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Massachusetts gets a chance to kick ‘equity theft’ to the curb – The Boston Globe

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Massachusetts gets a chance to kick ‘equity theft’ to the curb – The Boston Globe


In order to recoup its taxes quickly, Worcester sold its right to foreclose on the property to Tallage Davis LLC, a Boston-based tax title buyer. Tallage began eviction proceedings in late 2022 even as Rodriguez was continuing to make payments to the city.

She is fighting to save her home in a case filed last month in federal bankruptcy court with the help of Greater Boston Legal Services, the Pioneer Public Interest Law Center, and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP.

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Rodriguez’s case was filed before last week’s unanimous Supreme Court ruling in a case involving a 94-year-old Minneapolis condo owner whose property was sold for $40,000 to settle a $15,000 debt for back taxes and penalties.

As Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court, “A taxpayer who loses her $40,000 house to the State to fulfill a $15,000 tax debt has made a far greater contribution to the public fisc than she owed. The taxpayer must render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, but no more.”

Roberts also noted, “The principle that a government may not take more from a taxpayer than she owes can trace its origins at least as far back” as the Magna Carta granted in 1215 by King John.

The court’s ruling applies only to Minnesota. But Massachusetts is one of about a dozen states that permit the same kind of foreclosure overkill that the high court has now ruled unconstitutional. That this state’s law allows a level of judicial oversight makes it legally not identical to the Minnesota case. But it’s that legal murkiness — not to mention the appalling inequity of the practice itself — that cries out for a legislative remedy even as the legal cases continue to pile up here.

Such as the case of a Bolton alpaca farmer who is challenging the state law in federal court, charging the town made a $310,000 profit from the sale of his property to settle a $60,000 tax debt. He’s represented by Pioneer Legal and the Pacific Legal Foundation, which issued a recent report documenting the extent to which many of the state’s cities and towns make use of equity takings in tax foreclosure cases or sold tax liens to third-party collectors like Tallage.

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In that report, written prior to the US Supreme Court decision, Pacific Legal noted, “In just one year, local governments and tax lien investors took approximately $56 million in equity from the Massachusetts owners of 2,260 properties.” It also pointed to Tallage as being a major player for the years 2014-2020, collecting millions of dollars in profits for itself from the sale of homes in Quincy, New Bedford, Lowell, and Worcester. Tallage also gets to keep the 16 percent interest fee it is allowed to charge on any outstanding tax debt.

That process, now declared unconstitutional by the high court, is also illegal under the Massachusetts Constitution, Pacific Legal contends, noting, “As far back as 1879, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has held that, as a matter of common law principle, government may only take as much as it is owed in taxes and fees.”

In a 2020 SJC decision involving Tallage and its foreclosure on a New Bedford property, then-Chief Justice Ralph Gants wrote that tax foreclosure proceedings were indeed an “archaic and arcane process” that “sometimes does … result in catastrophic consequences for homeowners.”

The late jurist was absolutely right on both scores. Since at least 2019 several lawmakers have been fighting the good fight to remedy the situation — to simplify the process for communities that have every right to collect the taxes they are owed and for those property owners struggling to make ends meet in difficult times.

A bill filed by state Representatives Jeffrey Roy of Franklin and Tommy Vitolo of Brookline would provide some needed safeguards, require obvious disclosures to property owners, and protect their equity. A similar measure has been filed by state Senator Mark Montigny specifically requiring that “If the tax purchaser sells the land at auction, the balance of any proceeds above and beyond reasonable expenses as approved by the land court shall be returned to the former owner.”

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With housing near the top of the state’s political concerns, protecting the rights of homeowners ought to be part of any future legislative housing package. The Supreme Court decision has provided the opportunity to do just that.


Editorials represent the views of the Boston Globe Editorial Board. Follow us on Twitter at @GlobeOpinion.





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Massachusetts

Massachusetts Students Should Know, These Degrees Pay The Best

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Massachusetts Students Should Know, These Degrees Pay The Best


Whether you’re currently in college and searching for a major or heading off to college soon and don’t know what to study, this list of highest paying degrees might help you decide.

Although studying something you enjoy is usually the route students take, sometimes it’s hard to choose which field you enjoy the most.

