Iowa Federal District Court Denies Summary Judgment to Meat Processor in Producers’ Breach of Contract Action

A federal district court in the Northern District of Iowa recently allowed two breach of contract claims to survive summary judgment in an action brought by two Iowa hog producers against a Minnesota meat processing company.

Iowa Court of Appeals Finds That, Due to Buyers' Breach, Homebuilder Excused from Substantial Performance before Foreclosing Mechanic’s Lien

In a third appellate decision for the same case, the Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled that a homebuilder was excused from substantial performance and was entitled to foreclose its mechanic’s lien against a partially-completed home.  

Windfall for Residuary Beneficiary After Iowa Court of Appeals Finds Will Partially Valid

Although Cooperative Claimed No Knowledge of LLC When Issuing Loan, LLC Member Was Not Personally Liable for Debt

The Iowa Court of Appeals has found that a member of an LLC was not personally liable for the debt of the LLC, even though the lender contended that it had extended credit to a partnership and not to the LLC.

Iowa Property Owners Granted Title to Adjacent Tract through Adverse Possession

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently affirmed a district court ruling granting property owners title to an adjacent strip of land through adverse possession.

Contract for Sale of Land Set Aside Due to “Failure of Consideration”

The defendants were the plaintiff’s son and daughter-in-law.  In 1999, the defendants acquired a six-acre tract adjacent to the plaintiff’s farm that she owned with her husband. The tract was land-locked and zoned for agricultural use only. 

Negligence Action Improperly Dismissed on Res Judicata Grounds Because District Court Cannot Take Judicial Notice of Prior Litigation without Agreement of Parties

The doctrine of res judicata prevents parties from re-litigating issues and claims that a court has already decided.  In addition, the evidentiary doctrine of judicial notice allows judges to accept as true certain facts without the need for the parties to present evidence supporting those facts.

Iowa’s Recreational Use Immunity - Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Iowa Court of Appeals Grants Landowner Only a Prescriptive Easement for a Fence Line, No New Boundary by Acquiescence

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently decided that a landowner was entitled to a prescriptive easement for a fence erected on land owned by the adjacent landowner. The court ruled, however, that his prescriptive easement did not cover anything more than the fence line and that he had not established a new boundary by acquiescence. 

Iowa Supreme Court Reaffirms Extensive Reach of Medicaid Recovery in Granting Department’s Claim against Irrevocable Trusts

The Iowa Supreme Court has reaffirmed the extensive reach of the Iowa Medicaid recovery program, stressing the Medicaid program’s “broad purpose” of “providing for care for those in need” and “allowing for recovery by the state” to free “more funds for the provision of future services.”

Top 10 Agricultural Law and Taxation Developments of 2013

We begin 2014 with our annual look at the most significant agricultural law developments of the previous year. Legal issues continue to be at the forefront of developments that are shaping the present and future of American agriculture, and it is very likely that the involvement of the legal system in agriculture will continue to grow. The following is my list of what I view as the top ten agricultural law developments of 2013 based on their impact (or potential impact) on U.S. agricultural producers and the sector as a whole.

Changes to the 1040 Schedule D Will Make the 2014 Filing Season a Bit Easier for Tax Filers

In 2011 the IRS introduced Form 8949, and Schedule D became a summary document for the overall gain or loss of transactions reported on Form 8949. 

Iowa Supreme Court Extends Intended Beneficiary Duty Rule to Financial Advisors

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that a financial advisor can owe a legal duty of care to a specifically identifiable beneficiary of a client’s estate plan if that financial advisor’s negligence causes the beneficiary to lose an intended inheritance.

Iowa Supreme Court Clarifies Standard of Proof for Undue Influence Cases

While admitting some “judicial discomfort” with undue influence claims in general, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed that a plaintiff need only prove an undue influence claim by a “preponderance of the evidence,” rather than by a “clear and convincing” standard. 

Iowa Supreme Court Rules That Although Mandatory Mediation Requirements Are Jurisdictional, They Do Not Apply to Foreclosures Initiated by Farm Creditors Through Compulsory Counterclaims

In Schaefer v. Putnam, et al., No. 12-0064, 2013 Iowa Sup. LEXIS 128 (Iowa Sup. Ct. Dec. 13, 2013), the Iowa Supreme Court interpreted the mandatory mediation requirements of Iowa Code § 654A.6(1) and held that compliance by farm creditors with the law is a jurisdictional prerequisite for filing a foreclosure action against “agricultural property.”  

In Case Involving Hunting Rights of Nonresident Landowners, Iowa Supreme Court Says That Landownership Does Not Give Owners Right To Hunt Property

In a recent decision, the Iowa Supreme Court unequivocally held that “landownership in Iowa is not accompanied by the right to hunt on one's own land.” The Court reasoned that the legislature had extinguished any such right that may have existed at common law.

Noncompliance with DNR Consent Order Leads to Costly Civil Penalty

Throughout a five-year period, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued a salvage yard operator five notices of violations of Iowa Code chapter 455B relating to water quality, solid waste, and hazardous conditions.

New Iowa Beginning Farmer Tax Credit

Right to Growing Crop Upon Death At Issue

Purported Oral Agreement For Option To Buy Farm At Deep Discount Leads to Family Dispute