U of M Law students sue over too-high property taxes

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Is your property tax too high?

Students compared home sale prices to property tax assessments and found them way out of whack. For example, one woman who purchased her home for $22,000 is still taxed as though her home were worth $90,000.

But the property tax assessments aren't overly high everywhere--just in neighborhoods where there have been an extreme number of foreclosures. So the students sued.

City Attorney Susan Segal told Steve Brandt of the Strib that the lawsuit reflects a lack of understanding of how property taxes work. Ouch.

But the students reviewed home values and taxes for 10,000 homes, and found plaintiffs willing to sign on. They're seeking to make their case a class-action lawsuit.

Homeowners in other parts of town may not be suing, but they sound just as unhappy with their property tax values as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, MinnPost reports. At a hearing last night, homeowner after homeowner complained about years of rate increases so severe that when they read their most recent tax bills they assumed the numbers must be a misprint. 

One person, who lives on the border with Edina, even vowed to move across the street to escape the hikes.