A federal judge has allowed a lawsuit challenging Baltimore’s tax sale system to move forward, ruling Monday that homeowners may have been denied fair compensation when their properties were taken through foreclosure over relatively small tax debts, according to the Baltimore Banner.
Judge Brendan Hurson denied motions from Baltimore City and two investors to dismiss the lawsuit filed by residents who alleged the city’s tax sale system is unconstitutional and strips homeowners of their properties.
Residents challenge tax practices
The tax sale system is a tool for the city to recover lost revenue and address its long-running vacant building problem.
In Baltimore, residents have rallied against the annual tax sale, a state-mandated process by which investors can purchase property liens over such matters as unpaid taxes and water bills, then sell them back to property owners with fees and interest…