GOOD NEWS STORY

 Homeowner wins fight for property after little known law transfers title.

A Nebraska man was forced to fight for his beloved home back after nearly losing it to an investor over a measly $588 tax debt.

Kevin Fair, 68, has been involved in a years-long legal battle over the title of his home - which he owned for nearly three decades - after he failed to pay just $588 in overdue property taxes.

The Scottsbluff-native first fell behind on his property taxes in 2014 following his late wife’s crippling diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that damages the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.

Unable to repay the measly few hundred dollars, along with the interest fees, the Scotts Bluff County sold the lien to a private investor in 2015, as allowed by state law at the time.

Fair then took the case to the state’s Supreme Court, where they ultimately ruled against the 68-year-old homeowner.

However, he felt that wasn’t right, so he took the case to the US Supreme Court.

'They stand to make the money, and I won't have anything after living here for 25 years,' Fair told First Alert 6.

Kevin Fair, 68, has been involved in a years-long legal battle over the title of his home - which he owned for nearly three decades - after he failed to pay just $588 in overdue property taxes

The Scottsbluff-native first fell behind on his property taxes in 2014 following his late wife’s crippling diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that damages the central nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves. Pictured: The Scottsbluff, Nebraska home

Even though the title was sold, the longtime homeowner, who was given the home as a wedding present, was granted permission to stay while the legal dispute played out.

Following the disappointing ruling and the inclusion of the US Supreme Court, the Nebraska Supreme Court was ordered to reconsider.inve

Nearly 10 years later, in August 2024, the state Supreme Court ruled that Fair should retain title to the house.

Fair's appellate law firm, Pacific Legal Foundation, said that their client and the investor have amicably resolved their dispute, ending the legal battle.

The years-long case has since confirmed that home equity 'is protected by the Constitution,' said Christina Martin, senior attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation.

As for Fair, the ruling 'is protecting him from, in all likelihood, homelessness,' she added.

Fair and his late wife, Terry, had already paid off the mortgage for their home in Scottsbluff, a town of 14,300 people in far western Nebraska, by the early 2010s.

But in 2013, Terry received her disabling diagnosis and Fair quit his job to care for her, it was then that the couple fell behind on their property taxes.

The county then placed a lien on the home and listed the delinquency in the newspaper.

After Nebraska Supreme Court ruled against the homeowner, Fair took the case to the US Supreme Court which ordered the state's Supreme Court to reconsider the 68-year-old's case. Pictured: The United States Supreme Court

In 2015, the county sold the tax lien to the private investor, which paid the home's taxes for three years.

Yet, when the investor called for the Fairs to pay the accrued $5,268 in taxes, interest and fees, they couldn't. 

Scotts Bluff County turned the title and equity over to the investor in 2018.

Fair's lawsuit contended that while the state should be allowed to collect its debt, it should not be allowed to seize the home or the equity in it above the debt amount - $54,000 in this case.

The court victory is bittersweet for Fair as his wife died in 2019 before the winning verdict was reached.

Fair also suffered from a stroke earlier this month. The stroke was so severe that Fair will now require a ramp built at the home to accommodate his needs, Martin said.

A GoFundMe fundraiser has since been organized for the struggling homeowner. As of Friday afternoon the donation page has reached a whopping sum of $11,800.

Nebraska changed its law in 2023 so that homeowners are no longer at risk of losing their equity over unpaid property taxes.