Two Fairfax County apartment complex owners sued Falls Church to recover “unlawful and unconstitutional taxes” the owners say they were forced to pay in their water bills. The owners of Idylwood Village West Apartments and Providence Hall Apartments say the Falls Church Water Utility owes them a total of almost $100,000.
The complaints, filed Tuesday afternoon, claim that Falls Church overcharged Fairfax County customers for water and diverted the additional money to the city’s general fund. About 92 percent of Falls Church’s water customers live in Fairfax, court documents show.
Idylwood Village West claims it is owed $79,820 for overcharges between 2007 and 2009. Providence Hall claims it is owed $16,736.
The claims point to a Fairfax County Circuit Court ruling in January that Falls Church was imposing an “unconstitutional, extra-territorial tax” on Fairfax County customers by transferring water utility revenues to the city’s general fund budget. The Virginia Supreme Court in November denied an appeal by Falls Church.
“My hope is that the city will do the right thing and refund these folks their money,” said attorney Tim Hyland, who filed the complaints on behalf of the apartment owners in Fairfax County Circuit Court. “But if they’re not willing to do that then we’ll need to litigate it and have the court hold yet again that they’ve acted unconstitutionally. It’s really in the city’s hands how they wish to deal with this.”
The complaints are only the first of several expected to be filed against Falls Church. Hyland said he will file at least one more complaint, and several other local attorneys representing homeowners and property owners are preparing lawsuits of their own. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is demanding a $127,877 refund from Falls Church, and the School Board says it’s owed $71,270 as reimbursement for the “illegal taxes,” though neither filed a legal claim.
The statute of limitations requires anyone seeking reimbursement for payments made in 2007 to file suit by Dec. 31.
Falls Church spokeswoman Barbara Gordon said officials had not yet seen the filings and could not comment on them. In a statement last week, Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields described Fairfax County’s requests as “unusual and disappointing.”
