A 94-year-old Minnesota homeowner’s lawyer told a seemingly sympathetic Supreme Court on April 26 that local governments should not be allowed to take the full value of a home as payment for much smaller property tax debts—a practice critics call “home equity theft.”
The case comes after the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), which is representing dispossessed homeowner Geraldine Tyler, released a report months ago saying that 12 states and the District of Columbia allow local governments and private investors to seize dramatically more than what is owed from homeowners who fall behind on property tax payments. PLF is a national not-for-profit public interest law firm that challenges government abuses….