Rule 18 Claims for Relief

A Pleadings; Generally. A pleading which asserts a claim for relief, whether an original claim, counterclaim, cross-claim, or third-party claim, must contain;

A(1) Plain and Concise Statement. A plain and concise statement of the ultimate facts constituting a claim for relief without unnecessary repetition.

A(2) Claim for Relief. A demand of the relief which the party claims; if recovery of money or damages is demanded, the amount thereof must be stated; relief in the alternative or of several different types may be demanded.

B Pleading Real Market Value. If the real market value of property is in issue, a party seeking a change of the value shown on the assessment records must plead the dollar amount of the real market value claimed by that party for each tax year at issue.

C Income Tax Cases. In all income tax cases where the plaintiff is the taxpayer, the complaint must allege that the assessed tax, penalty, and interest have been paid, and the requested relief should be for a refund.

C(1) Income Tax Status Contested. If a party disputes that the matter is an income tax case, the assessed tax, penalty, and interest must be paid within 30 days after the court enters an order so finding.

C(2) Special Designation. If a petition for special designation is filed, the assessed tax, penalty, and interest must be paid within 30 days after the court enters an order specially designating the case to the Regular Division.

C(3) Undue Hardship Claim. If the tax, penalty, and interest have not been paid because payment would be an undue hardship, the plaintiff may seek to have the assessment stayed. In such cases, the following procedures will apply:

C(3)(a) The plaintiff may seek to have the assessment stayed by filing a motion for stay of payment and an affidavit alleging undue hardship within the time period described in subsections C(1) and C(2). A form of combined motion and affidavit is available on the court’s website at https://www.courts.oregon.gov/forms/Documents/TAX-MotionForStay.pdf. The affidavit must set forth the specific facts and circumstances which establish undue hardship.

C(3)(b) The defendant may file objections to the motion for stay of payment within 30 days following service of the motion. If the defendant objects to the motion and the court cannot determine from the plaintiff’s affidavit whether payment of the tax, penalty, and interest would be an undue hardship, the court may require the plaintiff to submit further proof of hardship in writing or the court may schedule a hearing for that purpose. All hardship hearings will be conducted by remote means and recorded, unless the court determines that the circumstances require the parties to appear personally.

C(3)(c) If the court finds undue hardship, an order will be entered staying payment of all or a portion of the assessed tax, penalty, and interest pending final judgment in the case. Defendant must file a response to the complaint within 10 days following the date of the order staying payment.

C(3)(d) If the court finds no undue hardship, the court will issue an order granting the plaintiff up to 30 days from the date of the order to pay the tax, penalty, and interest. Failure of the plaintiff to pay the tax, penalty, and interest within the time allowed by the court will be cause for dismissal of the complaint. Defendant must file a response to the complaint within 10 days following the date that plaintiff pays the tax, penalty, and interest in full.

C(4) Failure to Timely File Undue Hardship Claim. If the plaintiff fails to timely file an affidavit alleging undue hardship under C(3), the court will not dismiss the appeal for that failure until a notice is issued to plaintiff so stating. Upon receipt of the notice, the plaintiff must file an affidavit alleging undue hardship within 30 days. Absent contrary evidence, the court will presume receipt of the notice three days after transmission to the plaintiff. TCR amended Jan 2, 2024, Jan 1, 2026.