Judge Compels Meadows to Release Information

A Washington County judge has ruled that Ladbroke Racing Pennsylvania Inc. must produce income records that impact tax revenue due to the Washington County Board of Assessment Appeals and the Canon-McMillan School District.

school directors voted unanimously in October to intervene in the motion filed by the assessment appeals board in Washington County court compelling Ladbroke—parent company of —to produce income records that impact tax revenue due the taxing bodies.

"In particular, the information requested by the taxing entities will allow their expert to properly prepare his appraisal report," president Judge Debbie O'Dell Seneca said in the order filed last week. "Furthermore (Ladbroke's) argument that the information being requested in discovery may lead to a prohibited 'value in use' consideration is premature."

The action by the school district had been forced because The Meadows had refused to release its income information to Canon-McMillan and the county. The information is necessary for the appraiser to accurately give an opinion of the property's value, the district said in a statement when it passed the motion last year.