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.
Search Iowa Resources
On July 18, 2018, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court judgment declaring a testator’s will invalid on the grounds of lack of testamentary capacity and undue influence and finding her son liable for intentional tortious interference with a bequest.
Many laws passed during the 2018 Iowa Legislative Session impact agricultural producers and landowners. A number of these laws went into effect July 1, 2018. Following is a summary of the highlights.
Iowa’s agricultural nuisance law has perhaps become a little clearer, albeit no simpler to apply. On Friday, June 22, 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a key ruling analyzing the constitutionality of Iowa’s embattled right-to-farm statute, Iowa Code § 657.11(2). Honomichl v.
Today, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled that two shareholders of a family farming corporation did not prove their claim of minority shareholder oppression. In making its ruling, the court relied upon the Iowa Supreme Court’s holding in Baur v.
Note: The Iowa Department of Revenue has launched a new webpage, where it will be publishing its latest guidance and information on the new Iowa law.
Stray voltage causing damages to dairy farms is a problem that has been facing the dairy industry for year with damages cases dating back to 1984. Stray voltage is caused when a power line’s neutral line is “leaking” electrical currents into the ground. A common cause of stray voltage is a neutral wire that is either too small or damaged and allows the current to go into the ground.
An entirely renovated Iowa partition law will go into effect on July 1, 2018. On April 11, 2018, Governor Reynolds signed SF 2175 into law.
Last fall, we wrote about the health care crisis facing many Iowa farmers and other small business owners. Many of those with incomes above 400 percent of the federal poverty limit faced 2018 health care insurance premiums surpassing $30,000 per year on the individual market.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has significantly changed the tax landscape for agricultural producers. We’ve detailed a number of the changes, many of them positive, in prior articles. In light of the federal changes, Iowa must now decide how to respond.
The Iowa Court of Appeals recently found that Fayette County improperly granted permits to a wind energy group to build three wind turbines on agricultural land. This opinion leaves in effect a district court order that directed the group to remove the turbines.
A case that has again found it's way to the Iowa Court of Appeals could give the Iowa Supreme Court another opportunity to refine the doctrine of promissory estoppel.
On February 12, 2018, the Iowa Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that will shape Iowa nuisance law, as it applies to animal feeding operations.
Update: Governor Reynolds signed SF 512 into law on January 31, 2018.
Iowa law has been clear, and it is perhaps even more clear today. Unlike most other states, Iowa is “unequivocal in favoring partition by sale." Newhall v. Roll, 888 N.W.2d 636, 640 (Iowa 2016).
We told you last April about changes that would come to the Iowa Beginning Farmer Tax Credit program in 2018, absent legislation. Because those legislative changes did not occur, cuts to the program are now being felt by beginning farmers and landlords around Iowa.