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Case No. 20-0122

Christina Myers
v.
Michael J. Myers and Krisanne L. Myers

Appellee

Christina Myers

Appellant

Michael J. Myers and Krisanne L. Myers

Attorney for the Appellee

James R. Hinchliff

Attorney for the Appellant

Amanda L. Green

Court of Appeals

Court of Appeals Opinion

Opinion Number:
20-0122
Date Published:
Nov 04, 2020
Summary

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Elisabeth Reynoldson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (17 pages)

            A son and his wife appeal the district court order allowing his mother to recover her down payments on their home, contending the payments were gifts with no expectation of repayment.  They argue gift letters are enforceable contracts that show the mother intended to give them the payments as unconditional gifts.  They also argue the parol evidence rule precludes consideration of extrinsic proof of a prior oral agreement to impose a condition on the gifts.  OPINION HOLDS: Because there is no evidence of consideration to support the gift letters, we find the elements of a contract have not been met, and thus the gift letters are not enforceable.  We also find the parol evidence rule does not apply to gift letters, so extrinsic evidence may be considered to determine whether the gifts came with conditions.  Upon our de novo review, we affirm. 

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