‘Unconstitutional’: Man Loses Home Over $600 Debt, But That’s Not the End of the Story

(David McBee/Pexels)

This article originally appeared on WND.com

Guest by post by Bob Unruh

‘The government can’t take it without paying just compensation.’

A Nebraska widower is getting title to his own home back, just in time for Christmas, after an “investor” took over ownership under an illegal state confiscation law.

According to the Pacific Legal Foundation, Kevin Fair lost his home over a $600 debt, and an “unconstitutional Nebraska law” that gave ownership to Continental Resources.

A lawsuit, launched in 2018 over the dispute, was decided in his favor at both the Nebraska and U.S. Supreme Courts, and now a settlement has been reached giving him title again.

“We are so happy that Kevin can stay in his home that he shared with his late wife,” said Christina Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “Kevin’s case affirmed that home equity is property protected by the Constitution. The government can’t take it without paying just compensation. That Mr. Fair will be able to keep his home is especially good news, given recent health setbacks.”

The foundation explained Fair suffered a stroke last month and now will need a ramp to get into his home to accommodate his walker. To help offset the costs of necessary home alterations, and the cost of an impending tax bill that accrued before Mr. Fair could file for an exemption for seniors, a GoFundMe was created to help Kevin keep the home he won back, the foundation said.

WND had reported earlier this year when the final ruling, from the state court in Nebraska, came down.

It reversed itself, after getting directions from the U.S. Supreme Court.

The fight that developed is becoming more and more common across the nation, even as multiple organizations fight the trend.

It’s the result of homeowners who fall behind on their taxes, and when governments then sell those debts to others, the owners ultimately lose all of their equity.

Lost many times in the judiciary finagling is the fact that homeowners have significant equity in their homes, and that value routinely was being confiscated from them.

For example Fair lost his $60,000 home over a tax bill for $5,268. When the government sold his home, he got nothing.

The situation developed when, in 2013, Kevin Fair’s late wife was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and he quit his job to care for her at their Scottsbluff, Nebraska, home. Soon he fell behind on his property taxes and the county sold a tax lien for the unpaid taxes to Continental Resources, a private investor.

The county then issued a deed to the investor for the home and all of the equity.

Sandra also lost her home in similar circumstances, the legal team said.

The two sued, with the help of Legal Aid of Nebraska, but the state’s high court rejected their case.

Then the PLF got involved, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.

“Last May, the United States Supreme Court ruled in another PLF case — Tyler v. Hennepin County — that if the government takes more than what is owed to satisfy a property tax debt, it violates the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause. After the Supreme Court decided Tyler, it granted Kevin’s and Sandra’s petitions and sent their cases back to the Nebraska Supreme Court to reconsider their claims in light of Tyler,” the PFL reported.

“In view of the Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling, the Nebraska Supreme Court reevaluated Kevin’s and Sandra’s claims and ruled that they must be paid for the excess equity that remained after their property tax debt was satisfied. The court sent the cases back to the trial court to determine how much the homes are worth and thus how much compensation Kevin and Sandra are owed.”

Financial setbacks originally triggered the failure to pay taxes. But in short order the county stopped sending Fair any information about taxes due, because it was getting its money from Continental. The company then began the process to take the home – and all of its equity. The total bill included taxes, fees and interest, assessed at 14%.

At the time, Nebraska law allowed private tax collectors to keep such windfalls at the expense of property owners like Kevin and Terry. However, the Supreme Court then ruled home equity is private property, and cannot be confiscated without just compensation.