Marshfield Clinic Files Lawsuit Against City of Eau Claire

Marshfield Clinic filed a lawsuit against the City of Eau Claire over property taxes, joining Mayo Clinic which filed a similar lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Marshfield Clinic and their five Eau Claire properties are tax exempt, and should have their property taxes returned by the city. According to their complaint, the City valued the organization’s clinics and hospital at over $61 million and assessed about $1.1 million in property taxes on the locations.

The lawsuit involves five of the health care organization’s properties in Eau Claire as follows: 2102 Craig Road, 2116 Craig Road, 2235 Craig Road, 1128 Oakridge Drive, and 1202 W. Clairemont Avenue. The organization claims their properties are exempt from property taxes because they are a non-profit organization.

The justification for the lawsuit is the same that Mayo Clinic used earlier this year when they filed their lawsuit over their property taxes. According to a WQOW report, City Attorney Stephen Nick said the tax exemption only applies to the hospital portions of Mayo Clinic’s properties, not office or commercial space.

Mayo Clinic had also requested a property tax exemption on each of the involved properties in their lawsuit before filing it. Their lawsuit seeks over $1 million in real estate property taxes and nearly $50,000 in personal property taxes.

The City of Eau Claire will have 20 days to filed their response to Marshfield Clinic’s lawsuit once they are served with it. The lawsuits come as the City of Eau Claire works to address the sudden closure of all HSHS and Prevea facilities in the region earlier this year.