Legal Notice of Proposed Class Action Settlement
If you paid Jackson County residential property taxes based on a 2023 or 2024 assessed valuation that increased by more than 15%, a class action settlement may provide you a tax credit or cash payment.
On April 2, 2026, the Court certified a class action about the 2023 reassessment of residential property in Jackson County. The parties have now reached a proposed settlement, and the Court has preliminarily approved it. This website explains the settlement, the benefits it provides, and your rights, including your right to make a claim, object, or exclude yourself.
Your legal rights are affected whether you act or not. Please read this notice carefully.
— This is not a solicitation from a lawyer —
About the Case
What is this case about?
The lawsuit, Wheeler v. Beatty, et al., Case No. 2416-CV25478, claims that increases of more than 15% in the 2023 reassessment (excluding new construction or improvements) were unlawful because Jackson County did not perform the physical inspections and provide the notices Missouri law requires, and that taxes paid on those increases in 2023 and 2024 were paid erroneously.
The Missouri State Tax Commission, the Missouri State Auditor, and the Court have each found that the County's 2023 reassessment did not comply with the law. The Counterclaim Defendants assert legal and procedural defenses under Missouri law to the claims asserted on behalf of the class of taxpayers. The parties have agreed to settle rather than continue litigating.
The Settlement
What does the settlement provide?
- Tax credits. If you still own the property that was over-assessed, you will automatically receive a tax credit equal to the amount you overpaid for 2023 and 2024: the difference between the taxes you actually paid and the taxes you would have paid at the same tax rates if the increase had been capped at 15%. The credit will be applied to your property tax bills in three equal installments over the 2026, 2027, and 2028 tax years. If a credit installment is bigger than your tax bill, the unused amount carries forward until it is exhausted. You do not need to file a claim to receive this credit.
- Relief if you no longer own the property. If you sold, transferred, or otherwise no longer own the property (or a family member who owned it has died): if you currently own another residential property in Jackson County, you can receive the credit on that property's tax bills, on the same three-year schedule, by submitting a simple claim form showing you owned the old property and own the new one. If you do not currently own residential property in Jackson County, you can receive your overpayment in cash, paid over the same three annual periods, by submitting a claim form. To receive relief as a former owner, you must submit a claim form by December 3, 2026.
- Special Circumstances Fund. The County is establishing a $6,000,000 fund to reimburse Class Members' documented out-of-pocket appraisal fees and legal fees incurred to challenge or respond to the reassessment. Claims must be submitted, with documentation, by the same claim deadline. Claims are decided by an independent administrator, not the County. There is no cap on an individual claim; if approved claims exceed the fund, payments are reduced proportionately.
- Taxpayers who appealed or paid under protest. If you are owed a cash refund through a timely assessment appeal or because you paid under protest pursuant to RSMo. § 139.031, you keep that right. This settlement does not reduce, delay, or condition that refund, and you will not receive a double recovery of the same amount.
- Enforcement. The settlement will be entered as a consent judgment with a court-ordered injunction. The County's obligations cannot be undone by future County officials, and the Court will keep jurisdiction to enforce them.
See the Frequently Asked Questions for how the credit or payment is calculated.
Who Is Included
Am I a member of the Class?
The Court-certified Class is defined as:
“All owners of residential real property in Jackson County, Missouri who paid real property taxes based on a 2023 assessed valuation that increased by more than fifteen percent (15%) over the prior assessment cycle, excluding increases due solely to new construction or improvements.”
If you are not sure whether you qualify, review the Frequently Asked Questions or contact the Class Administrator.
Your Rights & Options
Your legal rights and options
Your legal rights are affected whether you act or not. Please review your options carefully.
Do Nothing
If you still own your property, you automatically receive your tax credit. You will be bound by the settlement and the release of claims.
Submit a Claim
December 3, 2026
Required only if (1) you no longer own the taxed property, or (2) you seek reimbursement from the Special-Circumstances Fund.
Exclude Yourself
November 18, 2026
Mail a letter postmarked by the deadline. You will receive no settlement benefits and will not release any claims, and you keep the right to sue at your own expense. Claims certified for classwide declaratory and injunctive relief cannot be excluded.
Object
November 18, 2026
Stay in the Class but tell the Court what your objections are to the settlement, in writing. The Court will consider objections at the Settlement Fairness Hearing.
Attend the Hearing
November 23, 2026, 9:30 a.m.
The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing in Division 60 of the Circuit Court of Jackson County, Missouri, at Kansas City. You may attend, but you do not have to.
Class Counsel
Represented by Humphrey, Farrington & McClain, P.C.
On April 2, 2026, the Court appointed attorneys from HFM to serve as Class Counsel in this litigation. HFM is a Kansas City–area trial firm with decades of experience prosecuting large-scale, complex cases against corporate and governmental defendants.