and businesses need to challenge the values created by the Midland Central Appraisal District (MCAD), they turn to judicial appeals. These district court lawsuits contest multi-million-dollar properties every year, in an effort to shave off value that could not be obtained by standard appeals. These are becoming more important every year in Midland County, thanks to rising values and taxes. Join O’Connor’s Property Tax Protection Program™ today and get your legal team built for you. Enroll, relax, and save.
Judicial Appeals by Property Type Midland CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Judicial Appeals | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Total Number of lawsuits | 12 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 33 | 34 | 34 | 33 | 29 | 24 | |
| Single Family Residential | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Multi Family Residential | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 14 | 19 | 24 | 22 | 20 | |
| Commercial real and personal property | 9 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 20 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| All Other | 2 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since You can’t evaluate the strength of your appeal until you obtain the hearing evidence file. You have to protest to obtain the hearing evidence file (available free upon request via U.S. mail).
MCAD Judicial Appeals
of ARB Hearing
While the appraisal review board (ARB) offers taxpayers an impartial arbiter, nothing stacks the deck against MCAD more than judicial appeals. Thanks to building a solid legal team, including attorneys and expert witnesses, taxpayers generally hold all the cards when it comes to this final stage in the tax reduction journey. With a plethora of evidence to back up their claims, taxpayers can generally bully the appraisal district, and often walk away with a reduction without ever stepping foot in a courtroom.
O’Connor can help you win the fight before it begins by creating the perfect portfolio of evidence, along with assembling an elite legal squad. For over 50 years, O’Connor has helped the best properties in the state get reductions through litigation. There are no upfront fees, and you will only pay a portion of your savings if your taxes are lowered.
MCAD Judicial Appeals Filed by Property Type
There was a total of 24 district court lawsuits filed in 2024, which was slightly down from the previous few years. Since 2019, there have been roughly a consistent number of judicial appeals, showing that a major change occurred that year. Homes are completely absent from Midlane County judicial appeals, a rarity for Texas, but entirely consistent with the county.
Of the 24 lawsuits, 20 were for apartments and other multi family housing. This has consistently been the largest participant in lawsuits for the past decade. In urban environments, apartments are usually the largest business property by a significant margin. Commercial properties accounted for four additional suits. While the largest business type in the county, oil and gas companies, are conspicuously absent from the caseload.
Value Involved in Judicial Appeals - Midland CountySource: Texas Comptroller, compiled by O’Connor, and not affiliated with any appraisal district.
| Billions of $ | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||
| Value of All Judicial Appeals | 0.117 | 0.092 | 0.066 | 0.119 | 0.154 | 0.356 | 0.333 | 0.31 | 0.592 | 1.134 | 0.522 | |
| Single Family Res | 0.002 | 0.002 | 0.001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.002 | 0.015 | 0 | |
| Multi Family Res | 0.014 | 0.019 | 0.024 | 0.044 | 0.082 | 0.248 | 0.263 | 0.278 | 0.502 | 0.796 | 0.482 | |
| Commercial | 0.086 | 0.047 | 0.007 | 0.045 | 0.072 | 0.107 | 0.07 | 0.032 | 0.021 | 0.323 | 0.04 | |
| All Other | 0.015 | 0.024 | 0.033 | 0.03 | 0 | 0.001 | 0 | 0 | 0.068 | 0 | 0 | |
Texas property owners should protest annually since An annual appeal minimizes property taxes, sometimes well below market value.
MCAD Value Involved in Judicial Appeals
With a smaller number of lawsuits than usual, the value involved was also decreased. An estimated $572 million was contested in 2024, down from the record of $1.13 billion in 2023. Apartments were responsible for $482 million of this value, while commercial businesses accounted for $40 million. These two property types had both set records in 2023. The value contested by lawsuits has generally been close to the result seen in 2024, indicating that 2023 may be an outlier.