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Two homeowners have filed a class action lawsuit against Bernalillo County Assessor Damian Lara, alleging unlawful property tax increases on homes placed in revocable living trusts.

The lawsuit, which sa国际传媒官网网页入口 residents Edward Roberts and Kari Brandenburg filed with the 2nd Judicial District Court on Monday, coincided with a motion seeking a temporary restraining order to halt delinquent tax penalties against the plaintiffs, which began Dec. 10.

Brandenburg served more than a decade as Bernalillo County district attorney before stepping down in 2016.

The lawsuit, which also lists the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners as a defendant, alleges the two plaintiffs aren鈥檛 the only homeowners who have been subjected to alleged illegal tax increases. Nearly 400 homeowners who transferred their properties into a trust were similarly affected, court documents show.

A spokesperson for the Bernalillo County Assessor鈥檚 Office declined to comment, stating the county was unable to talk about pending litigation.

The two homeowners allege that Lara unlawfully reassessed their residential properties after they were placed in a revocable living trust and he imposed property tax increases larger than the  set by state law.

Valuations of residential properties statewide cannot be raised by more than 3% per year of the previous year鈥檚 assessed value, with some .

The limitation on increases in value does not apply to residential properties being valued for the first time, properties that have been physically improved, properties that have been zoned differently and properties that changed owners in the year prior.

This means that if a home sells, the cap disappears and the assessed value can rise by more than 3% the following year, triggering sudden, sharp tax spikes often referred to as 鈥渢ax lightning.鈥�

However,  says that a change in ownership does not include when a home is placed in a revocable living trust, meaning such a circumstance is still subject to the 3% cap.

A revocable trust is a legal tool that a person creates to hold their assets while they鈥檙e alive. It鈥檚 most often used for estate planning, said Chris Dodd, the attorney representing Brandenburg and Roberts.

Revocable trusts help people avoid the probate process after a person dies, allowing the beneficiary of the trust 鈥� most often the owner鈥檚 spouse or child 鈥� to receive the asset, such as a home, immediately, versus going through the court, Dodd said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this misconception that trusts are something that only really wealthy people use,鈥� Dodd said. 鈥淏ut very ordinary people use trusts to put their estate in order.鈥�

Brandenburg and Roberts are among those who recently placed their residential properties into a trust and were subsequently subjected to alleged illegal tax lightning.

Brandenburg placed her properties in a trust in September 2024 and saw taxes on her primary residence in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 jump 26% from $12,242 last year to $15,449 this year, according to the class action complaint.

Property taxes on Roberts鈥� sa国际传媒官网网页入口 home rose by more than 32% from $3,362 last year to $4,447 this year after placing his property into a trust in July 2024.

The lawsuit alleges that Lara 鈥渉as repeatedly, willfully, and knowingly disregarded鈥� the statute by treating revocable trust transfers as taxable changes in ownership and 鈥渓ikewise ignored the written protests鈥� from affected homeowners and their counsel.

鈥淥ur position is that the rights of these 400-some-odd homeowners have been trampled on,鈥� Dodd said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really disappointing to see government actors consciously choosing to ignore our laws and to simply refuse to do the right thing.鈥�

The lawsuit alleges that Bernalillo County is the only county in New Mexico enforcing the view that a transfer into a trust triggers tax reassessment, unless the deed contains the word 鈥渞evocable.鈥�

According to the suit, statute presumes that all trusts are revocable 鈥� capable of being changed or canceled 鈥� unless expressly identified as irrevocable. The suit also alleges that the county鈥檚 prolonged practices 鈥� such as asking for the same document multiple times 鈥� prevented homeowners from seeking relief during the protest window that follows distribution of valuations in April.

Some homeowners, like Brandenburg, have already paid the first half of the inflated taxes, while homeowners like Roberts have elected not to pay and will be considered tax delinquent and subjected to penalties and late fees that began Dec. 10, the lawsuit says.

Dodd said he and attorney Amber Fayerberg hoped the restraining order would come through before then, but hadn鈥檛 heard anything from the court as of Tuesday.

As for the class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs are seeking restoration of lawful valuations under the 3% cap, refunds of alleged illegally collected taxes and damages, which Dodd estimated could range anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars.

鈥淭he problem with this situation is if it鈥檚 unremedied, those amounts will compound,鈥� Dodd said. 鈥淚f you get hit with tax lightning this year, then next year, your taxes go up by 3% but they go up 3% on the inflated assessed value. So we鈥檙e talking many millions of dollars in unlawful taxes that would be imposed if unremedied.鈥