## Facts

- John and Margaret Egli owned land adjoining property later acquired by Todd and Diana Troy and by Joseph and Diane Ranson in Dubuque County, Iowa.
- Two triangular parcels along an old fence line were disputed; the fence formed the hypotenuse of each parcel, and construction of a house began in one disputed area.
- The Eglis asserted that the fence line had long been treated by adjoining owners and predecessors as the boundary.
- The Troys and Ransons relied on their deeds’ legal descriptions and contended the fence lay entirely within land conveyed to them.
- The Eglis sued under Iowa Code chapter 650 to establish the boundary by acquiescence.
- The Troys and Ransons filed a third-party claim against their seller, Rosemary Greve, alleging breach of a special warranty deed warranting against claims “by, through or under” the grantor.
- The district court (1) ruled after trial that the fence was the boundary by acquiescence and (2) granted summary judgment for Greve on the third-party warranty claim.
- The Troys and Ransons appealed both rulings.

## Issues

1. Whether the record supported a finding that adjoining owners mutually recognized and acquiesced in the fence line as the boundary for at least ten consecutive years under Iowa law.
2. Whether a special warranty deed warranting against claims “by, through or under” the grantor can cover a boundary defect arising from an encumbrance the grantor permitted (including by prior acquiescence), such that summary judgment for the grantor was improper.

## Decision

- The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the judgment establishing the fence line as the boundary by acquiescence.
- The court held the evidence, considered as a whole, showed more than ten years of mutual recognition and acquiescence, which may be inferred from silence or inaction when a party knows of the line claimed by the other.
- The court reversed the summary judgment for Greve on the special-warranty claim and remanded for further proceedings.
- The court concluded the special warranty was not limited to defects affirmatively created by the grantor and could extend to claims arising from encumbrances the grantor permitted during ownership.

## Legal Principles

- A boundary may be established by acquiescence when adjoining owners mutually recognize a line as the boundary for at least ten consecutive years.
- Mutual acquiescence may be inferred from conduct, including silence or inaction over the statutory period in the face of a known, claimed boundary line.
- In reviewing a chapter 650 boundary-by-acquiescence action, the appellate court applies a clear-evidence standard.
- A special warranty against claims “by, through or under” the grantor may include defects and encumbrances arising during the grantor’s ownership that the grantor permitted, not only those the grantor affirmatively created.
- Where the scope and application of a special warranty could encompass the asserted title defect, summary judgment is improper if material facts remain regarding breach and resulting liability.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the fence line as the legal boundary based on long-term mutual acquiescence, but ruled that the seller’s special warranty could potentially cover a boundary defect arising from conditions permitted during the seller’s ownership, requiring reversal of summary judgment and a remand on the warranty claim.


Egli v. Troy, 602 N.W.2d 329 (Iowa 1999)