Michigan Tax Foreclosures Class Actions

Each year, county and state treasurers throughout Michigan seize and sell thousands of properties from property owners who owe a small amount of past due tax. Many of these parcels are worth thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Instead of returning the excess sale proceeds or the "surplus equity" in excess of the tax debt, treasurers simply keep the extra funds for the county's general budget. It has become governance for profit to fill budget shortcomings of county governments. 

Several regional class action lawsuits have been filed seeking to force county treasurers and county governments to provide refunds for the "equity" value of properties seized, destroyed, and otherwise kept above the total tax debt owed.

Currently, Outside Legal Counsel PLC and its affiliated co-counsel is suing to challenge this process as illegal via almost a dozen class actions throughout Michigan. See the map of the class actions and to find out if you are already part of this lawsuit. If you are, we would like to speak with you as soon as possible. 

We are seeking to stop this process in counties and have remaining proceeds monies returned to property owners (or their heirs if the owners have passed away). The only way counties and county treasurers are going to stop taking the entire property value from citizens is if the citizenry goes to court. The law allows wronged property owners to attempt to redeem the excess equity taken and enjoyed by county treasurers for the Michigan counties' tax coffers. However, the county treasurers are fighting back to allow them to keep the equity seized above the past due tax amounts.