Knowing what your degree could earn you once school ends, might be the deciding factor you need.

READ MORE: Highest Paying Jobs on the SouthCoast

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While not every job in a certain field is guaranteed to score you a certain pay day, according to earnings data from the United States Census Bureau several fields offer pretty lofty average earnings here in Massachusetts.

Several are even over six-figures.

Of course science jobs are always in high demand, with matching high paychecks, and technology fields are booming as well. But in Massachusetts, one degree pays significantly more than others.

READ MORE: These Massachusetts’ Colleges Are Among America’s Most Expensive

Overall, the Census Bureau looked at 14 different college and universities degrees and compared these fields based on salary alone. The average pay day for these 14 degrees was an estimated $86,997.

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So which fields came out on top?

Generally careers in the science fields pay best in Massachusetts, while careers in the arts and humanities pay the least. In particular, those considering a degree in visual and performing arts are least likely to be among top earners in the Bay State with a median pay of $64,102.

The following fields however can score you a big pay day when you’re ready to find that first full time job after college.

Massachusetts’ Highest Paying Bachelor Degrees

Ready to chose a college major? Want to try and score the biggest paycheck possible after school is over? Then these are the fields you may want to study.

The United States Census Bureau has ranked bachelor degrees by median earnings and these fields came out on top.

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Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

Top 35 Highest-Paying Jobs on the SouthCoast

Looking to start a new career or not sure which path to head down after high school? Here are the best paying jobs right here on the SouthCoast that could help you decide.

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

SouthCoast Teacher Salaries From Lowest to Highest

According to the most recent reports of teacher salaries across Massachusetts (for the year 2019-2020), several SouthCoast school district are among those that pay the best. So how much are the teachers in your school district averaging?

Gallery Credit: Nancy Hall

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AiVi Nguyen to Moderate Massachusetts Bar Association Webinar “Establishing Citizenship for Diversity Jurisdiction: This is Not What I Remember from Law School!” – Bowditch & Dewey

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AiVi Nguyen to Moderate Massachusetts Bar Association Webinar “Establishing Citizenship for Diversity Jurisdiction: This is Not What I Remember from Law School!” – Bowditch & Dewey


What is the citizenship of limited liability companies? Of a trust? Of a free-spirited backpacker hitchhiking his way around the country? While every lawyer likely knows that the general diversity jurisdiction statute, 28 U.S.C. s. 1332(a), requires complete diversity between all plaintiffs on the one hand and all defendants on the other, recent decisions in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts and the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit highlight the complexities of citizenship and the importance of establishing it early.

On April 3, AiVi Nguyen will moderate a Massachusetts Bar Association webinar featuring Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV and Boston College Law School Professor Sergio Campos who will cover best practices for establishing or disputing jurisdiction based on diversity.

April 3, 2024

4:00 – 5:30 PM

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Mail stolen from U.S. Postal Service mailbox outside Massachusetts post office: Police

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Mail stolen from U.S. Postal Service mailbox outside Massachusetts post office: Police


Police are warning residents after mail was stolen from a U.S. Postal Service mailbox outside a local post office early Monday morning.

A maroon, newer model Jeep Cherokee was allegedly involved in the mail theft behind the Bedford Post Office, according to police.

A Bedford police officer parked at the Bedford Market Place at around 1:30 a.m. on Monday reportedly saw the Jeep pull up to the blue Postal Service mailbox behind the post office at 158 Great Road.

The cop then saw a person get out of the Jeep, open the mailbox, and remove mail from it before jumping back into the Jeep.

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The police officer chased the Jeep down Great Road and onto I-95 before ending the pursuit due to safety concerns. The driver was reportedly operating erratically.

Bedford Police are investigating the incident with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Department of Homeland Security.

“We want to warn anyone who may have deposited a check or other mail in the box behind the post office last night that this incident occurred,” said Chief John Fisher.

“Mail theft and checking washing are becoming increasingly common, and all residents should consider delivering their mail only by hand to the U.S. Post Office, or dropping their mail off prior to the final nightly pickup time for blue Postal Service mailboxes,” the chief added.

Police are asking anyone with information on this incident, or anyone who believes they recognize the vehicle involved, to call Bedford Police at 781-275-1212.

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