Zillow Must Pay Fee for Louisiana Property Tax Record Access

Zillow Inc. will have to pay for access to a Louisiana’s parish property tax assessment records after a state appeals court found the records aren’t in the assessor’s control.

The real estate website appealed a state trial court’s refusal to order Catahoula Parish Tax Assessor Matt Taylor to comply with Zillow’s state public records request for the records in “native format.”

The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, upheld the trial court finding that the parish’s software vendor, not Taylor, has control over data in native format.

Taylor’s attorney Brian A. Eddington in Baton Rouge called the case “newsworthy” as ...