Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • NC Bankruptcy Cases
    • Eastern District
    • Middle District
    • Western District
  • NC Courts
    • 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
    • NC Court of Appeals
    • NC Business Court
    • NC Supreme Court Cases
  • Federal Cases
  • Law Reviews & Studies
    • Book Reviews
  • NC Legislative History
  • Student Loan Debt
User account menu
  • Log in

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Blogs

4th Cir.: Todman v. Baltimore- Abandonment of Personal Property Following Eviction

Profile picture for user Ed Boltz
By Ed Boltz, 12 June, 2024

Summary:

Marshall and Tiffany Todman, tenants in Baltimore, were evicted and lost their belongings under Baltimore’s Abandonment Ordinance, which deems any property left behind at eviction as abandoned. The Todmans sued the City of Baltimore, alleging violations of their Fourteenth Amendment rights to due process,  asserting that they were deprived of their property without adequate notice and opportunity to be heard.

The Court of Appeals,  relying primarily  on the SCOTUS bankruptcy decision in Tyler v. Hennepin County, 598 U.S. 631 (2023),  held that "when operation of a confiscatory statute is triggered by something other than long periods of nonuse, it starts to look less like abandonment and more like a government-induced forfeiture."   The Abandonment Ordinance, as applied, failed to provide sufficient notice or opportunity to contest the abandonment, was confusing, buried among other information, and did not clearly inform the Todmans of the risk of abandonment.  Further, the lack of a reclamation period further deprived the Todmans of a meaningful opportunity to reclaim their property.

This resulted in the court affirming the district court’s finding that Baltimore was responsible for the due process violation since  the Abandonment Ordinance, a municipal policy, directly caused the deprivation of the Todmans’ property.  That Baltimore  did not control the eviction process was not relevant as the ordinance directly made Baltimore  responsible for ensuring the ordinance complied with constitutional requirements.  These violations,  accordingly,  subjected Baltimore to damages under § 1983.

Commentary:

Not only is this an expansion of a bankruptcy decision from the SCOTUS  into non-bankruptcy areas,  it points out the breadth and scope that  Tyler v. Hennepin County has.  This raises further possibilities that the disposition of personal property following a foreclosure by  government sponsored entities (GSEs)  such as Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac must also comply with due process or risk similar § 1983 being asserted.  That a property owner has rights following the loss of possession of a residence,  whether rented or owned,  now seems to require notice and disclosure of those rights in clear language,  separate from the actions,  whether eviction or foreclosure,  to take possession of the residence.

Blog comments

Category
4th Circuit Court of Appeals

About Us

Mountain View The purpose of the NC Bankruptcy Expert blog is to provide legal professionals with a consolidated resource for updates and case summaries about issues and decisions affecting bankruptcy, foreclosures, mortgages, and debt collection.

 
Lawyer Edward Boltz | Top Attorney Chapter 7

NC Bankruptcy Expert FREE Consultation

We Offer A Free Bankruptcy Consultation which has helped over 70,000 North Carolina families. We serve the entire state of North Carolina.

Proud Member of:












Categories

  • 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Book Reviews
  • District Courts
  • Eastern District
  • Ed Boltz: Bankruptcy Attorney
  • Federal Cases
  • Forms
  • Home
  • Law Reviews & Studies
  • Middle District
  • Mortgage Modification Mediation Documents
  • NC Business Court
  • NC Court of Appeals
  • NC Courts
  • NC Supreme Court Cases
  • News
  • North Carolina Bankruptcy Cases
  • North Carolina District Court Cases
  • North Carolina Exemptions Legislative History
  • Student Loan Debt
  • Student Loan Options and Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
  • Western District
RSS feed
v. 1.2.2, © 2013-2025 ncbankruptcyexpert.com, all rights reserved. Follow @edboltz