A Nebraska resident is on track to reclaim ownership of his home, several years after losing it over an unpaid tax bill of $588, as confirmed by one of his attorneys on Thursday.
Kevin Fair, who resides in Scottsbluff, has been engaged in a protracted legal battle since 2018, when he lost the title to his house of nearly 30 years due to overdue property taxes. At that time, Scotts Bluff County sold the tax lien to a private investor, a procedure allowed under Nebraska law.
Unable to repay the total amount, including interest and associated fees, Fair saw the title transfer to the investor, although he was permitted to remain in the house during the ongoing legal proceedings.
In 2022, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled against him, but a year later, the U.S. Supreme Court instructed the state court to take another look at the case. In August, the Nebraska Supreme Court decided that Fair should indeed keep the title to his residence.
The Pacific Legal Foundation, Fair’s appellate law firm, reported that Fair and the investor had come to a mutual agreement, bringing an end to their legal conflicts.
Christina Martin, a senior attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation, commented that the case reaffirmed the notion that home equity is safeguarded by the Constitution. She emphasized that this ruling significantly mitigates the risk of homelessness for Fair.
Attempts to reach an attorney for Scotts Bluff County for comment were unsuccessful on Thursday.
The Fair couple had paid off their home mortgage by the early 2010s in Scottsbluff, a small town with a population of 14,300 in western Nebraska. However, things changed dramatically in 2013 when Terry Fair was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, leading Kevin to leave his job to care for her. Subsequently, they fell behind on paying property taxes, totaling $588.
The county placed a lien on their home and publicized the delinquency in local newspapers. In 2015, the county sold the tax lien to a private investor, who covered the property’s taxes for the next three years.
When the investor demanded repayment of the accumulated $5,268 for taxes, interest, and fees, the Fairs were unable to comply. Consequently, in 2018, Scotts Bluff County transferred the title and ownership equity to the investor.
Fair’s lawsuit argued that while the state has the authority to collect its debts, it should not seize the home or the equity exceeding the owed amount, which in this instance, was valued at $54,000.
The recent court ruling has been both a victory and a source of mixed emotions for Fair, as he faced personal tragedies in the past. His wife passed away in 2019, and he suffered a stroke last month. Martin mentioned that he will need a wheelchair ramp installed in his home to aid in his mobility. A GoFundMe page set up for Fair’s needs has collected nearly $10,000 by Thursday.
In an attempt to prevent such situations from recurring, Nebraska amended its laws in 2023, ensuring that homeowners are no longer at risk of losing their equity due to unpaid property taxes.
