The Iowa Supreme Court on Wednesday issued its opinion in the case of Alex Butler and Sydney Stodola v. Midwest Property Management IC, LLC, KMB Property Management and Ruby Investments, LLC. Oral arguments in the case were held Nov. 4 at Greene County High School.
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Honorable Chad Kepros in Johnson County.
A pair of tenants had sued their landlords in small claims court for common law trespass after the landlord showed the rental unit repeatedly to prospective tenants. The tenants did not agree with the decision of small claims court that they should be awarded the cost of three days rent as damages and did not award the tenants attorney’s fees. The case moved on to district court, where the tenants were awarded an additional half-day in rent as damages because two trespasses occurred on the same day.
The supreme court concurred, noting that because the tenants left the premises each time it was shown, their actions implied consent. The Supreme Court ruling also noted that Iowa Code section 562A.12(8) does not authorize attorney fees in the case because that section of Code is limited to rental deposit disputes.
Click here to read the Supreme Court’s decision, written by Chief Justice Susan Christensen.
“Thank you to everyone who assisted with the oral arguments at the high school, provided security, or welcomed the justices to Jefferson and Greene County High School, or hosted a high school visit. It was a very successful day,” said Steve Davis, director of the Iowa Judicial Branch’s Court on the Road program.
