From the Northwest Indiana Times:
A legal tool that shut down an Indiana puppy mill likely won't be used again after the Indiana Supreme Court let stand a Tax Court ruling that found the move exceeded state authority.
A jeopardy tax assessment allows the state to immediately seize and sell property to satisfy claims of unpaid taxes. On June 2, 2009, Virginia and Kristin Garwood each were ordered to pay $142,367.94 in allegedly unpaid taxes from the sale of puppies at their Mauckport, Ind., farm.
When the Garwoods were unable to pay, Indiana State Police and Humane Society volunteers seized 240 dogs from the farm, including the Garwoods' pets. All the dogs were sold to the Humane Society the next day for $300.
The Indiana Tax Court ruled in August that the state exceeded its authority by using jeopardy assessments, which are intended to stop a person owing taxes from concealing property or fleeing the state. That the dogs were sold for far less than their value shows the state was not interested in collecting tax revenue but instead in shutting down a socially undesirable activity, Tax Court Judge Martha Wentworth said.
The five-member Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case May 10. Eight days later, and without comment, the state's high court rescinded its review and restored the Tax Court ruling.
The Supreme Court's action does not prohibit future state use of jeopardy tax assessments. However, their value as a tool to close puppy mills is likely diminished even though the court's order is not precedent-setting.
...
In a separate criminal case, the Garwoods pleaded guilty to failure to collect sales taxes.
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/puppy-mill-foes-stymied-by-indiana-supreme-court/article_da622889-50c1-5572-a7a7-1655427bfe6b.html
Earlier Posts on the Garwood Case:
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/05/supreme-court-vacates-review-of-puppy.html
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/05/supreme-court-decides-review.html
http://indianapropertytaxreporter.blogspot.com/2012/03/indiana-supreme-court-grants-transfer_19.html
