Showing 3 posts in Eighth Amendment.

Sixth Circuit Applies Recent SCOTUS Tax-Taking Decision to Affirm an Owner’s Right to Net Tax Lien Foreclosure Proceeds

We previously reported on the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, Tyler v. Hennepin County, where the court concluded that the State of Minnesota violated a property owner’s constitutional rights by keeping the excess sale proceeds from a tax lien sale. Following Tyler v. Hennepin County, the Sixth Circuit, in Freed v. Thomas, affirmed a lower court’s holding that a Michigan county similarly violated the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause. Freed owed the County roughly $1,100 in property taxes. The County foreclosed its tax lien and sold Freed’s property at public auction for $42,000 in accordance with Michigan’s General Property Tax Act. The County refused to pay Freed the roughly $40,000 over and above his tax debt. Freed sued the County, claiming that retaining the excess proceeds was an unconstitutional taking in violation of the Fifth Amendment and an excessive fine in violation of the Eighth Amendment. More ›

SCOTUS Finds that Minnesota Tax Lien Statute Violates the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause

In Tyler v. Hennepin County, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court concluded that the State of Minnesota violated a property owner's constitutional rights by keeping the excess proceeds from a tax lien sale. Geraldine Tyler owned a condominium in Hennepin County, Minnesota, but when she and her family decided she should move into a senior community in 2010, property taxes went unpaid. By 2015, Tyler owed the county $2,300 in unpaid taxes and $13,000 in accumulated interest and penalties. The county then seized and sold the condo for $40,000, extinguished the debt Tyler owed but retained all excess proceeds totaling $25,000 for its own use. Under Minnesota law, any excess tax sale proceeds could be split between the county, the town, and the school district. More ›

Case to Watch: U.S. Supreme Court Decision Provides Florida Homeowner Grounds to Challenge Excessive Fees for Code Violations

Cities and towns have become increasingly aggressive in their efforts to avoid blight resulting from vacant and foreclosed properties and enforce the state and local sanitary codes. At what point does a valid code violation enforcement effort become an excessive fee or receiver lien, motivated by cities and towns' need to raise revenue? Is there any way for a property owner to challenge a city's or town's $500/day fine for failing to correct minor code violations? A state court in Florida is currently hearing just such a case. More ›