DARYL L. CAMPBELL and SHARON CAMPBELL, Plaintiffs-Appellants, vs. HENRY L. DEGRAW and ANNETTE M. DEGRAW, Defendants-Appellees, and RAYMOND RIDOUT and BETTY RIDOUT, Intervenors.
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 8-1054 / 08-0942
Filed January 22, 2009
DARYL L. CAMPBELL and
SHARON CAMPBELL,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
vs.
HENRY L. DEGRAW and
ANNETTE M. DEGRAW,
Defendants-Appellees,
and
RAYMOND RIDOUT and
BETTY RIDOUT,
Intervenors.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Adair County, Gregory A. Hulse,
Judge.
Plaintiffs appeal the district court‟s decision in this action involving a
boundary dispute. AFFIRMED.
Martin L. Fisher, Adair, for appellants.
Arnold O. Kenyon, II, Creston, for appellees.
Jeffrey N. Bump of Bump & Bump, Panora, for intervenors.
Considered by Sackett, C.J., and Eisenhauer and Doyle, JJ.
2
DOYLE, J.
Following a bench trial, Daryl and Sharon Campbell appeal from the
district court‟s ruling that concluded they did not prove a boundary by
acquiescence because they failed to establish by clear evidence the existence of
a definite and certain line capable of ascertainment. The district court must be
affirmed if substantial evidence supports its finding.
Olinger v. Bennett, 562
N.W.2d 167, 170 (Iowa 1997).
A boundary line may be established by showing adjoining landowners or
their predecessors in title have acquiesced in a boundary line for more than ten
years. Iowa Code § 650.6 (2007). Furthermore, “„[t]he line acquiesced in must
be known, definite, and certain, or known and capable of ascertainment. The line
must have certain physical properties such as visibility, permanence, stability,
and definite location.‟” Heer v. Thola, 613 N.W.2d 658, 662 (Iowa 2000) (quoting
12 Am. Jur. 2d Boundaries § 86, at 487 (1997) (footnotes omitted)). As plaintiffs,
it was the Campbells‟ burden to prove they and the DeGraws own adjacent
properties, and that for a period in excess of ten years, the Campbells and the
DeGraws and/or their predecessors in title mutually recognized, acknowledged,
and treated as the boundary between the properties, a line, definitively marked
by a fence or in some other manner. Ollinger, 562 N.W.2d at 170. A party
seeking to establish a boundary line other than a survey line must prove it by
clear evidence. Tewes v. Pine Lane Farms, Inc., 522 N.W.2d 801, 806 (Iowa
1994).
After considering conflicting evidence, the district court concluded: “[The
Campbells] failed to establish clear evidence of a definite and certain line
3
capable of ascertainment. Since [the Campbells] cannot show a definite line
existed, they have failed to carry their burden of proof.” Upon careful review of
the record, we conclude substantial evidence supports the district court‟s findings
and conclusions. Therefore, we affirm, and decline the Campbells‟ request for
attorney fees.
AFFIRMED.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
