Thousands of tax appeals in Fulton County could be delayed by a lawsuit that contends most of the board members who hear the appeals aren't eligible to serve.

The suit filed by Sandy Springs lawyer Bob Proctor contends only four of the 108 people who have been selected to serve on Boards of Equalization in Fulton have fulfilled all of the requirements to hear cases.

The others were improperly appointed, haven't met the training requirements, or both, Proctor said.

Proctor said he was not trying to invalidate prior decisions, but to stop Fulton's various Boards of Equalization from making any more rulings until the county can seat qualified members.

The suit filed Wednesday in Fulton County Superior Court could slow the resolution of more than 15,000 pending appeals and delay tax collections for cash-strapped cities such as Atlanta, East Point and Milton.

"What I am asking for is the county to follow the law on how members of the Boards of Equalization are supposed to be appointed and trained," Proctor said in an interview Thursday.

Members of the BOE are appointed by the grand jury and selected from the same list from which jurors are chosen. They hear tax cases that can't be resolved by the Board of Assessors.

Proctor contends the law allows for only three-year staggered terms for board members. They must get 40 hours of state training before hearing cases. Once they do, they have to get eight hours of additional training a year to remain certified.

However, the county has been routinely asking grand jurors to extend terms and reappoint people for lesser periods and not keeping up with their training, Proctor said.

The issue is critical for Fulton and all the local governments that use the county's tax digest to collect taxes.

A countywide revaluation of commercial property boosted the value of taxable property in Fulton by 16 percent in 2008. Most local governments in Fulton used the higher assessments to calculate revenues in their new budgets.

However, Proctor challenged the county's use of the new numbers while 15,000 properties were under appeal.

An order that attorneys for local governments and Proctor agreed to on Monday prevents Fulton from using the new values until about 8,000 appeals have been settled.

County officials estimated that resolving 8,000 appeals would take at least four months without this latest action by Proctor. Now, its uncertain when Atlanta and the other cities might get their full collections.

Burt Manning, Fulton's chief appraiser, said Monday that Fulton had dozens of board members taking the required training. Patrice Howell, who oversees the BOE, said she could not comment.