Faye Payton grew up in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, along with her 11 siblings. She has moved to a different part of Ocean Springs now, but she and her many family members still own a house in the Railroad District, which one of their cousins (who also grew up nearby) occupies. Her home was built in the 1940s by her grandparents, Herbert and Merlissis Thurman. They built it literally brick by brick, purchasing bricks after every payday. Families across the neighborhood similarly built their legacies brick by brick, beam by beam, lovingly improving their houses over time to become lasting investments, safe havens, or homes for future generations.
Faye, along with other home and business owners whose properties have been blighted, are teaming up with the Institute for Justice to launch a federal lawsuit.
Related Case
Eminent Domain | Private Property
Home and business owners only found out their properties were branded as “slum or blighted” long after the time to legally challenge the label in state court passed
Ocean Springs, Mississippi declared properties in parts of the city blighted slums in a secretive process. Now, property owners are suing to protect their homes, businesses, and a church.