In Tyler v. Hennepin County (2023), a unanimous Supreme Court ruled that "home equity theft" is unconstitutional. If the government forecloses on a property for nonpayment of taxes or other debts, it can only keep as much of the value of the land as is necessary to repay the debt in question. The rest belongs to the property owner. Otherwise, the Court ruled, there would be a violation of the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment, which bars taking of private property without payment of "just compensation" (see my analysis of the ruling here).

After Tyler, I did not think the home equity theft issue would return to the Supreme Court anytime soon. But, yesterday, the Court decided to hear Pung v. Isabella County. In this case, Isabella County, Michigan seized the late Timothy Pung's house

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