Mughal v. Multnomah County Assessor

DECISION OF DISMISSAL TC-MD 220305G 	1 of 2
IN THE OREGON TAX COURT
MAGISTRATE DIVISION
Property Tax
USMAN MUGHAL and ZAHRA BALOCH, 	)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Plaintiffs, 	TC-MD 220305G
v.
MULTNOMAH COUNTY ASSESSOR,
DECISION OF DISMISSAL	Defendant.
This matter came before the court on Defendant’s motion to dismiss, made at trial on
May 9, 2023. Plaintiffs were represented by Michael Mangan, attorney-at-law. Defendant was
primarily represented by Scott Elliott, Appraiser Supervisor, with Carlos Rasch, Assistant
County Counsel, appearing partway through the trial.
Although the trial had been scheduled as an in-person proceeding at Plaintiffs’ request,
Plaintiffs moved to offer remote testimony at the outset of trial because they were traveling out
of town. The court sustained Defendant’s objection to that motion.
Defendant then moved to exclude Plaintiffs’ proffered exhibits, which consisted of a
Multnomah County Circuit Court complaint alleging construction defects, an appraisal dated two
years before the assessment date of the earliest tax year at issue, and two forensic reports
describing alleged construction defects without quantifying the cost to cure them. The court
excluded the proffered exhibits because they were hearsay and did not appear likely to aid in
achieving substantial justice. Cf. ORS 305.501(4)(a).1
Defendant then made a motion to dismiss, which Plaintiffs did not contest. Now,
therefore,
1 The court’s references to the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) are to 2021.

DECISION OF DISMISSAL TC-MD 220305G 	2 of 2
IT IS THE DECISION OF THIS COURT that Plaintiffs’ Complaint be dismissed.
If you want to appeal this Decision, file a complaint in the Regular Division of
the Oregon Tax Court, by mailing to: 1163 State Street, Salem, OR 97301-2563;
or by hand delivery to: Fourth Floor, 1241 State Street, Salem, OR.
Your complaint must be submitted within 60 days after the date of this Decision
or this Decision cannot be changed. TCR-MD 19 B.
This document was signed by Magistrate Poul F. Lundgren and entered on May
31, 2023.