Iowa Property Owners Granted Title to Adjacent Tract through Adverse Possession

January 17, 2014 | Kristine A. Tidgren

Houston v. Meyer, No. 3-1068 / 13-0478, 2014 Iowa App. LEXIS 23 (Iowa Ct. App. Jan. 9, 2014)

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court ruling granting property owners title to an adjacent strip of land through adverse possession.  The defendants purchased their residential property in 1961. At that time, the seller told them that the adjacent 33 by 110-foot strip of land was an abandoned road that he used for parking. The seller had also built a sidewalk on that strip that provided the only entrance to the home. After the purchase, the defendants used the strip of land in the same manner as their predecessor. They mowed, cleared brush, and removed snow from the parcel. They also planted trees and parked their car on the property.

In 1964, the plaintiff purchased a number of properties in the defendants’ neighborhood, including the 33 by 110-foot strip of land. Decades later, a dispute arose over the ownership of the strip of land. The defendants filed an affidavit of ownership, and the plaintiff filed a quiet title action.

The district court found that the defendants had acquired title to the disputed parcel through adverse possession. On appeal, the Iowa Court of Appeals agreed. The court ruled that the defendants had, through “clear and positive” proof, established “hostile, actual, open, exclusive and continuous possession, under claim of right or color of title for at least ten years.” Although the plaintiff disputed much of the defendants’ testimony, the Court of Appeals deferred to the district court’s credibility findings. The defendants’ neighbors’ testimony substantiated the defendants’ claim that they, and not the plaintiff, had provided the ongoing maintenance for the property.

The appellate court found that the defendants satisfied the “claim of right” requirement because they “had a basis for claiming an interest in the disputed strip notwithstanding their knowledge that they lacked legal title to the land.” Their seller had told them that the adjacent strip was an abandoned road that he had been using and maintaining. The district court had found that the seller told the defendants specifically, “Just treat it as your own.” Under these facts, the court found that the defendants established a “good faith claim of right” to the disputed strip of land.

This case demonstrates the importance of thoroughly investigating a property before purchasing it. Any evidence that a non-owner is using the property in any way should signal the would-be purchaser to tread carefully.  Iowa courts are not hesitant to allow title through adverse possession when a possessor can establish the common law elements of the doctrine.