U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Challenge to Local Government's Retention of Surplus in Tax Forfeiture Action
The U.S. Supreme Court will be considering an appeal that will be of interest to local governments. Tyler v. Hennepin County. In 2015, a Minnesota county seized a condominium unit to cover an unpaid tax debt of $15,000. The county then sold the condo for $40,000, which it retained after distributing some of the proceeds to other taxing bodies as required by state law. The condo unit sued, claiming that the county violated the Takings Clause and the Excessive Fines Clause of the U.S. Constitution by not returning the surplus (i.e., the difference between the tax debt amount and the sales price) to the condo owner. The Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the county, finding that the county's actions were authorized by a Minnesota statute that authorized the county to take absolute title, extinguishing the owner’s equity in exchange only for cancelling a smaller tax debt, code enforcement fine, or debt to government agencies. The condo owner appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which agreed to hear the case in the next term.
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