Posted by Eugene Volokh:
Contracting Out Tax Bill Collection + Law Firm Paying for Line-Sitters:
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_03_01-2009_03_07.shtml#1236031087
An interesting story from the [1]Louisville Courier Journal:
Since Feb. 3, a local law firm has paid ... a cadre of ... students
and stay-at-home moms to wait outside the [Jefferson County's
sheriff's] office, ... 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The goal is to be first in line April 6 -- the first day that the
firm's client, an unnamed investment company, can make an offer to
buy Jefferson County's delinquent property tax roll.
As part of a system that may soon be ended by the Kentucky General
Assembly, the company that's first in line pays the county what
it's owed -- in recent years, an average of about $14 million on
about 15,000 delinquent bills -- and then can make money by
charging the derelict owners 12 percent interest a year until they
pay their debts.
If the owners still don't pay, after one year, the company could
foreclose on their properties.
For its part, the law firm -- Albrektson & Wakild, of Crestwood --
can reap collection fees of up to 100 percent of the amount owed on
small bills, and smaller percentages on larger bills....
Not my field, but seemed like an interesting story, so I thought I'd
pass it along. Thanks to reader William Ridlon for the pointer.
References
1. http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20090302/NEWS01/903020344/1008
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