No summary process for eviction when tenant holds an option to purchase under the lease

The Nebraska Supreme Court has held that a tenant cannot be evicted using summary process procedure when the tenant holds an option to purchase under the terms of the lease and when the lease imposes a restraint on alienation of the property without giving the tenants an opportunity to exercise the option. Martens v. BB’s Childcare, LLC, 34 N.W.3d 393 (Neb. 2026). The court reasoned that the case involved a “title dispute” and that took it outside the ambit of cases governed by the summary process statute, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 25–21,29 et seq. Such cases were governed by a different statute.