CROELL REDI - MIX, INC. , Plaintiff /Counterclaim Defendant - Appell ant /Cross - Appellee , vs. HAROLD BALTES and DORIS BALTES , Defendant s/Counterclaimants - Appell ees /Cross - Appellants . HAROLD BALTES and DORIS BALTES, Third - Party Plaintiffs, vs. JAMES KLUNDER and JOYCE KLUNDER, Third - Party Defendants.
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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 9-019 / 08-0379
Filed March 26, 2009
CROELL REDI-MIX, INC.,
Plaintiff/Counterclaim DefendantAppellant/Cross-Appellee,
vs.
HAROLD BALTES and DORIS BALTES,
Defendants/CounterclaimantsAppellees/Cross-Appellants.
____________________________________
HAROLD BALTES and DORIS BALTES,
Third-Party Plaintiffs,
vs.
JAMES KLUNDER and JOYCE KLUNDER,
Third-Party Defendants.
________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, Kellyann M.
Lekar, Judge.
Croell Redi-Mix appeals and the Balteses cross-appeal following the
district court’s order dismissing Croell’s petition and awarding damages to the
Balteses. REVERSED.
Gregory M. Lederer of Lederer, Weston & Craig, Cedar Rapids, and
Michael M. Kennedy of Kennedy & Kennedy, New Hampton, for appellant.
Dale E. Goeke, Waverly, for appellee.
Heard by Sackett, C.J., and Potterfield and Mansfield, JJ.
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POTTERFIELD, J.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
Harold and Doris Baltes claim ownership of four parcels of land by
adverse possession and/or boundaries by acquiescence. These parcels border
a lot they purchased in 1974. All of the parcels are part of two larger properties
located immediately east of Highway 63 on the outskirts of New Hampton, Iowa.
In 1962, Ted Moldenhauer owned most of the land at issue and operated a truck
stop there. Wilfred Wanderscheid owned and farmed the land to the north and
east of Moldenhauer’s land. Since the early 1980s, Croell Redi-Mix, Inc. (Croell)
operated a plant on the land located directly east of the southern portion of
Moldenhauer’s truck stop.
In 1967, Harold Baltes moved to New Hampton and ran Moldenhauer’s
truck stop. He and Moldenhauer became friends. Over the course of seven
years, Moldenhauer permitted Baltes to place three different mobile homes on
Moldenhauer’s property rent-free.
In 1974, Baltes purchased from Moldenhauer a 75ʹ x 193ʹ parcel of land,
which was located north of the truck stop parking lot. Baltes moved his mobile
home to this property and later moved a house there.
Baltes’s parcel was
landlocked, so Moldenhauer formally conveyed an access easement to Baltes.
Baltes and Moldenhauer discussed a larger easement that would be more useful
to Baltes, but that was never reduced to writing.
According to Baltes,
Moldenhauer informed him that he could continue to use the larger easement
that was not in writing, saying his use “would never be a problem, not as long as
[Moldenhauer] was in control.”
3
A diagram showing the areas of land at issue is attached to this opinion.
For ease of discussion, we will identify the areas of land involved in the dispute
using numbers as shown on the diagram. Area 1 is a parcel located on the
eastern side of the
southern border of Baltes’s property, measuring
approximately .1 acres. Area 2 is roughly .17 acres and borders the entire west
edge of Baltes’s property, extending south of Baltes’s property line. Area 3 is a
.83-acre triangle of land on the northern border of Baltes’s land and area 2.1
Area 4 is a .09-acre parcel of land located between areas 1 and 2 on the south
side of Baltes’s property.
Area 5 is on the eastern border of Baltes’s land,
extending as far north as the northeast corner of Baltes’s land and roughly fiftynine feet south of the southeast corner of Baltes’s land. Areas 1, 2, and 4 were
on property initially owned by Moldenhauer. Areas 3 and 5 were on property
owned by Wilfred Wanderscheid.
