Omaha apartment owner's civil rights lawsuit over 2018 closure rejected by appeals court

A federal appeals court has rejected all civil rights claims filed by the owner of an Omaha apartment complex against city officials. The decision upholds the dismissal of a lawsuit that began after the city closed the building over code violations in 2018. The ruling was issued on Friday, 6 November 2026, by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.

It upheld a District of Nebraska decision that dismissed claims brought by AB Realty, LLC, and the property owners, Kay and Janea Anderson. The legal dispute began in 2018 when Omaha city inspectors carried out a search warrant at the Yale Park Apartment Complex. They reported serious health and safety problems that forced tenants to leave the building. After carrying out major repairs, AB Realty reopened the complex in 2021.

The company then sued city inspectors Scott Lane and Kevin Mulcahy, housing advocates and the city itself. It claimed that officials had violated its rights under the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Writing for the unanimous appeals panel, Circuit Judge L.