Time is running out for Minnesotans who lost equity, after their property was seized and sold because of delinquent taxes, to get part of a $109 million settlement fund.
Thousands of Minnesotans are potentially eligible for part of a class-action settlement, but they have to file a claim before Friday, June 6. So far, less than 1,000 of the nearly 8,000 eligible seized properties have had a claim.
“We have been sending out notices, trying to get it on people’s radar. If you were going to file a claim, now is the time to do it,” said Vildan Teske, an attorney who worked on the case that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Garrett Blanchfield, another attorney on the case, said these seizures often took people’s largest asset that they spent years building equity in, but tax bills piled up.
“We are really focused on trying to get this money back to these people,” Blanchfield said. “They’re the ones who could least afford to lose the biggest asset they had.”
The Legislature created the fund in 2024, after the Supreme Court ruled a century-old Minnesota law allowing counties to seize and sell properties with years of unpaid taxes was unconstitutional. The law allowed counties, cities and school districts to split the profits of a sale after unpaid property taxes, interest, fees and other expenses were paid off.
The unanimous 2023 ruling found the law violated the Fifth Amendment prohibition on seizing property without just compensation. Lawsuits followed the decision and more than a dozen states with similar laws are addressing the fallout.
The initial lawsuit was filed by Geraldine Tyler against Hennepin County, which in 2015 seized her north Minneapolis condominium and sold it because she owed $2,300 in back taxes and $13,200 in interest, penalties and fees. Tyler purchased the condo in 1999 and moved into an assisted living facility in 2010, leaving the taxes unpaid.
