Goldman Ismail Reaches Settlement in Detroit Property Tax Lawsuit

In February 2026, the City of Detroit and Wayne County reached a settlement with Detroit homeowners who received untimely and inadequate property tax assessment notices in 2017. The notices, sent just four days before the deadline to appeal, left homeowners unable to appeal their taxes and subject to unconstitutional overassessments, tax delinquencies, and even potential foreclosure. Goldman Ismail has represented the homeowners pro bono since 2020, when they first filed the lawsuit against city and county officials alleging due process violations.

The 2026 settlement includes a public statement by the city that acknowledges the 2017 due-process violation and a commitment to implement processes to avoid similar outcomes in the future. “The City of Detroit acknowledges that the late mailing of property tax assessment notices in 2017 did not provide many Detroit homeowners adequate notice of opportunities to appeal their 2017 property tax assessments,” the statement said. “The City of Detroit is committed to implementing processes to avoid such an outcome, and assures Detroit homeowners that, in the unlikely event of another late mailing of property tax assessment notices, notice will be mailed to all affected taxpayers of appropriate measures, such as a time extension or waiver of certain appeal requirements.”

In 2022, Goldman Ismail successfully appealed a district court’s dismissal of the homeowners’ suit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In reversing the lower court’s dismissal, the Sixth Circuit held that federal courts have jurisdiction over the case because Michigan courts afforded no plain, speedy, and efficient remedy to the plaintiffs.

The Goldman Ismail team — led by Rami Fakhouri, Sam Schoenburg, Betsy Farrington, and Caleb Kennedy — continued to work the case, ultimately securing this resolution for the remaining plaintiffs. On April 10, 2026, the Coalition for Property Tax Justice, Goldman Ismail’s organizational partner on the case, held a press conference which included a celebration of this resolution.

“Thislitigation set out to vindicate the rights of Detroit homeowners with regard to property tax assessments, to receive what the constitution guarantees: timely notice and an opportunity to be heard,” said Betsy Farrington. “In 2017, as both the Court of Appeals and the City of Detroit have now acknowledged, ‘Detroit did not provide certain minimal procedural protections’ of homeowners’ due process rights. After six years of litigation, we are thrilled to have settled all claims against the City of Detroit and Wayne County, and are grateful that Detroit has committed to implementing processes to avoid such an outcome in the future.”