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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On January 21, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion interpreting an alleged oral agreement between two cattle producers. The court affirmed that because the plaintiff did not present evidence that both parties agreed to the terms of a repurchase option contract, no contract existed. Additionally, the court affirmed that the plaintiff contracted with the defendant’s LLC rather than the defendant as an individual. Therefore, the defendant was not personally liable for damages.
On January 21, 2021, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a trial decision ruling that an insurance company did not have a duty to defend its policy holder against claims for fire damage. Specifically, the court affirmed that the insured did not prove that the fire occurred on land covered under the insurance policy and that the insured did not preserve the issue of whether the location where the fire occurred qualified for coverage under a “vacant land” provision in the policy.
On January 21, 2021, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued a ruling considering whether a county zoning Board of Adjustment properly granted an application for a wind turbine project. Despite the Board misinterpreting which ordinances were applicable, the court affirmed that the Board did rely on the relevant ordinances and factors when granting the utility company’s request. Additionally, the court affirmed that the Board gave proper notice.
On December 16, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion on the timeliness of a redemption of agricultural real estate sold at a sheriff’s sale. Because the assignee did not pay the full amount due within the redemption period, the redemption attempt was untimely.
On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion determining whether an assessor properly appraised a feed manufacturing facility’s machinery for property tax purposes. The court analyzed whether a feed mill and steel grain storage bins met the definition of machinery under Iowa Code chapters 427A and 427B. Machinery must be used directly in manufacturing and a necessary part of the manufacturing process, used solely for effectuating that purpose, to qualify as tax exempt machinery.
On November 30, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion regarding a trustee’s actions before she was replaced by judicial order. The court affirmed that the trustee’s inheritance should be reduced for tax penalties and interest incurred because she engaged in self-dealing. The court also affirmed a $20,000 trustee fee award and the denial of sanctions.
On November 30, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion regarding a district court’s order modifying farm leases. The court reversed the lower court’s order because the leases were not subject to judicial revision, nor was there evidence that court reformation was necessary.
On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a district court order granting a permanent injunction preventing the defendant from interfering with the plaintiffs' use of an easement and private roadway. The court found that the defendant had improperly obstructed the easement with gates, fencing, and speed bumps, and that Iowa's partition fence law was inapplicable to the case.
On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals determined that beneficiaries of a trust had not shown that a trust advisor should be removed from her role. The court found that any potential conflict of interest was waived when the settlor created the trust and that the advisor had not committed fraud, dishonesty, or abuse of discretion so as to require removal.
On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a district court’s judgment in a property dispute between a dairy farmer and his new neighbors. The court ruled that the dairy farmer failed to show that both landowners accepted a fence as the boundary line. The court also affirmed that a 1955 easement did not grant the neighbors the right to cross the dairy farmer’s land.
On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued a ruling in a seven-sibling dispute over the inheritance of 240 acres of farmland. The court affirmed a jury verdict setting aside a mother’s will due to lack of mental capacity and undue influence, but reversed the portion of the verdict finding intentional interference with an inheritance. The court remanded for a new trial.
On November 4, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion regarding the distribution of farm property in a will. The will created a sale restriction on the farmland and listed several requests regarding future treatment of the testator’s farm tenant. The court affirmed that the sale restriction created an unenforceable restraint on alienability. Additionally, the court ruled that the decedent’s requests for the beneficiary to lease the farmland to the current tenant and provide favorable terms to that tenant were optional, not mandatory.
As October comes to an end, it may be helpful to review the Iowa Department of Revenue’s tax filing deadlines during this crazy year. A recent news release from IDOR details this information.
It has certainly been a year of challenges. COVID-19 triggered widespread economic harm, a once-in-a-lifetime derecho flattened fields and pummeled grain bins, and drought compounded the damage. Because of these disasters, most farmers received some unexpected payments in 2020.
On October 7, 2020, the Iowa Court of Appeals issued an opinion on whether a document signed by the trust grantor the day before he passed away was an amendment to his estate plan or merely instructions to his attorneys to redraft the plan. Because the document was “vague, obscure, and ambiguous,” the court affirmed that it was not an amendment to the trust.