Supreme Court to hear foreclosure case Wednesday

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case on Wednesday over whether tax foreclosure sales are constitutional. Pung v. Isabella County involves the rights of a foreclosed upon homeowner to receive equity back when their home is sold. The dispute comes between the Pung family and Isabella County, Michigan, over real estate taxes on a home the Pungs owned. A judge determined that the Pungs owed about $2,200 in taxes and allowed the government to auction off their home for $76,000. An individual purchased the Pungs' home from the government and later sold it for $195,000. The Pung family sued the government and claimed the sales price was far below the house's fair market value. Michael Pung, who brought the lawsuit against the county, argued the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment requires that he receive the monetary equivalent of the property that the state has taken from him. "The deep history of the takings clause and property rights [comes from] the Magna Carta