Community activists and homeowners have filed a class-action lawsuit against the City of Detroit, Wayne County and city officials over inflated tax assessments.
The Detroit News reported that organizers, including U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), have filed the lawsuit after inflated tax assessment notices were sent out after an appeal deadline.
While officials have admitted to the delay in sending the notice, they deemed the lawsuit "frivolous" and rejected the idea that homeowners didn't have time to appeal their home values.
Organizers said the City of Detroit has overassessed low-valued homes for years and alleges that Wayne County has been enriched through the overassessment of homes, denying homeowners an appeal process, foreclosures, and delinquency fines.
The lawsuit was filed by Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP, a law firm out of Chicago. The firm will be representing the homeowners that were not properly informed of their tax notices in 2017 and aim to help those homeowners appeal their 2017 assessments and reclaim damages.
The Detroit News report that organizers of the lawsuit hope to push for reforms that would allow those homeowners affected by the inflated tax assessments to be compensated for those over assessment and years of being overtaxed.
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