Beginning in 1974, Baltes used areas 1, 2, 4, and 5, essentially extending
the lot he owned to the south, east, and west. In 1984, Baltes began to operate
a boat sale and repair business out of a shop built on his property. He used
areas 1, 2, 4, and 5 for a variety of purposes, including placing a sign for his
business, parking boats for his business, and storing abandoned cars and trash
receptacles. Baltes also improved the areas by paying for fill dirt and planting
grass seed, bushes, shrubs, and small trees.
In 1994, Moldenhauer sold his truck stop to James and Joyce Klunder.
The land sold included areas 1, 2, and 4, to the south and west of Baltes’s
parcel, and continued south. Baltes did not ask Moldenhauer to exempt any of
1
Area 3 is not at issue on appeal. Baltes rented Area 3 from Wilfred Wanderscheid.
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these areas out of the sale.2 In 1999, Baltes requested a formal easement from
Klunder for the driveway access he needed. The easement agreement, which
Klunder never signed, describes Baltes’s land as only the 75ʹ x 193ʹ foot parcel
that Baltes had purchased from Moldenhauer in 1974. When Baltes refinanced
his home in 2004, the mortgage documents described only the 75ʹ x 193ʹ parcel
he originally purchased from Moldenhauer.
Similarly, when Baltes filed
bankruptcy schedules, he listed only the original parcel as his property.
In 2003, Croell began to acquire more property to accommodate a new
concrete plant and a precast distribution yard.
Croell purchased from
Wanderscheid a fifteen-acre parcel of land, including area 5, that was located
north of Croell’s plant and east and north of Baltes’s property. Around the same
time, Croell entered into a lease with a buy-out option for the land owned by
Klunder, including areas 1, 2, and 4.
As part of these transactions, Croell
commissioned a survey, which revealed that Baltes had encroached on its
property in areas 1, 2, 4, and 5.
Around August 1, 2004, without notifying Baltes, Croell removed the
landscaping on these areas so that it could use the property in its operations.3
Croell also cleared a fifteen-foot strip of land running through area 5 directly to
the east of Baltes’s property to use as a frontage road. Baltes claims that in
establishing this frontage road, Croell destroyed a berm that protected Baltes’s
property from water runoff, resulting in water damage to Baltes’s property.
2
Harold Baltes’s wife, Doris, moved to the property in 1986. All references to Baltes
after that date refer to both Harold and Doris.
3
Though this work occurred on a weekend when Baltes was out of town, there is no
evidence that Croell intentionally timed the removal of landscaping.
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Baltes protested Croell’s actions through a letter from his attorney
requesting that Croell “refrain from taking any further action which may damage
or interfere with Harold and Doris Baltes’s property rights.” Croell then filed an
action seeking an order requiring Baltes to cease and desist from trespassing on
Croell’s land and to remove his personal property and landscaping from Croell’s
land. Baltes filed a counterclaim asserting that he owned areas 1, 2, 4, and 5 by
adverse possession and/or boundaries by acquiescence.
Baltes sought
damages for loss of landscaping, loss of use and enjoyment of his home, loss of
value of the home, and emotional distress for both Harold and Doris. Baltes also
requested punitive damages, attorney fees, and a declaration that Croell’s use of
its property constituted a nuisance.
Baltes later filed a cross-claim against
Klunder as the title holder to areas 1, 2, and 4.
The district court found that Baltes had proven his claims of adverse
possession and boundaries by acquiescence and ordered Croell to convey title to
areas 1, 2, 4, and 5 to Baltes. The district court also awarded treble damages of
$25,758.72 for destruction of the landscaping; $10,000 for diminution in value of
the Baltes property; $10,000 for Harold Baltes’s emotional distress; $15,000 for
Doris Baltes’s emotional distress; and $30,000 in punitive damages.4 The district
court further ordered Croell to abate the nuisance caused by using the road
immediately to the east of the Baltes property for ingress and egress.5
4
The district court originally awarded attorney fees to Baltes but later vacated this
award.
5
The district court also dismissed Baltes’s petition against Klunder. This is not at issue
on appeal.
