Lee v. Boswell

This is a class action challenging the federal constitutional validity of Alabama’s present ad valorem tax program. The crucial question presented in the case is whether the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment require the State of Alabama to assess all property within the state at a uniform ratio for ad valorem tax purposes.

Plaintiffs, all of whom are citizens of the United States and the State of Alabama, generally comprise two separate groups. Group I is comprised of corporate taxpayers owning taxable real property in Jefferson County, Alabama; these…