Supreme Court Gets Another Chance to End Government Home Theft

A decade ago, the Pung family of Isabella County, Mich., was hit with an improper property tax bill totaling $2,240, which included interest and fees. Rather than own up to its mistake, the government foreclosed on the Pungs’ property, confiscating the whole home for a tax that never should have been due.

What followed was a bureaucratic torture chamber that ended with the Pung property being seized and sold out from underneath them. The Pungs lost their property and all the home equity built in the years they owned the land and residence.

The family’s battle against the bureaucracy has now become a matter for the US Supreme Court, which has grappled with the issue of “home equity theft” in recent years.

In 2023, the court ruled unanimously in favor of Geraldine Tyler, a 94-year-old Minneapolis woman whose property was seized over an initial tax bill of $2,300, which later ballooned to $15,000. Her one-bedroom condo was seized and sold for $40,000, but the county didn’t simply keep the $15,000 to cover the bill—it kept the full amount.

The justices in Tyler v. Hennepin County applied common sense, recognizing that the home’s remaining equity should be returned to the property owner once the amount of the tax bill is satisfied. “The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

Yet the Pungs’ ordeal is even more egregious, given that they didn’t even owe the overdue tax in question.

The family was entitled to an exemption from a small supplemental school tax as residents of the home and received the exemption since 1994. But several years after the death of Scott Pung, the head of the family, the local tax assessor claimed his family should have filed new paperwork to continue the exemption.

The assessor was incorrect: Michigan state law stipulates that the exemption continues as long as family members reside in the home. And yet, because they didn’t file paperwork they weren’t legally required to file, the county socked the Pungs with the $2,240 bill.

It didn’t stop there. When assessing the Pungs’ home for property taxes, the county agreed the home was worth $194,400. But then the county seized it, auctioned it off for only $76,000, and pocketed every penny. When the Pungs sued, and won, the court required the county to return only the windfall the county made from its flawed auction.

The Supreme Court already told tax collectors everywhere that equity theft isn’t legally permissible. But courts are still cleaning up the messes made by overzealous local officials.

The abuses before Tyler were unbelievable: One county seized and sold a property over an underpayment of $8.41. Another seized a $3 million lakefront mansion as an administrator expressed she was “tickled pink” over the acquisition.

At the same time it ruled in Tyler, the Supreme Court sided with Kevin Fair, a Nebraska man whose property was seized and sold over a debt of less than $600. Fair was able to regain the title to his home in January 2025, but suffered a stroke and died shortly thereafter.

There’s no reason for the government to subject a home to a fire-sale auction over tiny debts or taxes that were never due. If the government wants to act with such excess, it should ensure a fair sale of the property.

By ruling in favor of the Pungs, the high court once again can strike a blow against local bureaucrats who abuse property laws to steal land and money from citizens. While the court’s opinions can often run hundreds of pages, the justices can wrap this one up in three words: “Knock it off.”

The case is Pung v. Isabella Cnty., U.S., No. 25-95, brief filed 12/1/25.

This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.

Author Information

Steven D. Anderson is president and CEO of the Pacific Legal Foundation, one of the co-counsels representing the Pung family.

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