On April 26, 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in our favor in Jones v. Flowers, holding that when mailed notice of a tax sale is returned undelivered, constitutional due process requires that the government take additional reasonable steps to attempt to provide notice to the owner before selling the property.
We represented Gary Jones, an Arkansas man who lost his house because he did not receive notice that it would be sold for delinquent taxes until it was too late. After a certified letter sent to Mr. Jones was returned to the state undelivered, the state took no further action to try to provide effective notice to Mr. Jones before selling his home, even though it could easily have done so. The Court explained that the government's knowledge that its initial effort was ineffective triggered an obligation to take additional steps to notify Mr. Jones. |
