Nick Penzenstadler

USA TODAY

One of Donald Trump’s companies re-filed a lawsuit this week disputing the taxable value of his newly opened Washington hotel, which occupies a historic building he leases from the federal government just blocks from the White House.

Trump’s first suit over the Old Post Office building was dismissed by a judge in October. His attorneys re-filed a petition in D.C. Superior Court alleging an incorrect standard was used to calculate the $1.7 million property tax bill for the hotel and surrounding parcels in 2015, which was paid.

Trump opened the hotel Oct. 26 after a $200 million renovation. His attorneys claim assessors used a flawed methodology that was “neither equitable nor reasonable” for the building that was still undergoing its renovation.

DC officials valued the building and land at about $91 million. In previous filings, Trump’s legal team argued the property’s market value was closer to $28 million. With its initial appeals, the Trump business already lowered the tax bill slightly.

Trump’s history of battling tax assessments is long and spans decades, across several states. A USA TODAY investigation in June found Trump and his businesses have been involved in at least 100 lawsuits and other legal disputes related to unpaid or late taxes and over how much tax his businesses owed.

Exclusive: More than 100 lawsuits, disputes over taxes tied to Trump and his companies

In the past, he’s fought tax collectors to lower assessed values at his luxury golf courses in Briarcliff, N.Y., Jupiter, Fla., and Miami. In New York, tax officials filed three dozen tax warrants against Trump businesses.

His legal battles over taxes have saved him millions. In 2006, Trump won a ruling on his 58-story headquarters at Trump Tower in Midtown Manhattan. It was the sixth time since 1999 that his appeals against the Tax Commission reached the courtroom. The net result was about a 10% reduction over 10 years on the building — worth about $3 million to Trump.

Another novel situation spurred by his presidency is the lease on the Old Post Office building. Since 2013, he’s held the lease on the historic building. The landlord is the General Services Administration, a federal government agency he’ll soon oversee.

Ethics experts have already called on Trump to terminate the lease ahead of his inauguration Jan. 20 based on the conflict of interest they say arose due to federal government contracting rules.

Attorneys for Trump did not immediately respond to questions about the case. Rob Marus, a spokesman for D.C.'s Office of the Attorney General, said the 2015 dispute is in addition to another legal challenge to the 2016 bill.

"We are defending this tax assessment as we do many others every tax year," Marus said. "Just because Mr. Trump's name is on the company and the property, this will be treated no differently than any tax dispute."

Business negotiations during the campaign last year led to two other prominent Trump lawsuits. He sued celebrity chefs Geoffrey Zakarian and José Andrés after they backed out of restaurant deals in response to Trump’s inflammatory statements about Mexican immigrants.

How 75 pending lawsuits could distract a Donald Trump presidency