Nebraska man gets his home back after home equity theft
The government took his home in 2018 over a $588 property tax debt. But a few days before Christmas 2024, Kevin Fair, an ailing Nebraska widower, found out he was getting back the title to his home.
Now a GoFundMe has raised over $16,000 so Kevin, who recently had a stroke, can build a ramp for his home, make some other repairs, and meet upcoming tax obligations.
“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. She told the Associated Press that the resolution of Kevin’s legal battle was “protecting him from, in all likelihood, homelessness.”
PLF started representing Kevin in 2022. When we became involved in his case, at least a dozen states—including Nebraska—were allowing counties to seize homes over small tax debts without returning any equity to homeowners. Struggling Americans were losing everything because of a missed tax bill.
PLF gave the unjust practice a name—home equity theft—and asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule it unconstitutional.
At the time, Kevin was skeptical the Supreme Court would care. “I’ve been watching the news channels,” he told PLF. “And they’ve got a lot of things on their plate. I don’t know if they’ll have the time to listen to an average yahoo that lives in Western Nebraska.”
But the Supreme Court did weigh in: It heard oral arguments on home equity theft in another PLF case, Tyler v. Hennepin County, brought by an elderly Minneapolis woman. In May 2023, all nine justices agreed that home equity theft is unconstitutional: The government cannot take more than what is owed in taxes, penalties, interest, and costs. Any equity belongs to the homeowner.
The following month, the Supreme Court vacated an earlier ruling against Kevin and ordered the Nebraska Supreme Court to reconsider his case. He won at the Nebraska Supreme Court in August 2024.
The title to Kevin’s home was, at that time, owned by Continental Resources, an investor that acquired the title after purchasing Kevin’s $588 tax lien. In December, Continental Resources amicably resolved their dispute with Kevin and returned his home title to him—just in time for Christmas.
Read more about Kevin’s case and home equity theft.
