Maryland Legal Aid sues Baltimore City for ‘unconstitutional’ tax sale

By Megan SaylesAFRO Business Writermsayles@afro.com Maryland Legal Aid, which specializes in providing law services to impoverished families, filed a lawsuit against the city of Baltimore on July 2, asserting that its tax sale process is unconstitutional and deprives residents of the generational equity they are due.Lawrence Wilson, left, Sandra Burrell, Sam Howard, Mukhtar Taha, Myra Bates, Reverend Hari Close, Jonathan Sacks and Oye Omisore are part of an organization challenging Baltimore’s annual tax sale. The Edmondson Community Organization, with the help of Maryland Legal Aid, filed a lawsuit against the city on July 2, alleging that its tax sale violates the Fifth Amendment. (AFRO Photo / Megan Sayles) The suit was filed on behalf of the Edmondson Community Organization (ECO), which lost its West Baltimore property in 2018 through the annual auction. Maryland Legal Aid and ECO claim the building was seized and sold without just compensation.The litigation trails a 2023 unanimous decision from the U.S. Supreme Court that prohibits the government from retaining more than the initial tax debt amount after taking and selling a person’s property.“I stand with the people who live in the homes in this community. They raise their family in these homes, they have cookouts...