Walmart Sues the City Of Platteville Again

Walmart is suing the City of Platteville once again. The suit was brought to Grant County Circuit Court, alleging that its Platteville store’s assessed value is “excessive” and should be reduced from $12.3 million to $6 million. The company also requested a partial refund for 2021 taxes at the property. The lawsuit comes after Walmart sued the city in 2020 and settled out of court to reduce its assessed value from $12.7 million to the current figure, and City officials fear that repeated challenges disproportionally will fall on the backs of homeowners and small businesses. The dispute with the company is one of many that has occurred statewide in what has been referred to as the “dark store loophole.” Big-box retailers successfully have challenged their property assessments, arguing that stores’ assessed values should be based on the sales of vacant and abandoned properties of similar size.