Los Angeles Ritz, Marriott Undervalued, County Tells High Court

The intangible assets of a hotel co-managed by Ritz-Carlton and Marriott near Los Angeles’ downtown convention center should be considered when determining its tax value, Los Angeles County told the California Supreme Court.

A divided appeals court ruled in April that the county overvalued the property by $150 million, improperly accounting for a subsidy from the city, a discount from the hotel companies, and hotel enterprise assets. The lone dissenting judge argued the judges in the majority “invent new labels” for what it referred to as the the subsidy and discount, leading them to mischaracterize the income.

The appeals court’s ...