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Buckley Powder Co. v. State12/19/2002
JUDGMENT AFFIRMED
Rothenberg and Taubman, JJ., concur
In this tax refund class action, defendants, State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Revenue, and various state officials (collectively, the state), appeal from the trial court's judgment certifying damages classes under C.R.C.P. 23(b)(3) and creating a common fund for the recovery of unconstitutionally collected taxes. On cross-appeal, plaintiff, Buckley Powder Co., for itself and on behalf of similarly situated entities, contends the trial court erred in limiting fees of its attorneys to $250,000 under § 13-17-203, C.R.S. 2002, and also erred in its award of prejudgment interest. We affirm.
I. Background
Buckley commenced this action challenging, as an unconstitutional burden on interstate commerce, amendments to Colorado's interstate and intrastate motor vehicle carrier registration fee and ownership tax statutes, Colo. Sess. Laws 1990, ch. 301, § 42-3-105(1)(a); Colo. Sess. Laws 1989, ch. 356, § 42-3-123(13)(b) & (b.3). Buckley sought class certification, injunctive and declaratory relief, and a refund of unconstitutional taxes collected between 1990 and 1994.
The trial court denied class certification, but granted Buckley's motion for summary judgment on the basis that the statutes, as amended, violated the Commerce Clause. The court denied Buckley's request for damages. Buckley appealed.
While its appeal was pending, the supreme court held that the amended statutes violated the Commerce Clause by differentiating between intrastate and interstate trucks as to both registration fees and ownership taxes. Riverton Produce Co. v. State, 871 P.2d 1213 (Colo. 1994)(Riverton). In response, the state instituted a refund program pursuant to § 39-21-108, C.R.S. 2002.
Relying on Riverton, a division of this court concluded the sole remaining issue in Buckley's appeal was the trial court's refusal to certify a class. The division remanded the case and directed the trial court to reconsider class certification. Buckley Powder Co. v. State, 924 P.2d 1133 (Colo. App. 1996)(Buckley I).
The supreme court granted certiorari on the class certification issue, reversed in part, and remanded the case. State v. Buckley Powder Co., 945 P.2d 841 (Colo. 1997)(Buckley II). The remand instructed the trial court to consider whether to certify a class pursuant to C.R.C.P. 23(b)(3) for the purpose of refunding the unconstitutionally collected taxes.
On remand, the trial court certified two classes -- interstate carriers who had paid registration fees between 1990 and 1994 on trucks driven less than 30,000 miles nationally (class II), and interstate carriers who had paid ownership taxes between 1990 and 1994 on trucks ten years old or older when registered (class III). These classes differed slightly from the classes initially proposed by Buckley. The trial court then appointed a special master to evaluate a common fund remedy and later adopted the special master's recommendation concerning creation of a common fund.
After a trial on damages, the court awarded common fund damages of $5,808,702 for class II and $320,588 for class III, to be paid through a refund of taxes otherwise payable in the current tax year using a plan to be developed by the court-appointed claims administrator.
The trial court limited fees of Buckley's attorneys to $250,000, the maximum under § 13-17-203, and awarded prejudgment interest only from 1995 to the date of judgment. Before the claims administrator presented a plan, the trial court certified the judgment as final under C.R.C.P. 54(b).
II. Priority of Statutory Refund Procedure
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