A Nebraska man is getting title to his residence again, years after dropping it over a $588 tax debt, one in every of his legal professionals stated Thursday.
Kevin Honest of Scottsbluff has been concerned in a authorized dispute since 2018, when he misplaced title to the house he had owned for almost three many years for failing to pay $588 in overdue property taxes. Scotts Bluff County offered the lien to a non-public investor, as allowed by Nebraska legislation on the time.
When Honest couldn’t repay the cash together with curiosity and costs, the title went to the investor, although Honest was allowed to remain within the residence whereas the authorized dispute performed out.
The Nebraska Supreme Courtroom dominated towards Honest in 2022, however a 12 months later, the US Supreme Courtroom ordered the state court docket to rethink. In August, the Nebraska Supreme Courtroom dominated that Honest ought to retain title to the home.
Honest’s appellate legislation agency, Pacific Authorized Basis, stated Honest and the investor have amicably resolved their dispute, ending the authorized battle.
The case confirmed that residence fairness “is protected by the Constitution,” stated Christina Martin, senior lawyer at Pacific Authorized Basis. As for Honest, the ruling “is protecting him from, in all likelihood, homelessness,” she stated.
A message searching for remark was left Thursday with an lawyer for Scotts Bluff County.
Honest and his spouse, Terry, had already paid off the mortgage for his or her residence in Scottsbluff, a city of 14,300 individuals in far western Nebraska, by the early 2010s. However in 2013, Terry was identified with a number of sclerosis and Kevin give up his job to take care of her. The couple fell behind on their property taxes, owing $588.
The county positioned a lien on the house and listed the delinquency within the newspaper. In 2015, the county offered the tax lien to the personal investor, which paid the house’s taxes for 3 years.
When the investor referred to as for the Festivals to pay the accrued $5,268 in taxes, curiosity and costs, they couldn’t. Scotts Bluff County turned the title and fairness over to the investor in 2018.
Honest’s lawsuit contended that whereas the state ought to be allowed to gather its debt, it shouldn’t be allowed to grab the house or the fairness in it above the debt quantity — $54,000 on this case.
The court docket victory is bittersweet for Kevin Honest. His spouse died in 2019, and he suffered a stroke final month. Martin stated he’ll want a ramp constructed on the residence to accommodate him. A GoFundMe account had raised almost $10,000 by Thursday afternoon.
Nebraska modified its legislation in 2023 in order that householders are not susceptible to dropping their fairness over unpaid property taxes.
