Exploration Center I, LLC v. Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana

── Exploration Center I, LLC v. Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana ── Court: Indiana Court of Appeals Date: April 17, 2026 Author: Peter Foley Category: General IN THE Court of Appeals of Indiana FILED Exploration Center I, LLC, et al,, Apr 17 2026, 8:40 am Appellant-Defendant CLERK Indiana Supreme Court Court of Appeals and Tax Court v. Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff April 17, 2026 Court of Appeals Case No. 25A-PL-977 Appeal from the Marion Superior Court The Honorable Timothy Wayne Oakes, Judge Trial Court Cause No. 49D02-2409-PL-42928 Opinion by Judge Altice Judges May and Foley concur. Altice, Judge. Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-977 | April 17, 2026 Page 1 of 17  Case Summary [1] Exploration Center I, LLC and Republic Airways Holdings, Inc. (together Republic) applied for and received a seven-year real property tax abatement deduction in Marion County. The Metropolitan Development Commission of Marion County, Indiana (the Commission) subsequently adopted a resolution terminating the tax abatement, and Republic appealed by filing, pursuant to statute, a petition for review in the trial court. The Commission filed a motion to dismiss for Republic’s failure to comply with a provision in the relevant statute requiring that the appeal “shall be heard and decided within thirty days,” and the trial court granted the motion. Finding that the statute’s “shall” language is directory rather than mandatory, we reverse. [2] We reverse. Facts and Procedural History [3] Under the Indiana Code, cities may designate certain property as economic revitalization areas (ERA) and offer property tax deductions to encourage private redevelopment. See Ind. Code Chap. 6-1.1-12.1. Republic proposed building a 40,144 square-foot facility at a location near Indianapolis International Airport (the subject property) and applied for the subject property to be designated as an ERA. The Commission subsequently adopted, on August 19, 2015, a resolution (the 2015 Resolution), which established the subject property as an ERA and approved a real property tax abatement for Republic for a period of seven years. In conjunction with that, and on the same Court of Appeals of Indiana | Opinion 25A-PL-977 | April 17, 2026 Page 2 of 17  day, Republic and the City of Indianapolis (the City) entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), outlining Republic’s proposed project and commitments, including capital expenditures, creation and retention of certain jobs, average wage rates, and annual reporting. [4] As relevant here, the MOA authorized the City to terminate property tax abatement deductions if Republic (1) did not “substantially comply with all of the Commitments” or (2) “cease[d] operations at the facility for which the tax abatement was granted” or “announce[d] the cessation of operations at such facility.” Appendix at 36, 38. The MOA further provided that, in the event of substantial noncompliance, the City could recoup a portion of that ye