$250,000,000 Settlement To Be Handed Out to Hundreds of Thousands of Residents in One Missouri County: Report

Jackson County in Missouri has approved a proposed settlement that will return roughly $250 million in property tax relief to affected homeowners.

The agreement resolves claims involving assessments that surpassed the state’s mandated 15% limit on increases for residential properties, reports KCTV5.

More than 207,000 properties qualify for the relief, which includes tax credits spread across three future billing cycles plus direct refunds for former residents who have relocated.

A dedicated fund of approximately $6 million will reimburse costs incurred by homeowners who hired professionals to challenge the original assessments.

The lawsuit, filed as Wheeler v. Beatty in the Circuit Court of Jackson County, alleges violations of Missouri law during the 2023 reassessment process.

Officials describe the resolution as the largest class-action settlement ever achieved in the county, with plans for full refunds of overpaid amounts. Ken McClain, the attorney who filed the class action lawsuit says,
“This is the largest class action settlement ever achieved in Jackson County for Jackson County residents, principally. And I want to congratulate the County Executive for having the courage to recognize that this legal error that the county made needed to be rectified, even if it was difficult to achieve. And that’s what he’s done here by entering into the settlement.”

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