Profile
Cris K. O’Neall focuses his practice on ad valorem property tax and assessment counseling and litigation (appeal hearings and trials). For over 30 years, he has represented a variety of California taxpayers in equalization proceedings before county assessment appeals boards, the State Board of Equalization, the Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal, and the California Supreme Court.
The clients Cris has served include owners of the following property types:
- Healthcare (hospitals, skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, medical office buildings)
- Hospitality (hotels and resorts)
- Entertainment and recreation (entertainment venues, theme parks, golf courses, ski areas)
- Retail (shopping centers, department stores)
- Energy and natural resources (oil refineries, power plants, oil and gas fields, pipelines, quarries, service stations)
- Public properties (airport concessions, port terminals, marinas, U.S. Forest Service land)
- Food processing plants and distribution facilities/warehouses
- Machinery & equipment, personal property (jet aircraft, harbor cranes)
Concentrations
- Property tax counseling
- Ad valorem property tax appeals and litigation
- Litigation and appeals
- State and Local Tax
Capabilities
Experience
Cris has represented property taxpayers in over a dozen California appellate court cases, including the following cases with published decisions issued in recent years:
- DFS Group LP v. County of San Mateo (Court of Appeal, 1st Dist., 2019)
- Elk Hills Power LLC v. Board of Equalization (Calif. Supreme Court, 2013)
- Western States Petroleum Association v. Board of Equalization (Calif. Supreme Court, 2013)
- Prang v. Los Angeles County Assessment Appeals Board No. 3 (Court of Appeal, 2nd Dist., 2015)
- SHC Half Moon Bay LLC v. County of San Mateo (Court of Appeal, 1st Dist., 2014)
- NetJets Aviation, Inc. v. Guillory (Court of Appeal, 4th Dist., 2012)
Recognition & Leadership
- Team Member, a Law360 "Real Estate Practice Group of the Year," 2023
- Listed, The Legal 500 United States, Tax - U.S. Taxes - Contentious, 2019-2020
- Member, California State Bar
- Chairman, Taxation Section, State and Local Tax Committee, 2001-2002
- Member, Los Angeles County Bar Association
- Chairman, State and Local Tax Committee, 1997-1998
- Board Member, California Taxpayers Association (CalTax), Board of Directors
- Board Member, California Alliance of Taxpayer Advocates (CATA)
- Chair, Board of Directors, 2019-2020
- Advocate of the Year, 2018
- Member, Institute for Professionals in Taxation (IPT)
- Member, American Property Tax Counsel (APTC)
- Treasurer, Member Executive Committee, 201-2021
- Member, Council on State Taxation (COST)
- Member, International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)
Credentials
Education
- J.D., University of California at Los Angeles, 1986
- B.A., summa cum laude, Claremont McKenna College, 1982
Admissions
- California
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
- U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California