Sauder Schelkopf is investigating a potential class action lawsuit on behalf of property owners whose property was seized and sold by a local government and the local government kept the surplus proceeds from the sale.  The United States Supreme Court ruled that local governments that keep surplus proceeds when a homeowner’s property is seized and sold to settle tax debts commit unconstitutional takings.  The case arose when a homeowner moved out of her Minneapolis condominium and into a senior community. After she ran up a $15,000 tax debt on the condo, including fines, costs, and interest, Hennepin County sold the property for $40,000 and didn’t give her the surplus. “The county had the power to sell Tyler’s home to recover the unpaid property taxes. But it could not use the toehold of the tax debt to confiscate more property than was due,” Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the unanimous court.

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Sauder Schelkopf has a nationally recognized litigation practice. The firm currently serves as court-appointed lead counsel in courts across the country.  The attorneys at Sauder Schelkopf have recovered over $500 million on behalf of their clients and class members. Our firm was recognized by the Legal Intelligencer’s 2022 Professional Excellence Awards. The Legal Intelligencer’s Professional Excellence Awards honor Pennsylvania law firms and attorneys who have significantly impacted the legal profession. Our firm was named in the Litigation Departments of the Year (Specialty Area category; runner-up), an award that honors the best litigation practice in a small or mid-sized firm in Pennsylvania. This recognition was based on the firm’s 2021 litigation work and its important ongoing cases. LawDragon has recognized our attorneys in its list of the “500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer Lawyers” for 2022.  This list notes: “From the opioid epidemic to toxic substances and defective products, truck accidents to wildfires and sexual abuse, these are the lawyers who stand on the front line in individual lawsuits and class actions seeking justice.” Mr. Schelkopf was named to Pennsylvania’s Best Lawyers® 2022 for Class Actions/Mass Tort Litigation. The American Lawyer named Mr. Sauder to its 2021 Northeast Trailblazers. The honor recognizes 60 lawyers who are “truly agents of change.” It “recognizes professionals in the Northeast who have moved the needle in the legal industry.” The Legal Intelligencer named Mr. Sauder and Mr. Schelkopf in its 2020 Pennsylvania Trailblazers list recognizing 31 lawyers who “have taken extra measures to contribute to positive outcomes . . . and who are truly agents of change.” The Legal highlighted the firm’s innovative work on advocacy as class counsel in large institutional sex abuse cover-ups, women’s, and children’s rights. Our attorneys have also consistently been recognized by their peers being named to Pennsylvania SuperLawyer, a distinction held by the top 5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania.  The National Trial Lawyers Association has also selected our attorneys as the Top 100 Trial Lawyers in Pennsylvania.

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Contact us if your property was seized and sold by a local government and you did not receive the excess funds