We have written detailed reviews of Iowa law impacting agricultural producers and landowners. Access these reviews by clicking on the tiles below. You can also review Iowa cases on a particular subject by searching our list of Iowa case law reviews at the bottom of this page.
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The Iowa Supreme Court recently issued a decision in a key case involving competing claims by a secured lender and a grain elevator over the costs of storing and drying the grain. The April 17, 2020, case--MidWestOne Bank v. Heartland Co-op, No. 19-1302 (Iowa 2020)--has caused grain warehouses and lenders to take a closer look at their business practices.
Note: This case was reversed on appeal on 11/25/2020.
A bankruptcy court recently ruled in a Chapter 12 case that federal and state taxing authorities do not have the right to offset a refund with tax debt stripped of its priority by 11 U.S.C. § 1232. This was a court’s first opportunity to rule on this question since the passage of the Family Farmer Bankruptcy Clarification Act of 2017. The case was In re DeVries, No.19-00181 (Bankr. N.D. Iowa April 28, 2020).
On April 15, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a defendants’ motion for quiet title on the establishment of a new boundary line. The court found the two neighbors treated a row of culverts as the boundary line for a period of more than ten years, thereby creating a boundary by acquiescence.
On April 15, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion in a breach of contract case brought by a subcontractor against a business owner and his LLC to collect for work done during a building remodel. The court ruled that the district court incorrectly pierced the veil of the LLC and imposed personal liability on the LLC owner.
On April 15, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued a ruling finding a boundary by acquiescence and denying damages for a trespass claim. Because previous adjoining landowners treated a cement seam as the boundary line for more than ten years, they created a new boundary through the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence. Although determining that a new boundary was created, the court ruled that the prevailing landowner presented insufficient evidence of trespass damages.
On April 15, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed a jury verdict in favor of plaintiffs in a breach of contract action against their contractor. The court ruled that the plaintiffs did not complete the required terms and conditions under the contract and that further performance by the contractor was excused.
The CARES Act created three temporary unemployment programs: the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program, and the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program. These programs are 100% federally funded through a voluntary agreement between individual states and the Department of Labor. With federal guidance issued by the Department, we have more information on how these programs are to be implemented.
On March 18, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued a ruling regarding a boundary-line dispute. The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s denial of the plaintiff’s petition to quiet title because the plaintiff failed to meet his burden for either adverse possession or boundary by acquiescence.
On March 20, 2020, the USDA approved the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship’s hemp plan for the State of Iowa. IDALS will publish the official notice that the USDA accepted Iowa’s state plan in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin on April 8th. This means that farmers are much closer to being able to grow hemp in Iowa during the 2020 season. It does remain illegal to grow, possess, buy or sell hemp in Iowa until official notice is published in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin (April 8) AND the grower has received a license from IDALS.
On March 27, 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a ruling finding that two plaintiffs who voluntarily dismissed their agricultural nuisance claims a second time were liable to the defendants for costs and expenses.
In a March 22, 2020, Proclamation of Disaster Emergency related to the COVID-19 crisis, the Iowa Governor temporarily suspended foreclosures of residential, commercial, and agricultural real property.
Update: After Iowa issued its notice, the IRS issued a notice extending the filing deadline for federal returns to July 15.
While the number of people employed in the agricultural industry has dropped significantly during the past century, many farms still employ family members, migrant workers, and full-time employees.
On February 19, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals denied a beneficiary’s request to invalidate a September 2018 court order approving a plan to make property distributions and then terminate a family farm trust
A married couple created an irrevocable trust and placed farmland into the trust. The parents named their three children as beneficiaries. The trust originally provided for terminating distributions once the three children reached fifty-five years of age.
On February 5, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that trustees of a drainage district improperly annexed and reclassified land into their district. The ruling affirmed the district court's order vacating the annexation.