Government · Claims Open

Oregon Tax Foreclosure Surplus Settlements: Seven Counties Taking Claims From Former Owners and Heirs, Including Lane County Through February 22, 2027

Published October 13, 2026
Updated October 19, 2026

People who owned, held a lien on, or inherited an interest in Oregon property that a county took for unpaid property taxes may be able to recover the surplus left after the taxes were paid. Settlements with Baker, Columbia, Jackson, Marion, Washington and Yamhill counties are taking claims until November 30, 2026, and a Lane County settlement is taking claims until February 22, 2027.

A house representing tax-foreclosed property in Oregon
Steve Levine
By Steve Levine
Editor-in-Chief
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Current Status

Claims are open in four separate settlements covering seven Oregon counties: Baker, Columbia, Jackson and Marion (one combined settlement), Washington County, Yamhill County and Lane County. The first three share the same claim deadline, November 30, 2026, for online claims or mailed forms postmarked by that date. The court held fairness hearings on those three on September 17, 2026, and on that date granted the requests for attorneys’ fees in the four-county and Yamhill settlements. No payment date has been announced; the settlement websites say payments follow court approval and the end of any appeals.

The Lane County settlement opened for claims in October 2026 on a separate schedule. Its fund is $1,348,311.60, its claim deadline is February 22, 2027, and its final approval hearing is set for December 2, 2026.

Two other county settlements in the same litigation are at different stages. Multnomah County’s settlement received final approval on November 13, 2025. Union County’s settlement received preliminary approval on September 24, 2026, and its final approval hearing is set for January 28, 2027.

Status Claims Open
Claim Deadline November 30, 2026 Six counties · Lane County: February 22, 2027
Estimated Payout Surplus from the foreclosed property Funds: $4.92M (four counties) · $1.5M (Washington) · $1.35M (Lane) · $179K (Yamhill)
Proof Required Yes Claim must show an ownership interest, lien or heirship

What Changed Recently?

The cases grew out of the U.S. Supreme Court’s May 2023 decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, which held that a government that keeps more than the tax debt when it takes and sells a home for unpaid taxes can violate the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. Former owners then sued a long list of Oregon counties in federal court in Portland, alleging the counties had kept the surplus from tax-foreclosed properties without paying it back. The counties deny wrongdoing, and the court has not decided who is right.

Since then, the counties have been settling one at a time. Multnomah County settled first, in 2025. In July 2026 the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration, announced settlements with Baker, Columbia, Jackson and Marion counties, Washington County and Yamhill County. Union County followed in September 2026. On October 16, 2026, Kroll announced a settlement with Lane County, filed in the lead case, Lynch v. Multnomah County; Lane is the only county taking part in that settlement. Judge Karin J. Immergut of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon is handling all of them.

Who Qualifies?

Each settlement covers people and entities who owned an interest in, or held a valid lien on, real property that the county foreclosed on for unpaid property taxes during that settlement’s period, along with their heirs and successors:
A claim depends on there being a surplus. The settlements define surplus proceeds, or surplus equity, as the difference between the property’s sale price, or its real market value if the county kept it, and the unpaid taxes, fees and related costs. Government entities are excluded.

How Much Can You Get?

Payments are tied to the surplus on a particular property, not a flat amount. The funds announced by Kroll:
Attorneys’ fees, costs and administration come out of each fund. The court awarded fees of 25% of the fund in the four-county and Yamhill settlements; the Washington County notice caps fees at 30%, and the Lane County notice caps them at 25%. When more than one person claims the same property, the claims are sorted out among the claimants before payment.

What Proof Is Required?

A claim has to establish the claimant’s interest in a covered property: ownership, a valid lien, or a right as an heir or successor. Each settlement website hosts its own claim form and the documents describing what it requires. In the earlier Multnomah County settlement, anyone claiming an interest that was not recorded in county property records had to submit a sworn statement explaining it.

What Is the Deadline?

The claim deadline for the Baker, Columbia, Jackson, Marion, Washington and Yamhill settlements is November 30, 2026. Online claims must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time that day, and paper claim forms must be postmarked by November 30, 2026. The opt-out and objection deadline for those settlements, September 14, 2026, has passed.

The Lane County settlement runs on its own schedule. Claims are due by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time on February 22, 2027, online or by mail postmarked by then. The deadline to opt out of or object to the Lane County settlement is November 24, 2026.

How Do You Take Action?

Each settlement has its own official website and claim form:
Each site accepts claims online or by mail. Under the settlements, class members who do not file a valid claim receive no payment and are still bound by the settlement’s release of claims against the county.

Multnomah and Union Counties

Multnomah County. The court granted final approval on November 13, 2025. Multnomah agreed to pay $3,515,759.25, which the parties calculated as 100% of the $2,402,797.40 in surplus proceeds plus 9% interest. The class covered property Multnomah obtained through tax foreclosure and sold for more than the amount owed, where the redemption period expired between October 12, 2017 and June 25, 2025. The administrator identified 119 potential class members. Claims were handled through MultnomahTaxForeclosureSettlement.com; OCA has not confirmed whether that claim period is still open.

Union County. The court preliminarily approved the Union County settlement on September 24, 2026, and set the final approval hearing for January 28, 2027. The county’s October 12, 2026 court filing says every class member but one lives in Oregon. The settlement amount and claims process have not yet been published; this page will add them when they are.

What Happens Next?

Claims in six of the counties close November 30, 2026, and Lane County claims close February 22, 2027. The court’s final approval hearing for the Lane County settlement is set for December 2, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific in Portland. After each claim period ends, the administrator reviews claims, resolves competing claims on the same property, and pays eligible claimants once each settlement is final and any appeals are over. No payment date has been set. The Union County hearing follows on January 28, 2027.

Sources and Verification



Questions

What are surplus proceeds in an Oregon tax foreclosure?

The settlements define surplus proceeds, or surplus equity, as the difference between a tax-foreclosed property's sale price (or its real market value, if the county kept it) and the unpaid taxes, fees and related costs. The lawsuits allege the counties kept that difference instead of returning it to the former owners.

Can heirs of a former owner file a claim?

Yes. Each settlement class includes the heirs and successors of a person or entity that held an ownership interest in, or a valid lien on, a covered property. Each county's settlement website has its own claim form.

Does one claim cover every county?

No. The Baker, Columbia, Jackson and Marion County settlement, the Washington County settlement, the Yamhill County settlement and the Lane County settlement each have their own fund, website and claim form. A claim goes to the settlement for the county that foreclosed on the property.

When will payments be made?

No payment date has been announced. The settlement websites say payments go to people with eligible claims after the court approves the settlement and any appeals are resolved.

Did the counties admit wrongdoing?

No. The counties deny wrongdoing and the court has not decided who is right. The counties settled to resolve claims arising from the U.S. Supreme Court's 2023 decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County.


For more class actions keep scrolling below.
Settlement Amount $4,919,409.99 · $1,500,000 · $1,348,311.60 · $179,470.18 Four-county · Washington · Lane · Yamhill funds
Case Title Lynch v. Multnomah County (lead); Gabbert v. Josephine County; Baker v. Baker County; Brackett v. Washington County
Case Number 3:23-cv-01502-IM · 1:23-cv-01434-IM · 2:24-cv-01503-IM · 3:26-cv-00554-IM
Court U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
Final Approval Hearing September 17, 2026 (open settlements) Lane County: December 2, 2026 · Union County: January 28, 2027 · Judge Karin J. Immergut
Administrator Kroll Settlement Administration
Official Website OregonTaxForeclosure.com

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