REO Enterprises, LLC v. Village of Dorchester

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court considered whether the Village of Dorchester’s ordinance requiring landlords to guarantee unpaid utility charges for tenant accounts violated the Equal Protection Clauses of the U.S. and Nebraska Constitutions. Applying rational basis review, the court held that the classification distinguishing residential tenants from property owners was rationally related to the village’s legitimate interest in collecting utility charges. The court reversed the district court’s judgment for REO Enterprises and remanded for further proceedings.

Holdings

1. Ordinance No. 684's classification requiring residential tenants to obtain landlord guarantees for utility charges, but not requiring residential owners to obtain third-party guarantees, does not violate the Equal Protection Clauses of the United States and Nebraska Constitutions.
2. The court would not address REO's remaining statutory and constitutional claims because they had not been passed upon by the trial court and REO had not cross-appealed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether ordinance No. 684's requirement that residential tenants obtain a landlord's guarantee of unpaid utility charges, while residential owners were not required to obtain a third-party guarantee, violated the Equal Protection Clauses of the United States and Nebraska Constitutions.
2. Whether the Nebraska Supreme Court could address REO's remaining claims concerning the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Nebraska's special-legislation provision, and the Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act when the district court had not passed on those claims and REO had not cross-appealed.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded