Tyler v. Hennepin County, Minnesota class action

A historic $109 million settlement doesn’t happen every day. In law, as in life, the path to ultimate success is often paved with a series of victories. That is the case for Vildan Teske, founder of Teske Law PLLC, and Garrett Blanchfield, founding partner of Reinhardt Wendorf & Blanchfield, both in Minneapolis.

Teske and Blanchfield were appointed lead class counsel by the court along with Charles Watkins and David Guin of Guin, Stokes & Evans and Roberta Yard, also a partner at Reinhardt, Wendorf & Blanchfield. They are recipients of an Attorney of the Year Award in 2024 for negotiating the global nine-figure settlement with the state of Minnesota and all its counties, covering thousands of homes and other properties.

The same lawyers received Attorneys of the Year honors last year for their role in successfully challenging the constitutionality of Minnesota’s 90-year-old statute, which allowed local governments to take property from owners who have unpaid property taxes and keep more than the amount of the unpaid taxes. That part of the case was no small victory. It was ultimately decided by a unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court.

The case stems from a condominium seized and sold by Hennepin County for $40,000. The county kept the entire $40,000 even though the property owner’s overdue taxes amounted to $15,000. The Supreme Court held that keeping the surplus equity amounted to an unfair taking without just compensation.

Thousands of former owners of properties can now submit claims and receive payments from the settlement fund. Teske says average payments will be in the tens of thousands, and some will be six figures.

Minnesotans who lost their property or liens for property taxes should go to MNTaxForfeitureSettlement.com or call 833-522-3374 to get more information and submit their claim online or by mail.