Homeowner’s Estate Allowed Interest on Tax Foreclosure Surplus

The estate of a deceased Michigan homeowner is entitled to interest on the surplus proceeds from a tax foreclosure sale of his property, the Sixth Circuit held Tuesday.

Isabella County, Mich., argued that the public would experience a loss if interest is awarded to a property owner who was at fault for the tax delinquency that led to the sale.

But under Freed v. Thomas, a former property owner’s entitlement to compensation starts at the time the government takes property, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in an unpublished opinion. Here that entitlement arose ...