'Pung v. Isabella County' and the Constitutional Architecture of Tax Foreclosure

Constitutional law attorney Christopher Riano wrote an article for the New York Law Journal reviewing a case before the U.S. Supreme Court that implicates the Fifth Amendment's Takings Clause and Eighth Amendment's Excessive Fines Clause. Pung v. Isabella County arose after Isabella County, Michigan, foreclosed on a residential property for unpaid property taxes totaling $2,200; the county sold the property at auction and retained the surplus value in excess of the tax debt, a move that the former homeowners are challenging as unconstitutional. In his article, Mr. Riano breaks down principles behind the constitutional clauses at issue and explains how they may apply to property tax foreclosure. He also summarizes oral arguments and what the justices' comments could signal about the outcome. The piece concludes that the court's decision will clarify how the Fifth and Eighth Amendments operate in day-to-day interactions between citizens and local government revenue systems, a space he characterizes as the most consequential.

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