At Pacific Legal Foundation, we’re leading the charge against home equity theft—a practice where local governments seize far more than what a property owner owes in taxes. Few fight as passionately as PLF Senior Attorney Christina Martin, who has spent more than a decade defending homeowners nationwide. On this episode of American Heroes, host Kathy Hoekstra sits down with Christina Martin to discuss one family’s fight that’s taken them all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In Pung v. Isabella County, the Pungs of Michigan faced a $1,600 tax (that should never have been imposed), yet the County seized their home, worth nearly $200,000. Christina explains: “The Pungs had paid all the taxes that were rightly imposed, but the County used that small tax to confiscate not just what was owed technically, but their entire home.” The County evicted the Pungs, sold their home at a “fire sale” for only $76,000, and kept every cent—wiping out more than $118,000 of the family home’s equity. The Pungs sued, and the trial court agreed the government violated their property rights but ordered the County to return only $74,000—the windfall it gained from the sale. Christina reflects on the injustice: “The County never should have foreclosed in the first place over such a small, improperly imposed tax. And then they sold it in a way that brought in a fraction of its value. That’s not just unfair—it’s an excessive punishment.” Christina has been at the forefront of this legal battle for years, securing a unanimous Michigan Supreme Court ruling in 2020 that the government cannot keep more than what’s owed in foreclosure sales, a case that began with an $8.41 tax debt. Three years later, she argued Tyler v. Hennepin County at the U.S. Supreme Court, which again, unanimously affirmed homeowners’ rights. But some states, like Michigan, continue to push legal boundaries. The Pung case raises two key constitutional questions Christina believes are crucial: “When the government sells your home to collect a small tax debt, does it owe you your property’s fair market value? And when does taking vastly more than someone ever owed—like in the Pungs’ case—cross the line into an unconstitutional punishment?” A victory for the Pungs would set a nationwide precedent that should force local governments to avoid unnecessary and unfair forced sales of homes over relatively tiny debts. “A win here would send a clear message: Governments must respect homeowners’ rights and cannot punish families through excessive or unlawful property seizures,” Christina notes. Christina’s work reminds us that defending justice often means standing up to powerful institutions—and fighting for the rights of ordinary Americans to keep what is rightfully theirs. If you’ve experienced government overreach like the stories featured in American Heroes, contact us at americanheroes@pacificlegal.org. American Heroes with Kathy Hoekstra is a monthly radio report from Pacific Legal Foundation, airing on American Radio Journal. Each episode defends liberty, empowers individuals, and celebrates the heroes who stand up for what’s right. The post American Heroes: Fighting for Homeowners’ Rights with Christina Martin appeared first on Pacific Legal Foundation.