Renae E. Hindman
v.
Brian E. Hindman and Cody E. Hindman
Appellant
Renae E. Hindman
Appellee
Brian E. Hindman and Cody E. Hindman
Attorneys for the Appellant
Paul Zingg
Alec J. Maas
Attorneys for the Appellee
Matthew B. Moore
Randall C. Stravers
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Monroe County, Gregory Milani, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Badding, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (16 pages)
Renae Hindman appeals the dismissal of a petition to void the transfer of a farm to her son, Cody Hindman, under Iowa Code chapter 684 (2019) and award her damages for fraudulent misrepresentation and undue influence by Cody and Renae’s ex-husband, Brian Hindman. OPINION HOLDS: On our review of the record, we find the district court did not err in dismissing the voidable-transfer claim. While there are some factors in section 684.4(2) that may have supported Renae’s suspicion about the transfer of the farm in conjunction with the divorce proceeding later initiated by Brian, we find that Brian and Cody provided a satisfactory explanation for the circumstances accompanying the transfer: a desire for Brian to get out of farming while continuing the family’s multi-generational farming tradition. As for the fraudulent misrepresentation and undue influence claims, we agree with the district court that there was no confidential relationship between Brian and Renae. Because Renae’s arguments on appeal were limited to that issue, we affirm the court’s dismissal of those claims.
