The Pacific Legal Foundation recently announced that a Michigan mom has asked the Michigan Supreme Court to affirm her constitutional right to just compensation after Manistee County foreclosed on the home that she and her boys lived in, sold it, and unconstitutionally kept $102,636 more than she owed. According to the release, Chelsea Koetter, a single mother of two boys, fell behind on her property taxes In 2018. She then mistakenly underpaid what she owed based on incorrect tax information from a local government employee. As a result, she had an outstanding tax bill that grew to $3,863 with interest, penalties, and fees.
Koetter then filed a motion in circuit court to recover the surplus proceeds, but the court rejected the motion. When she appealed, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled against her, saying that under state law, this procedure was the only way she could collect her rightful compensation.
Represented by Pacific Legal Foundation at no charge, Koetter is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to confirm her right to just compensation without complicated claims procedures and unreasonably tight deadlines getting in the way. The case is In re Petition of Manistee County Treasurer for Foreclosure.
“The government can sell property to collect unpaid taxes, but it has a duty to pay just compensation when it takes more than what is owed…But Michigan uses an unusual and complicated process that is designed to fail. It is a calculated attempt by the government to avoid Supreme Court precedent so that it can unconstitutionally take property without compensation.” Said Christina Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation.
Click here to read more at the Pacific Legal Foundation.
