MOUNDSVILLE – The owner of 56 Marcellus wells in Marshall County allege the wells were overvalued.
SWN Production Co. LLC filed a complaint Jan. 16 in Marshall Circuit Court against West Virginia Tax Commissioner Dale Steager, Assessor of Marshall County Christopher J. Kessler and the County Commission of Marshall County seeking to appeal a decision.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that the West Virginia Department of Revenue, State Tax Department, Property Tax Division overvalued its Marshall County wells for the 2017 tax year. The plaintiff alleges it appealed the valuation to the County Commission of Marshall County in October 2017 but no adjustment was made. The plaintiff is now appealing this decision.
The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible because the tax department has allegedly abused its discretion by failing to consider the plaintiff's actual and allowable operating expenses and failed to support its valuation with evidence.
The plaintiff seeks an order fixing plaintiff's gas wells 2017 tax year at $70,909,245 and any further relief that the court may deem appropriate. It is represented by Craig A. Griffith and John J. Meadows of Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jeffrey Cramer.
Marshall Circuit Court case number 18-C-08