Have you ever miscalculated a bill? Typically, a late fee or a strongly worded warning follows. But in some states, the government will seize your property, sell it, and leave you with nothing.
In 2023, PLF brought home equity theft to the Supreme Court in Tyler v. Hennepin County and the Supreme Court unanimously declared the practice unconstitutional. Now, PLF is working with state legislators across the country to reform local laws.
Property taxes must be paid, and it’s legal for governments to take property to pay an outstanding debt. But the government shouldn’t keep any more money beyond what’s owed. The rest is your property: home equity that you’ve worked hard to build.
Is Home Equity Theft happening to you? Submit a case.
In courts and legislatures, Pacific Legal Foundation fights to protect your nest egg and prevent governments from stealing homeowners’ equity.
In January 2023, the Supreme Court announced it would review the case of Geraldine Tyler, an elderly widow who is suing Hennepin County, Minnesota for the unconstitutional theft of her home equity. When Geraldine fell behind on the property taxes for her one-bedroom condo, the government seized the home, sold it, and kept every penny—even though it was more than double what Geraldine owed. “When the government takes more than it is owed in taxes, that’s home equity theft,” Pacific Legal Foundation senior attorney Christina Martin, who represents Geraldine, said. On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court announced a unanimous decision in favor of Geraldine, ruling that home equity theft violates the Takings Clase of the Fifth Amendment. The Court explained that property rights are fundamental and cannot be erased by a state statute that redefines them out of existence. “The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the decision, “but no more.” Read more about Tyler v. Hennepin County.
Idaho passes law that removes a loophole in the law that allowed local governments collecting tax debts to foreclose on a homeowner’s property and give it to any federal or Idaho state government, w…
Governor Kristi Noem signed into law House Bill 1090, which ends home equity theft in South Dakota by requiring tax-foreclosed properties to be auctioned within one year of the foreclosure, and the pr…
The Supreme Court’s decision last May in Tyler v. Hennepin County represented a major victory for property rights across the United States. The landmark ruling helped protect homeowners’ equity by…
It can be hard to find much on which Americans across ideologies agree these days, but here’s one: When you owe the government an inch, it shouldn’t take a mile. On that proposition, all nine memb…
WASHINGTON − A 94-year-old woman who lost her home, a student who could barely read after more than a decade of schooling and a couple fighting to build a house in Idaho all have something in common…
“The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts.
Today the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that such practices qualify as takings requiring the payment of “just compensation” under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion that provides liberals, conservatives, and libertarians a rare chance to celebrate the same thing. The court’s decision in Tyler v. Hennepin…
‘Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,’ writes Chief Justice Roberts
Geraldine Tyler never thought she’d end up in front of the U.S. Supreme Court—especially at 94. But she also never imagined the government would seize her Minneapolis home and sell it. Ms. Tyler i…
In 2020, the Michigan Supreme Court affirmed that it was unconstitutional for counties to keep more than they’re owed when collecting property taxes through the foreclosure process. But that wasn’t necessarily the end of struggle for Michiganders. For some homeowners, the struggle to recover the just compensation they are owed is still ongoing. A f …
Two Pacific Legal Foundation clients have reason to celebrate this week as the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that Kevin Fair and Sandra Nieveen must be compensated for the equity the government took from them via home equity theft. This victory comes more than a year after Pacific Legal Foundation secured a unanimous victory at the …
In the 2023 case Tyler v. Hennepin County, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Pacific Legal Foundation client Geraldine Tyler and declared home equity theft unconstitutional. But what happens to other past victims of home equity theft—should they be compensated? The win in the Tyler case automatically applied retroactively to others who fou …
States across the nation are responding to the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision last summer in Tyler v. Hennepin County, in which the Court held that home equity theft—when the government takes more than is owed when collecting a property tax debt—is unconstitutional. But some states have proposed reforms that would require property owners to …
Bloomberg just published a feature on Pacific Legal Foundation—quoting me—that has me split. On one hand, I love that Bloomberg is talking about “PLF’s mastery of the long game.” But the article got only half the story right. The article is a dual-profile of PLF and Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group. Both …
Pacific Legal Foundation’s Supreme Court victory in Tyler v. Hennepin County created a domino effect across the country. State by state, legislatures are banning home equity theft. Governments have realized that they face significant liability if they ignore the Supreme Court’s ruling that home equity theft is unconstitutional. In the New …
In her concurring opinion in Sackett v. EPA, Justice Elena Kagan—probably the sharpest rhetorician on the bench, especially when she’s disagreeing with her colleagues—complained the Court’s majority was putting “a thumb on the scale for property owners.” Well: Shouldn’t there be a thumb on the scale for property owners in the court of …
Only two weeks removed from Pacific Legal Foundation’s major Supreme Court victory against home equity theft in Tyler v. Hennepin County, there is once again cause for celebration, especially if you live in Nebraska. In Tyler, the Court unanimously ruled that Minnesota’s use of home equity theft—when governments and their private partners satisfy …
In a unanimous decision last week, the Supreme Court ruled home equity theft unconstitutional, securing an individual’s right to just compensation when their property is seized. For years, Pacific Legal Foundation has argued that home equity theft—when governments satisfy property tax debt by taking a person’s home, selling it, and keeping more t …
I’m going to remember today for a long time. This morning—at around 7 a.m. where I am in California—the Supreme Court announced unanimous decisions in two Pacific Legal Foundation cases. Both are stunning victories. In Sackett v. EPA, which PLF senior attorney Damien Schiff argued on the first day of the term …
Help us end the practice of home equity theft for good. Your support helps us bring additional legal challenges and legislative solutions to protect the home equity of hardworking Americans.
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