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Real Estate

Oregon Tax Foreclosure Surplus Settlements — Seven Counties

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Lost Oregon property to a tax foreclosure? Seven county settlements are paying surplus proceeds to former owners and heirs. Claims due Nov. 30, 2026 or Feb. 22, 2027.

Who qualifies and how to claim

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.

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:

  • Columbia, Jackson and Marion counties: foreclosures between October 23, 2017 and June 7, 2024
  • Baker County: foreclosures between September 7, 2018 and June 7, 2024
  • Washington County: foreclosures between October 12, 2017 and December 31, 2025
  • Yamhill County: property foreclosed on and sold, donated or transferred between October 12, 2017 and May 8, 2026
  • Lane County: property foreclosed on and sold, donated or transferred between October 12, 2017 and December 30, 2025

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:

  • Baker, Columbia, Jackson and Marion counties: $4,919,409.99, which can grow if more foreclosed properties are sold before the claim deadline
  • Washington County: $1,500,000, covering 100% of the surplus proceeds on most eligible properties the county sold and 80% of the surplus equity on most eligible properties it kept or transferred, plus interest
  • Yamhill County: $179,470.18

Documents & history

676 court filings since Oct 2023, the latest on Oct 21, 2026, across 4 dockets: 1:23-cv-01434 Gabbert v. Josephine County (D. Or.) · 3:23-cv-01502 Lynch v. Multnomah County (D. Or.) · 2:24-cv-01503 Baker v. Baker County (D. Or.) · 3:26-cv-00554 Brackett v. Washington County (D. Or.).

What has happened

  1. Claim deadline: Lane County (11:59 p.m. PT online, or postmarked) Deadline · upcoming
  2. Final approval hearing for the Clatsop, Deschutes, Douglas, Tillamook and Union Counties settlement Hearing · upcoming
  3. Lane County final approval hearing, 10:00 a.m. PT, Portland Hearing · upcoming
  4. Claim deadline: Baker, Columbia, Jackson, Marion, Washington and Yamhill Counties (11:59 p.m. PT online, or postmarked) Deadline · upcoming
  5. Lane County: deadline to opt out or object Deadline · upcoming
  6. Settlement (ECF 158) Settlement filing
  7. Settlement (ECF 246) Settlement filing
  8. Settlement (ECF 287) Settlement filing
  9. Lane County settlement ($1,348,311.60) announced; claims open through February 22, 2027 Notice
  10. Multnomah: second batch of approved claims paid (checks void after January 11, 2027) Payments
  11. Unopposed Motion to Amend/Correct Preliminary Approval Order Regarding Settlement With Lane County Scheduling Order,, (250 in 3 (ECF 239) Preliminary approval
  12. Order on Motion for Settlement (ECF 144) Settlement filing
  13. Order Granting Motion for Preliminary Approval of Proposed Class Action Settlement (ECF 233) Preliminary approval
  14. Order on Motion for Settlement (ECF 274) Settlement filing

Documents

Court filings come from the court's public docket through the free RECAP archive; official documents from the settlement administrator's own site. Other dates come from the official settlement site and the summary above. Nothing here is legal advice. Last checked Oct 22, 2026.

Where this information comes from