Minneapolis Property Tax Lawsuit
The Minneapolis Property tax Lawsuit, also known as Idowu Odunlade et. Al v City of Minneapolis, is a class action lawsuit filed in Hennepin County District Court which alleges that an unfair practice of assessment has led to homeowners in certain neighborhoods in the city being taxed at a higher rate of their home's actual value than those in other areas. The suit was drafted and filed by two student attorneys at the University of Minnesota Law School Civil Practice Clinic, Michael Gavigan and John Braun, working under the supervision of licensed attorney and law Professor Laura Thomas from the University and practicing attorneys from the private law firm Wilson Law Group.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs analyzed the open market selling prices of over 7700 sales of single family homes that sold between October 2006 and October 2008. They then compared those sale amounts to the amount assigned to the same properties for the following year's tax assessment. In the Calhoun-Isles and Southwest areas of the city, the average ratio was very nearly one-to-one, but in the Camden, Near-North, and Phillips communities, the average ratios were nearly triple.