Iowa Court of Appeals Declares New Boundary Established By Acquiescence

Overview

In a case that should remind property owners to guard their legal boundaries or lose them, the Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled that a landowner established title to a tract of neighboring land through the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence. 

Facts of the Case

The defendants purchased their residential property on lot 3 in 1999. It was bordered by lot 4. The previous owners of lot 3 had built the home in 1991, sodding and landscaping their lot to include a semicircular outcrop of land platted to lot 4. They later installed a decorative edging around the half-moon boundary. In 2004, defendants purchased lot 4, which had been developed between 1991 and 1993. The previous owners of lots 3 and 4 had believed that the semicircular area was part of lot 3. The defendants maintained the area, and the parties did not discuss the boundary. That is, until 2009, when the plaintiffs had a survey done of their property. The survey revealed that the semicircular tract was actually part of lot 4.  The plaintiffs immediately installed a chain link fence just inside of the surveyed boundary line, which ran through the semicircular tract. They then began maintaining the area and filed a petition to quiet title and reestablish original boundaries in 2011. The district court ruled that the defendants had obtained title to the semicircular tract through boundary by acquiescence, and the plaintiffs appealed.

On appeal, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the defendants had established a boundary by acquiescence as allowed by Iowa Code § 650.14, which states:

If it is found that the boundaries and corners alleged to have been recognized and acquiesced in for ten years have been so recognized and acquiesced in,such recognized boundaries and corners shall be permanently established.

The court quoted prior case law establishing that “acquiescence exists when both parties acknowledge and treat the line as the boundary.” The court found that for more than 10 years before the 2009 survey, the parties and their predecessors had treated the semicircular area as part of lot 3. The plaintiffs argued that they did not acquiesce to the new boundary, but the court found that acquiescence could be inferred from silence. Both sets of parties and their predecessors had acted as though the semicircular tract was part of lot 3. Through their actions, the plaintiffs had consented to the new boundary.

The plaintiffs also argued that the landscaping line at issue was not “known, definite or certain” and that, as such, it could not be recognized as the new boundary. The court disagreed, finding that the landscape edging surrounding the semicircular area sufficiently established the requirements that “the edge be definitely marked by fence or in some manner.”

Conclusion

Iowa Code § 650.14 has teeth. Deeds, plats, and surveys have no power if a party establishes mutual acquiescence in a new boundary line for a period of 10 years. Courts will establish the new boundary line based upon such proof. Potential purchasers should be aware of this doctrine, investigating fence lines closely and requesting a survey if any questions arise. Landowners should also remember that their rights are subject to be extinguished if they sleep on them too long.