Michigan Tax Foreclosure Takings Suit Advances, but Not as Class

A lawsuit accusing local Michigan authorities of committing unconstitutional takings through tax foreclosures may proceed, but not as a class action, a federal court held.

Written releases signed by many of the plaintiffs that waived the right to sue the Wayne Country treasurer over the tax foreclosure judgments don’t bar the suit, the US District Court Eastern District of Michigan said. The suit isn’t challenging the foreclosure itself, it’s instead challenging the denial of the surplus equity in the homes that exceed the tax delinquencies, Judge F. Kay Behm said .

But she denied class certification because individualized questions ...