Articles

In 2011, PLF client Uri Rafaeli of Oakland County, Michigan, accidentally underpaid property taxes by $8. He paid all the following years' taxes on time. But in 2014, after making his first tax payment for the year, he discovered that the County had foreclosed on his home to collect the $8 debt, plus about $277 in penalties, interest, and fees. The ...

Uri Rafaeli's small business—Rafaeli, LLC—lost a valuable Southfield, Michigan home to pay an $8 debt to Oakland County.  Andre Ohanessian lost 2.7 acres of valuable land in Orchard Village to pay a $6,000 debt.  Michigan's property tax law allowed Oakland County to sell the properties, collect the debts owed, and then pocket tens of thousand ...

This week, PLF filed an application asking the Michigan Supreme Court to grant review and bring justice to Uri Rafaeli—who lost an entire home to Oakland County over an $8 debt, and to Andrew Ohanessian—who lost 2.7 acres over a $6,000 debt. In 2011, Uri Rafaeli's business—Rafaeli, LLC—purchased a modest rental property in Southfield ...

Does the Constitution protect you from the government taking your equity in your home, land, or business? That's the question Andrew Ohanessian and Rafaeli,LLC are asking the Michigan Court of Appeals in Rafaeli v. Oakland County. Rafaeli owed the County $8 for overdue taxes, which amassed to $285 in taxes, interest, and fees when the County forecl ...