Esmann Island Owners Assoc. v. Helle, et. al., 99-1413
| Decision Date | 30 August 2000 |
| Docket Number | 99-1413 |
| Parties | NOTICE! No decision has been made on publication of this opinion. The opinion is subject to modification or correction by the court and is not final until the time for rehearing or further review has passed. An unpublished opinion of the court of appeals MAY NOT BE CITED by a court or by a party in any other action. The official published opinions of the Iowa Court of Appeals are those published in the North Western Reporter published by West Group. ESMANN ISLAND OWNERS ASSOCIATION, Plaintiff-Appellee, vs. ANTHONY E. HELLE, DORIS E. HELLE, and JOHN D. HELLE, Defendants-Appellants, and GLENN E. PRIMMER, JUNE PRIMMER, and THE GLENN E. PRIMMER AND JUNE PRIMMER REVOCABLE TRUST, Defendants./ 99-1413 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA Filed |
| Court | Iowa Court of Appeals |
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clayton County, Margaret L. Lingreen, Judge.
Defendants Anthony, Doris, and John Helle appeal from the district court's order reforming their deed. AFFIRMED.
Matthew G. McQuillen and Marty A. Hagge of Remley, Willems, McQuillen & Voss, Anamosa, for appellants.
Michael J. Schuster of Schuster & Mick, Guttenberg, for appellee.
Considered by Huitink, P.J., and Mahan and Zimmer, JJ.
Defendants Anthony, Doris, and John Helle appeal from the district court's order reforming their deed. They claim the court erred in failing to find the plaintiff was estopped or had waived its right to reformation. In the alternative, they argue, if the deed was properly reformed, the court erred in calculating the compensation to which they were entitled for improvements they made to the property. We affirm.
Esmann Island is a ninety-acre island located in the Mississippi River at Guttenberg in Clayton County, Iowa. Art Esmann and his family originally owned the island and rented parcels of the land to other families for "cottage" spaces.
Sometime in 1987-1988, Esmann sold the island to Kenneth Fry. Fry significantly increased the rent and in 1990, the tenants on the island formed the Esmann Island Tenants Association. The Association sought to purchase the island from Fry. After purchasing the island from Fry and taking possession in March 1991, the Association changed its name to the Esmann Island Owners Association. The Association adopted bylaws and a declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions. It was the Association's intent each tenant could purchase from the Association the same land the tenant had been leasing from Esmann.
The tenants placed flags where they thought the boundaries were located for the plots they were leasing. The Association hired Roger Mohn to survey and plat the land. The "Esmann Island Subdivision Plat According to June 1, 1993, Plat of Survey of Esmann Island of Roger Mohn" was approved and filed with the Clayton County Auditor on January 10, 1994.
Glenn and June Primmer leased a parcel of land from Esmann that was described as 140 feet by 75 feet and located north of the lot occupied by Robert Scherr. The lease agreement provided no permanent structure would be placed between their property and the river. Other tenants used the land between the Primmer's plot and the Mississippi River to access the river. The land leased by the Primmers appears in the subdivision plat as Lot 131. However, as platted, Lot 131 extended to the Mississippi River and included the strip that had been available to the other tenants for access to the river.
The Primmers purchased Lot 131 from the Esmann Island Owners Association on or about January 21, 1994. The purchase price of $13,000 was consistent with the price set by the Association for property without river frontage. The Primmers subsequently conveyed Lot 131 to the Glenn E. Primmer and June Primmer Revocable Trust (Primmer Revocable Trust).
After seeing Lot 131 with a realtor, Anthony and Doris Helle, along with their adult son, John, entered into a real estate contract with the Primmer Revocable Trust to purchase the lot. The land was not represented to the Helles as extending to the Mississippi River. The Helles understood the perimeters of the lot, and were aware others used the riverfront area to gain access to the river.
After confirming the Primmer Revocable Trust had clear title to Lot 131, the Helles purchased the property for $90,000, an amount consistent with non riverfront property. The Association's attorney, Michael Schuster, prepared the real estate contract, which was signed on April 3, 1997. The warranty deed given by the Primmer Revocable Trust in satisfaction of the contract transferring Lot 131 to the Helles was filed on April 9, 1997. The Helles were aware, at the time of purchase, restrictive covenants applied to the property.
The declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions identifies the common areas, and declares the Association the owner of the common areas. The common areas do not include the easterly portion of Lot 131 (hereinafter "disputed property"). The Association is responsible for the maintenance, repair, reconstruction, and replacement of the common areas. The disputed property was in poor condition. It was covered with a heavy growth of weeds, poison ivy, and brush, along with dead trees and discarded personal items. A large hole was located in the middle of the lot.
On September 20, 1997, Anthony attended an Association meeting to discuss the condition of the disputed property. He offered to purchase the property, but was told by at least one person at the meeting it was not for sale. If he could not purchase the property, Anthony wanted the Association to clean it up or have its permission to do the cleanup work himself. The Association agreed Anthony could clean up the disputed property, but cautioned he should not do anything that would affect the Iowa Department of Natural Resources or the Corps of Engineers.
During the meeting, Wayne Jensen, the Association's president, indicated it appeared the disputed property might belong to the Helles. After the September 20, 1997 meeting, the Helles attempted to determine whether they in fact owned the disputed property. They learned Lot 131, as platted, was not designated as a common area in the Association's declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions for Esmann Island.
The Helles began the cleanup work on the disputed property in October 1997. The work included removal of brush, weeds, broken limbs, and garbage. They also brought in fill dirt and used a uniloader/skidloader to spread it around. Throughout the spring of 1998, the Helles continued their cleanup efforts on the disputed property. In March 1998, the Helles filed an application with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the United States Army Corps of Engineers to construct a boat ramp and boat dock at the edge of Lot 131 in the Mississippi River. Adjoining landowners and the Association received notice of their application. The Association took no action, and permission to build the dock and boat ramp was granted. In April 1998, the Helles had a notice published in the Guttenberg Press that stated:
To all parties concerned: We have purchased Lot 131 Riverview Road, Esmann Island, which goes to the river. Any personal items along the river will be disposed of if not claimes [sic] by June 15, 1998.
Anthony Helle.
The published notice put the residents of Esmann Island on alert the Helles claimed ownership of Lot 131 in its entirety, including the disputed property. At the regular meeting of the Association's board of directors on May 16, 1998, numerous residents appeared to complain that the Helles were restricting the use of the disputed property. The board scheduled a special meeting to discuss the issue.
At the special meeting on May 23, 1998, Jensen informed those present, including the Helles, the disputed property was included in the sale of Lot 131. The board decided to set up a conference with Roger Mohn, the surveyor; Michael Schuster, the association's attorney; and the Helles, in an attempt to correct this mistake. The conference between the parties never took place.
Hostility was expressed toward the Helles in June 1998, at the Association's annual meeting. Subsequent to the meeting, the Helles' attorney wrote the Association's attorney, Michael Schuster, expressing the opinion the Helles owned Lot 131, including the disputed property. In his letter dated June 24, 1998, the Helles' attorney asked Schuster to contact him if there was any controversy concerning the ownership or control of the disputed property.
The Helles continued to take care of the grass on the disputed property. In July 1998, they installed a boat ramp. In a letter dated August 25, 1998, attorney Schuster responded to the Helles' attorney's June 24, 1998 letter, notifying the Helles the Association was claiming ownership of the disputed property. He informed them any use of the disputed property would be at their own risk, and advised them to stop making improvements on the disputed property. Schuster also informed the Helles the deeds of conveyance were in error and the Association had authorized legal action to reform the erroneous deeds.
During this period of time, Wayne Jensen, president of the Association, was aware of some of the work being performed by the Helles on the disputed property. The Helles discussed the situation with Jensen as it developed. However, Anthony Helle acknowledged he knew Jensen did not speak for the board of directors in the private conversations he had with Jensen. Jensen, as president of the board of directors, could not act for nor bind the board.
The Association sought a reformation of the deeds that conveyed Lot 131 to the Primmers, the Primmer Trust, and the Helles. A bench trial was held on July 22 and 23, 1999. The Helles asserted the affirmative defenses of estoppel, waiver, statute of limitations, and the doctrine of unclean hands. In the event the court grated reformation of the deeds, the Helles asked for compensation for the...
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