Jay R. Carson, with Wegman client The Buckeye Institute, filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Feltner v. Cuyahoga County Board of Revision urging the Court to protect the rights of citizens who have had their property seized.

Pacific Legal Foundation has brought the case to the Supreme Court questioning the Takings Clause of the U.S. Constitution and just compensation. Mr. Feltner’s property, which had been appraised for over $144,000, was seized by Cuyahoga County due to an unpaid tax bill of $65,000. When the property was seized, the County transferred the property to the County’s land bank leaving Mr. Feltner empty handed – without the $79,000 in equity. As quoted by Jay in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “The county should receive what it is owed in taxes, but it shouldn’t receive more.”

“The Buckeye Institute is asking the Supreme Court to affirm the fundamental principle that dates back to the Magna Carta and was embraced by our Founding Fathers – that government can take property for public use only when it provides ‘just compensation’ to the owner,” said Jay.

Founded in 1989, The Buckeye Institute is an independent research and educational institution whose mission is to advance free-market public policy in the states.

Wegman Hessler specializes in business law for business leaders, applying legal discipline to solve business problems to help business owners run smarter. For more than 50 years, this Cleveland business law firm provides full-service strategic legal counsel for closely held businesses. Learn more at www.wegmanlaw.com.