COLEMAN vs DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | Class Action - Benjamin Coleman brought this lawsuit to challenge a District of Columbia law that directed the sale of a lien on his home after he failed to pay a $133.88 property-tax bill.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA __________________________________
BENJAMIN COLEMAN, through his Conservator, ROBERT BUNN, et al., Plaintiffs, v. DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, Defendant. __________________________________MEMORANDUM OPINION
Benjamin Coleman brought this lawsuit to challenge a District of Columbia law that directed the sale of a lien on his home after he failed to pay a $133.88 property-tax bill. That law permitted the private purchaser of the lien to add $4,999 in interest, costs, and fees to Mr. Coleman’s bill and, when Mr. Coleman could not pay, to institute a foreclosure proceeding. After the foreclosure proceeding, the private purchaser obtained title to Mr. Coleman’s home. Mr. Coleman, however, received nothing, although the amount of equity he had in his home far surpassed the amount he admittedly owed in taxes, interest, costs, and related fees. Because the loss of this surplus equity was dictated by District of Columbia law, Mr. Coleman sued to challenge that law. His claim is that the taking of his excess equity—the amount of equity minus the taxes and related costs he admits that he owed—violated his constitutional rights under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. As a remedy for the alleged constitutional violation, Mr. Coleman asked this Court to award him monetary damages and to issue a declaratory judgment. Mr. Coleman brought this case not only on his own behalf, but also as a representative of all District property owners who suffered a loss of excess equity due to the District’s tax-sale law. [...]