6
Croell appeals, arguing that Baltes did not prove adverse possession or
boundaries by acquiescence and therefore is not entitled to title to the property;
punitive damages; or damages for destruction of landscaping, diminution in value
of the property, or emotional distress.
Croell also argues that its operations
should not be considered a nuisance. Baltes cross-appeals, arguing that the
district court’s awards for diminution in value of his property, punitive damages,
and emotional distress are inadequate. Baltes also argues that the district court
erred in declining to award him common law attorney fees and requests an
award of appellate attorney fees.
II. Standard of Review
Because this matter was tried in equity, our review is de novo. Iowa R.
App. P. 6.4.
III. Adverse Possession
“One claiming title by adverse possession must establish hostile, actual,
open, exclusive and continuous possession, under a claim of right or color of title,
for at least ten years, by clear and positive proof.” Carpenter v. Ruperto, 315
N.W.2d 782, 784 (Iowa 1982). A claim of right must be made in good faith.
Mitchell v. Daniels, 509 N.W.2d 497, 500 (Iowa Ct. App. 1993). Good faith is
determined at the time of entry and possession. See Carpenter, 315 N.W.2d at
786. The doctrine of adverse possession is strictly construed. Id. at 784. Croell
argues that Baltes failed to establish that his use of the property at issue was
hostile or under a good faith claim of right. Baltes did not claim color of title to
the land surrounding his parcel.
A. Permissive Use of Areas 1, 2, and 4 Owned by Moldenhauer
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The record establishes that Baltes began using areas 1, 2, and 4 with
Moldenhauer’s permission. Baltes testified that he began using this land after
Moldenhauer “just basically told me to use it like I owned it.” He testified by
deposition that Moldenhauer “basically gave [him] permission to clean it up . . .
use it like I owned it.” When property is used with permission, the use can never
ripen into title by adverse possession. Council Bluffs Sav. Bank v. Simmons, 243
N.W.2d 634, 637 (Iowa 1976). Thus, Baltes’s claim of adverse possession to
areas 1, 2, and 4 owned by Moldenhauer fails.
B. Good Faith Claim of Right to Areas 1, 2, and 4 Owned by Klunder
When Moldenhauer sold his property to Klunder, Baltes’s permissive use
of the property ended.
In order for Baltes to establish a claim of adverse
possession over areas 1, 2, and 4 when they were owned by Klunder, he must
prove all of the elements established above. Baltes cannot show that he had a
good faith claim of right to the property once it was sold to Klunder.
Baltes argues that the Iowa Supreme Court eliminated the good faith
requirement in Collins Trust v. Allamakee County Board of Supervisors, 599
N.W.2d 460 (Iowa 1999), where the court decided, without discussing the good
faith requirement, that the county had met its burden to prove prescriptive
easement. The supreme court in Collins found that the expenditure of public
funds to maintain and improve a road can support a claim of right and notice to
create a prescriptive easement. Collins Trust, 599 N.W.2d at 464 (Iowa 1999).
The Collins facts are unique, involving the installation and maintenance of a
culvert with county funds, a very different situation than the private intrusions on
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land presented in this case. See Brede v. Koop, 706 N.W.2d 824, 829-30 (Iowa
2005).
“One of the main purposes of the claim of right requirement is to bar mere
squatters from the benefits of adverse possession.” Carpenter, 315 N.W.2d at
785 (citation omitted). “To permit a squatter to assert a claim of right would put a
premium on dishonesty.” Id. Because we agree that the doctrine of adverse
possession should not encourage dishonest takings of land, we determine that a
plaintiff must show a good faith claim of right in order to establish adverse
possession, as confirmed in Carpenter. Id. at 786.
Baltes cannot establish a good faith claim when he knew he did not have
title and he had no basis for claiming interest in the property.
Mitchell, 509
N.W.2d at 500. Baltes knew that he had been using areas 1, 2, and 4 only with
Moldenhauer’s permission and that he did not have any right to use those areas
once Klunder bought them.
In addition, after Croell removed Baltes’s
landscaping, Baltes sent a letter to Klunder requesting, “If you have authorized
the destruction of my personal property on land that you now own . . . STOP the
destruction of my personal property until this has been heard by a court of law.”
