Lemke v. Franklin County Board of Supervisors
Dean W. & Peggy G. Lemke Joint Revocable Trust, Dea W. Lemke and Peggy G. Lemke, Trustees, Harlan Lawrence Lemke Revocable Living Trust, Harlan Lawrence Lemke, Co-Trustee and Francine Emily Lemke, Co-Trustee and Harlan Lawrence Lemke, Co-Trustee, Dale and Irene Hackbarth Farms, Inc., and Delores J. Blackford, Trustee of the Delores J. Blackford Revocable Trust, Plaintiffs-Appellants/Cross-Appellees
Franklin County Board of Supervisors, Mike Nolte, Gary McVicker, Chris Vanness as Trustees of Drainage District Number 48, Defendants-Appellees/Cross-Appellants
Attorney for Appellants/Cross-Appellees
Robert W. Goodwin
Attorney for Appellees/Cross-Appellants
George A. Cady III
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Franklin County, Colleen Weiland, Judge. AFFIRMED ON APPEAL; REVERSED AND REMANDED ON CROSS-APPEAL. Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (15 pages)
Landowners appeal and the county board of supervisors acting as trustees for a drainage district cross-appeals the district court’s award of damages to the landowners after a drainage ditch project. The landowners claim the district court erred in failing to award them “the cost to restore their farm lands with reliable functional field crossings” that can handle the increased water flow from the drainage ditch project. On cross-appeal, the board claims the landowners are not entitled to any damages because the drainage district has a permanent easement for the drainage ditch. OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the board, reverse the court’s damage awards, and remand for dismissal of the landowners’ petition.
