Judge Denies Request to Transfer Tax Case

The judge who ruled that a key method of assessing property in Orange County is unconstitutional said this week that he will not hand off the case to another judge.

Judge John M. Watson denied Treasurer-Tax Collector John Moorlach’s request for a second opinion of the case to test Watson’s interpretation of the law before it is applied.

In December, Watson found that Orange County Assessor Webster J. Guillory violated Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 tax reform. He ruled that Guillory illegally raised the assessed value of a home by more than the 2%-a-year limit.

County attorneys defended the practice, saying properties are routinely assessed increases of more than 2% when values have dropped and later rebound.