Supreme Court should put an end to unjust government seizures of home equity

The Supreme Court has saved one of its most important cases for the term s final argument, coming up on Wednesday. Tyler v. Hennepin County scrutinizes the dubious practice of home equity theft, where state and local authorities take full title to homes that have been foreclosed upon for tax sales, no matter how small the amount of taxes due or how large the amount of equity accrued.

Geraldine Tyler, a 93 year old woman on a limited income, owned a condominium in the Minneapolis area. When she was unable to pay her $2,300 property tax bill, which eventually turned into nearly $12,700 with interest and fees, Hennepin County seized and sold her property to pay the bill. But instead of keeping just the $12,700 that was owed and returning the rest, the county kept the entire $40,000 from the sale because Minnesota is one of 14 states that allows itself to take all the proceeds from tax foreclosures.

via www.washingtonexaminer.com

Ms. Tyler should get back her equity and any appreciation on it during the time the state held on to it. Outrageous this stuff is.