Does the government violate the Takings Clause when it confiscates property worth more than the debt owed by the owner?

QUESTIONS PRESENTED Kevin and Terry Fair fell behind on their property taxes after medical problems caused severe financial hardship. When they failed to pay $5,200 in taxes, interest, penalties, and costs by the deadline, Scotts Bluff County extinguished the Fairs’ entire interest in their $60,000 home and conveyed it to an investor who paid the tax debt. Unlike other types of debt collection, the Fairs’ foreclosed home was not sold after competitive bidding, leaving no opportunity for the Fairs to be paid for their equity from the proceeds remaining after paying the debt. Nebraska is one of only 14 states where government takes valuable real estate and all equity in that property as payment for small tax debts. Half those states, like Nebraska here, convey the windfall taken from such foreclosures to private investors. Courts have split on whether government may constitutionally take more property than necessary to pay a debt. The questions presented are: (1) Does the government violate the Takings Clause when it confiscates property worth more than the debt owed by the owner? (2) Does the forfeiture of far more property than needed to satisfy a delinquent tax debt plus interest, penalties, and costs, constitute an excessive fine within the meaning of the Eighth Amendment? ii LIST OF ALL PARTIES Petitioner Kevin L. Fair was the appellant in the Nebraska Supreme Court and defendant and crossplaintiff in the trial court. Respondent Continental Resources was the appellee in the Nebraska Supreme Court and plaintiff and cross-defendant in the trial court. Respondents Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska; Heather Hauschild, Scotts Bluff County Treasurer; and Doug Peterson, Attorney General for the State of Nebraska were appellees in the Nebraska Supreme Court and third-party defendants in the trial court. STATEMENT OF