Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in Pung v. Isabella County, Michigan, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to reaffirm that home equity theft violates the constitutional rights of homeowners, something the court affirmed just two years ago in Tyler v. Hennepin County. 

“The Fifth Amendment does not mince words, nor does the U.S. Supreme Court—the government cannot take private property without just compensation,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute. “But that is just what Isabella County has done. By unlawfully foreclosing on the Pungs’ family home and selling it at a cut-rate price, the county not only stole the Pungs’ home, but it destroyed their equity in it.”

In its brief, The Buckeye Institute points out that the roots of the takings clause’s just compensation requirement are rooted in Magna Carta, reflected in colonial statutes, and included in the Northwest Ordinance of 1787—out of which both Michigan and Ohio were created. Buckeye argues that the takings clause is unconditional, when the government does take private property, its duty to compensate the owner is “categorical,” and just compensation should be based on more than the government’s sale price but should include the market value of the property.

The Competitive Enterprise Institute, Illinois Policy Institute, Mountain States Legal Foundation, National Federation of Independent Business, and Owners’ Counsel of America joined The Buckeye Institute in filing the brief. Philip Lee Ellison, with Outside Legal Counsel, and attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation represent the Pungs in Pung v. Isabella County.

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