Pacific Legal Foundation Wins Atlas Network's 2024 North America Liberty Award

Atlas Network is pleased to announce that Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) has won the North America Liberty Award, which recognizes nonprofit organizations that are making innovative contributions to economic freedom and human progress in the region. In 2023, PLF secured a unanimous ruling in the Supreme Court that bans “home equity theft,” securing the property rights of Americans in states where local officials can victimize homeowners through property theft.

PLF took on the case of Geraldine Tyler, whose Minneapolis condo was seized by local authorities in 2015 over unpaid property taxes and sold to private investors. Local officials didn’t keep only the $15,000 that the now 94-year-old grandmother owed in taxes and fees, but also the remaining $25,000, stealing her home equity and wiping out the funds that could have been used to pay for Tyler’s care at the senior living facility where she then resided.

At the time, Minnesota was one of 19 states, in addition to Washington D.C., that allowed what is known as home equity theft. But PLF—a longtime Atlas Network partner—took on Tyler’s case pro bono and secured a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in the case Tyler v. Hennepin County. PLF argued that property tax forfeiture does not relieve the government of its responsibility to pay just compensation and that taking more from the taxpayer than is owed amounts to property theft (in this case, home equity). The organization maintained that the $25,000 surplus on the condo sale should have been remitted to its former owner, and the Supreme Court justly ruled that Tyler's constitutional rights were indeed violated.

The precedent-setting legal victory in Tyler v. Hennepin County represents a key win for property rights in states like Minnesota, where such constitutional safeguards were not in place and enforceable at the county level. According to PLF, more than 4,300 properties were seized for delinquent taxes in the state, including over 1,200 family homes. On average, the taxes and interest represented just eight percent of the equity in the forfeitures and subsequent sales—estimated to total $118 million in government equity theft statewide.

PLF’s work on the Tyler case was supported through grants and professional development opportunities from Atlas Network. Now, PLF is working with a number of other Atlas Network partners to ensure that legislative reforms are adopted across the 19 states and the District of Columbia that still allow Home Equity Theft, bringing them in line with the Tyler decision. Legislation is advancing in South Dakota, New York, and Nebraska, signaling a wider trend toward eliminating Home Equity Theft nationwide.

The North America Liberty Award is part of the Templeton Freedom Award prize program sponsored by Templeton Religion Trust—named for the late investor and philanthropist Sir John Templeton. In addition to North America, the program sponsors awards in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and North Africa. Its grand prize, the Templeton Freedom Award, is presented annually at Atlas Network’s Liberty Forum & Freedom Dinner in New York City. This year, the prize program will award $270,000 in grants to high-achieving organizations that make innovative contributions to economic freedom and human progress.

“America’s property-owners are lucky to have Pacific Legal Foundation on their side, and we are proud to support PLF’s critically important work,” said Atlas Network CEO Brad Lips. “By protecting homeowners like Geraldine Tyler, PLF has the potential to secure the property rights of millions of Americans who are currently threatened by so-called ‘Home Equity Theft,’ a blatant example of government overreach. From identifying victims of Home Equity Theft on a local level to fighting for them at the Supreme Court, Atlas Network is honored to recognize PLF’s work through the North America Liberty Award, and we look forward to seeing even more progress to come.”