Mr. Hermann has successfully represented numerous clients whose homes have been threatened with foreclosed for non-payment of property taxes under the General Property Tax Act (“GPTA”). In enacting the GPTA, the local taxing authorities are bound to follow measures ensuring that the constitutional rights of the affected property owners have been satisfied. Notable Case include:

Sidun v. Wayne County Treasurer

Mr.  Herman represented a  75 year old woman who lost a rental property in a tax sale because the Wayne County Treasurer did not provide her with adequate notice of the foreclosure proceeding until it was too late to redeem the property. The County identified Ms. Sidun’s ownership interest by consulting the deed to the property, but never sent notice of the proceeding to Ms. Sidun’s address, even though her address was listed on the deed. Instead, the County sent notices to the former address of Ms. Sidun’s mother, who had been a co-owner of the property until her death, but those notices were returned to the County unclaimed. Even after receiving the unclaimed notices, the County failed to follow up by sending notice to Ms. Sidun’s address. Although the County also published notice, tried unsuccessfully to contact the occupants, and posted notice on the property, those steps cannot excuse the County’s failure to attempt to contact Ms. Sidun at her address, when that address was readily at hand. Once she learned that the County had taken her property, Ms. Sidun brought this action to challenge the County’s failure to send notice of the foreclosure proceeding to her last known address. Ms. Sidun alleged that the County had failed to comply with the notice provisions of the General Property Tax Act (GPTA) and had violated her constitutional right to due process. The case proceeded to the Michigan Supreme Court which eventually ruled in favor of the taxpayer holding that the measures taken by the Wayne County Treasurer were constitutionally deficient.