Thus, Baltes recognized that his personal property was on land owned by
someone else in which he had no basis for claiming an interest.
C. Good Faith Claim of Right to Area 5 Owned by Wanderscheid
We turn to the question of Baltes’s claim of right to area 5. Baltes testified
by deposition that area 5 was directly to the east of his property line and on the
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Wanderscheid property, indicating that he knew he did not have title to the land.
Baltes testified at trial that he was not “clearly aware” that the three trees and the
honeysuckle hedge in area 5 were beyond the boundary of his parcel. However,
Baltes did not present any evidence showing that when he planted the trees and
hedge in area 5, he believed he had any legal right to do so. He did not carry his
burden of proof on this element.
Like the plaintiff in Carpenter, he simply
improved adjacent land to provide a more desirable boundary for the land he
owned. Carpenter, 315 N.W.2d at 784-85.
“To say that one can acquire a claim of right by merely entering
possession would recognize squatter’s rights.
Possession for the statutory
period cannot be bootstrapped into a basis for claiming a right to possession.”
Id. at 786. Because Baltes did not have a good faith belief that he had title to
area 5 or a basis for claiming an interest in the property, his claim of adverse
possession fails.
IV. Boundaries by Acquiescence
Baltes also asserted that he was entitled to the disputed land pursuant to
the boundaries by acquiescence doctrine.
The doctrine of boundaries by
acquiescence states, “If it is found that the boundaries and corners alleged to
have been recognized and acquiesced in for ten years have been so recognized
and acquiesced in, such recognized boundaries and corners shall be
permanently established.” Iowa Code § 650.14 (2003). Thus, two owners may
establish a boundary by mutually acquiescing in a “line definitely marked by a
fence or in some other manner as a true boundary, although a survey may show
otherwise.” Mensch v. Netty, 408 N.W.2d 383, 386 (Iowa 1987). “Acquiescence
10
exists when both parties acknowledge and treat the line as the boundary.” Sille
v. Shaffer, 297 N.W.2d 379, 381 (Iowa 1980). Both parties must have knowledge
of the boundary line to establish acquiescence. Id. To prove knowledge, it is
sufficient to prove that both parties knew of the boundary and treated it as a
boundary for the required period. Id.
The record fails to show that Moldenhauer, Klunder, or Wanderscheid
acquiesced in the re-establishment of legal boundaries.
Rather, Baltes’s
testimony at trial shows that Moldenhauer acquiesced to Baltes’s use of the land
adjacent to his property, not to his acquisition of it. Thus, while Moldenhauer
intended to allow Baltes to use his land, Baltes cannot show that Moldenhauer
acquiesced in changing any legal boundaries. Moldenhauer did not treat any line
established by Baltes as a boundary; rather, he allowed Baltes to use property he
was not currently using. In addition, Baltes testified that the railroad ties, which
he claims establish a definite boundary on the south edge of area 2, were put
into place to prevent trucks from backing into his lawn. Baltes did not place the
railroad ties on the ground as a mutually agreed upon boundary; the railroad ties
served another purpose.
Further, conversations between Klunder and Baltes disprove Baltes’s
claim that Klunder acquiesced in the boundaries Baltes established. Klunder
testified that Baltes complained to him about semi trucks at the truck stop
damaging Baltes’s personal property. Klunder responded by telling Baltes to
move his property off the land owned by Klunder if Baltes did not want the
property to be damaged by the trucks.
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Similarly, Baltes presented no evidence that Wanderscheid acquiesced to
a boundary marked by the three trees and the hedge in area 5 that he had
unilaterally established. Baltes did not show that this was a case where two
owners mutually acquiesced in a boundary line that differed from the legal
boundary. The record shows that this was a case where one owner used land
owned by his neighbor, not boundaries by acquiescence.
