A woman wins her home-seizure case before the Supreme Court.
Failing to pay home property taxes for several years can result in the county where you live confiscating the property and selling it at auction. But who is entitled to the excess amount if the sales proceeds exceed the property taxes that you owe?
You or the county? That is the crux of the case. An older woman owed $15,000 in unpaid property taxes, penalties and fees on a condo she lived in for many years.
When she moved to a retirement home, the county seized the condo, sold it at auction for $40,000 and kept the full sales proceeds. This was an improper, unlawful taking, the high court ruled. The county can keep only $15,000 and must return the surplus of $25,000 to the former homeowner.
Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minn.