Justia Real Estate & Property Law Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court enjoining Mark Ogden from continuing his nonconforming use of his property as a mobile home park, holding that the City of Des Moines failed to prove that Ogden had exceeded the property’s legal nonconforming use or that it was necessary to enjoin Ogden from continued operation of the mobile home park for the safety of life or property.In its decision, the district court concluded that the nonconforming use of the property exceeded its authorized nonconforming use and that it was necessary to cease operation of the nonconforming use for the safety of life or property. The Supreme Court disagreed, holding that the City did not prove that Ogden had lost the vested right he had in the operation of the mobile park as a legal nonconforming use. View "City of Des Moines v. Ogden" on Justia Law

The City of Albia was statutorily immune from a homeowner’s nuisance claim stemming from reoccurring flooding in the basement of her home due to rainwater discharge from a storm sewer located near the home.The Supreme Court held (1) Iowa Code 670.4(1)(h), which grants immunity to municipalities for tort claims based on claims of negligent design and construction of public improvements and facilities, or failure to upgrade public improvements and facilities, bars those nuisance claims based on conditions created by public improvements and facilities designed and constructed pursuant to generally recognized engineering or safety standards in existence at the time of construction and without evidence that the harmful condition creating the nuisance was inherent in the operation of the improvement or facility itself or evidence of negligent conduct other than the designated conduct immunized under statute; and (2) because the homeowner in this case did not offer any evidence that the City’s storm sewer system was inherently dangerous beyond the dangers associated with failing to upgrade the pipe to accommodate increased water flow, or that the claim was otherwise based on conduct not given immunity, summary judgment on the homeowner’s nuisance claim was properly granted. View "Kellogg v. City of Albia" on Justia Law

The district court abused its discretion by awarding attorney fees beyond those caused by violations of Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.413 or necessary to deter similar misconduct and by relying on a letter the sanctioned party’s president sent to the Supreme Court after it denied review in in the first appellate decision in this case.In this quiet-title action, the district court awarded attorney fees and expenses of $145,427 as a sanction for frivolous court filings in violation of Rule 1.413. The appellate court affirmed in part the rulings and remanded the case. On remand, the district court made more specific factual findings. On appeal, the court of appeals affirmed the sanction award. At issue before the Supreme Court was whether the amount awarded was excessive. The Supreme court vacated the decision of the court of appeals and modified the district court’s sanction award, holding that the appropriate sanction was $30,000. View "First American Bank v. Fobian Farms, Inc." on Justia Law

The claims brought by the City of Eagle Grove alleging two properties owned by Cahalan Investments, LLC were abandoned and in an advanced state if disrepair and praying for a transfer of ownership from Cahalan to the City under Iowa Code 657A.10A fit within the public-nuisance exception recognized in Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (Iowa 1992), and did not result in a taking requiring compensation to Cahalan.The district court dismissed the City’s petitions seeking ownership of the properties at issue in this case, concluding that the transfer of ownership without just compensation to Cahalan would constitute an unconstitutional taking. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that transfer of title to the two properties under section 657A.10A would not constitute a taking under the circumstances presented in this case, and therefore, there was no constitutional requirement of just compensation. View "City of Eagle Grove, Iowa v. Cahalan Investments, LLC" on Justia Law

The owner of a railroad right-of-way filed a petition for certiorari challenging a district court order finding it in contempt for violating a 1977 judgment imposing an injunction against a previous owner of the right-of-way. Specifically, the district court found the subsequent owner in contempt for failing to reconstruct and maintain a dike. The Supreme Court sustained the writ and vacated the decision of the district court, holding the contempt proceeding was an untimely action brought by the drainage district to enforce the 1977 judgment because the 1977 judgment expired under Iowa Code 614.1(6) before this proceeding to enforce it was commenced. View "Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad v. Iowa District Court for Louisa County" on Justia Law

The district court granted a request for entry of a charging order against a personal guarantor and judgment debtor’s transferable interest in an LLC. The judgment debtor and intervenor filed a motion to quash alleging that multiple levies and garnishments were improper. The district court granted the motion to quash. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the entry of the charging order was proper; but (2) the district court erred in granting the motion to quash because it is proper to have multiple levies and garnishments at the same time so long as they are under a single execution. Remanded. View "DuTrac Community Credit Union v. Hefel" on Justia Law

The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) condemned a parcel of Landowner’s property to complete the construction of a highway. The compensation commission awarded Landowner $11,100 for the taking. Landowner filed a petition on appeal, arguing that, as a result of the taking, it could no longer use the remaining property for its business and, therefore, that IDOT’s taking left an uneconomical remnant. Landowner argued that the fair market value of the entire property before the condemnation - and thus the damage for the taking - was $200,000. The district court granted summary judgment for IDOT, concluding that Landowner’s petition was untimely. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Landowner’s uneconomical remnant challenge was untimely, and therefore, the district court did not have the authority to consider that claim. View "Johnson Propane, Heating & Cooling, Inc. v. Iowa Department of Transportation" on Justia Law

DuTrac Community Credit Union owned a parcel of real estate in a commercial development. Kwik Trip, Inc. sought to purchase the property. During due diligence, Kwik Trip discovered that the property was subject to a restrictive covenant that required the approval by an architectural control committee before any building or other structure could be erected. DuTrac and Kwik Trip (Plaintiffs) sought a declaration that the restrictive covenant was unenforceable based on the doctrines of impossibility and supervening impracticability because one of the two members of the architectural control committee was deceased and the other member had eighteen resigned or refused to act on the Committee’s behalf. The district court granted summary judgment for Plaintiffs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the restrictive covenant cannot be enforced as written, and the modification proposed by Defendants was not practical, nor would it be effective to carry out the original purpose of the covenant. View "Dutrac Community Credit Union v. Radiology Group Real Estate, L.C." on Justia Law

Liberty Bank made five loans to the owner of real property (Property). Liberty Bank and five other banks entered into participation agreements related to the loan. Iowa Great Lakes Holding later defaulted on the loan, and the mortgage was extinguished. After the surrender and foreclosure, Liberty Bank and Central Bank entered into an agreement under which Central Bank acquired assets, including loans, from Liberty Bank. Liberty Bank conveyed the Property to a Central Bank affiliated entity via quitclaim deed. Central Bank then filed a declaratory action against Liberty Bank and the five participating banks seeking a ruling that it owned the Property free and clear of any interest of the participating banks. The district court granted summary judgment for Defendants, concluding that, under the participation agreements, Central Bank did not own the property in fee simple because Liberty Bank did not sell Central Bank a one hundred percent interest in the property. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the ownership interest of the participating banks in the mortgage and underlying collateral was superior to Central Bank, which claimed its interest was derivative of and limited to the interest held by Liberty Bank. View "Central Bank v. Hogan" on Justia Law

For twenty-four years, Tenants lived on property owned by Owners. Tenants kept one horse on the property. Owners later served Tenants with a thirty-day notice seeking to terminate Tenants’ tenancy. Owners followed up with a three-day notice to quit and a forcible entry and detainer action. In answer, Tenants claimed that they had a farm tenancy and that Owners had not complied with the legal requirements for terminating a farm tenancy. The district court ruled that Owners had complied with the general requirements for terminating a tenancy at will and that Tenants’ decision to graze a single horse on the property was not enough to establish a farm tenancy and trigger the special termination protections of Iowa Code 562.5 through 562.7. The court therefore found that Owners were entitled to removal of Tenants from the premises. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that land which is not devoted primarily to the production of crops or the care and feeding of livestock cannot be the foundation for a chapter 562 farm tenancy. View "Porter v. Harden" on Justia Law