V. Easement
Baltes also asserts that even if he did not establish adverse possession or
boundaries by acquiescence, he established a prescriptive easement or an
easement by necessity, entitling him to the use of areas 1, 2, 4, and 5. Croell
contends that Baltes did not raise these issues before the district court. We
agree. The record shows that Baltes never pleaded these claims, and the district
court never addressed a claim of either prescriptive easement or easement by
necessity relating to areas 1, 2, 4, or 5. “Ordinarily, issues must be raised and
decided by the trial court before they may be raised and decided on appeal.”
Peters v. Burlington N. R.R. Co., 492 N.W.2d 399, 401 (Iowa 1992).
We
therefore decline to address this issue on appeal.
VI. Damages
Because we find that Baltes failed to establish his claims of adverse
possession, boundaries by acquiescence, or easement for any of the disputed
land, we find that the district court erred in awarding: (1) damages for the
destruction of landscaping; (2) damages for diminution in value of the Baltes
property; (3) punitive damages; and (4) damages to Harold and Doris for
12
intentional infliction of emotional distress.6 Additionally, we find that the district
court was correct in declining to award common law attorney fees.
VII. Nuisance
Finally, Croell argues that the district court erred in finding that operation
of trucks on its land constitutes a nuisance. Baltes complains that a frontage
road established by Croell just to the east of his property amounts to a nuisance
because traffic shakes his house, causes a dust problem, and creates mud
holes. He asserts that Croell should find an alternate path for traffic.
In a nuisance action, we must make two determinations: (1) whether a
nuisance exists; and (2) whether injunctive relief is appropriate. Valasek v. Baer,
401 N.W.2d 33, 34 (Iowa 1987). A nuisance is defined as “[w]hatever is injurious
to health, indecent, or unreasonably offensive to the senses, or an obstruction to
the free use of property, so as essentially to unreasonably interfere with the
comfortable enjoyment of life or property . . . .”
Iowa Code § 657.1.
“In
determining whether a nuisance has been created we consider priority of
location, the nature of the neighborhood, and of the wrong complained of.” Patz
v. Farmegg Prods., Inc., 196 N.W.2d 557, 561 (Iowa 1972). An injunction is
considered an extraordinary remedy and should be used only when clearly
required. Valasek, 401 N.W.2d at 35.
We find that Croell’s business operation did not constitute a nuisance.
When Baltes moved into the area, Moldenhauer operated a truck stop
6
Baltes asserts that if the court finds that he did not acquire rights to areas 1, 2, and 4
by adverse possession, boundaries by acquiescence, prescriptive easement, or
easement by necessity, Croell should be required to compensate Baltes for his future
lost income and value of his house and shop building. Baltes cited no authority to
support this argument and has therefore waived this issue. Iowa. R. App. P. 6.14(1)(c).
13
immediately to the south of Baltes’s home and Wanderscheid farmed
immediately to the east of the home. For years, trucks entered and exited the
area continuously, often driving close to Baltes’s home. Frequently, the trucks
would leave their engines running all night.
Also, Wanderscheid operated
agricultural machinery on the land immediately to the east of Baltes’s property
line.
When Baltes moved his home onto the property he purchased from
Moldenhauer, he knew the nature of the neighborhood. Baltes operates a boat
repair business on his property, which contributes to the commercial traffic.
Given the amount of heavy traffic that has existed on and around Baltes’s
property for thirty-five years, we cannot find that Croell’s use of a frontage road
near Baltes’s home suddenly creates a nuisance that should be enjoined.
VIII. Appellate Attorney Fees
Baltes argues on cross-appeal that this court should award appellate
attorney fees.
Croell asserts that this court does not have such discretion
outside the dissolution context. We need not consider this argument because we
decline to award attorney fees.
IX. Conclusion
We find that Baltes did not establish his claims of adverse possession or
boundaries by acquiescence over areas 1, 2, 4, or 5. Accordingly, we find that
the district court erred in awarding damages against Croell for destruction of
landscaping; diminution in value of the Baltes property; emotional distress; and
punitive damages. Croell’s use of the land to the east of the Baltes property
does not constitute a nuisance. We do not award appellate attorney fees.
REVERSED.
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