Family fights to save home from DC’s predatory tax scheme

Washington, DC; May 22, 2025: For decades, an unassuming red rowhouse on Florida Avenue in Northeast DC was the heart of the Powell family. It’s where Mattie and Gaston Powell raised 11 children and celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Now their heirs are fighting to prevent the District — and a private investor — from taking the home and its equity through an unconstitutional practice known as home equity theft.  

After Mattie and Gaston passed away, their eldest son, Gaston,, Jr., looked after the home, where his brother continued to live until the brother’s passing in 2020. That’s when the DC deemed the house “vacant,” causing the annual taxes to increase from $5,000 to $30,000.  

Around that same time, Gaston, Jr.’s health deteriorated as he started his fight against cancer. His wife and kids were preoccupied with caring for him, and although family members tried to help, they could not keep up with the astronomical tax, penalties, interest, and fees on the home.  

Things worsened after Gaston, Jr. died in 2022. The District sold a tax lien to a private investor, allowing the investor to earn 18% interest on the debt and to take the whole property — including any equity — if the debt was not paid. A notice warned the family that the property had been sold, misleading them into thinking they were too late to save it. Then, in 2024, the District labeled the house blighted, raising the taxes again to more than $71,000 per year.  

Now, emboldened by DC’s unconstitutional laws, a private investor is trying to seize the property — and all the remaining equity in it — over a debt that is only a fraction of the home’s value. 

“The District’s actions could strip the family of their home and every dollar of equity they have in it — an outcome the Supreme Court has already deemed unconstitutional. The U.S. Constitution protects against this overreach,” said Christina Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “The Takings Clause stops the government from taking more than what is owed without just compensation. And the Excessive Fines Clause prevents punishment that far outweighs the offense. DC is violating both.” 

Represented at no charge by Pacific Legal Foundation, Juanita Powell, Gaston, Jr.’s widow, is fighting against the District’s unconstitutional and illegal tax foreclosure scheme. Her case seeks to ensure that homeowners aren’t robbed of their life’s work by excessive penalties and unconstitutional foreclosure laws.   

The case is Clear Sky Holdings, LLC v. Estate of Gaston Powell, Sr.