Columbus, OH – On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed an amicus brief in McGee v. Alger County Treasurer, calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and protect homeowners from Michigan’s unconstitutional violation of the Fifth Amendment. The Manhattan Institute and the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center joined The Buckeye Institute in filing the brief.

“The Fifth Amendment’s just compensation requirement is categorical. When the government takes property, it must pay for it,” said Jay R. Carson, senior litigator at The Buckeye Institute and counsel of record on this brief. “Michigan cannot excuse local governments from the duty to pay just compensation by creating a byzantine claims process designed to prey on dispossessed homeowners and their families.”

In The Buckeye Institute’s brief, the amici argue that “the Fifth Amendment—and the historical antecedents on which the Framers relied in crafting it—conditions the government’s power to take property on the payment of just compensation.” Despite the clear language of the U.S. Constitution and the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Michigan legislature erected barriers to make it difficult for homeowners to vindicate their Fifth Amendment rights under Tyler. 

Such is the case here. After the sudden death of Jacqueline McGee, her family focused on their grief and funeral plans. Alger County, however, foreclosed on Jacqueline’s home just 10 days after her death to settle a $3,600 overdue property tax bill. After auctioning Jacqueline’s house for $38,250, Alger County pocketed $34,650 in profit, which, under Tyler, should have gone to Jacqueline’s family.

Michigan’s unusually complex surplus equity claims process and easy default rules point to an illegitimate government interest in maximizing windfall profits for local governments at the expense of citizens’ constitutional rights.

Pacific Legal Foundation represents Jacqueline McGee’s family in McGee v. Alger County Treasurer.

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