Pugh Hagan Prahm attorney Siobhan Briley recently prevailed at trial in a Washington County case concerning the Bunker Mill Bridge, a historic iron truss bridge located in Washington County, Iowa. The bridge crosses the English River between Kalona and Richmond, via Nutmeg Avenue. Residents of Washington County consider the bridge a local historic treasure, and one of the defendants in the case is a descendant of David Bunker, after whom the bridge was named.

The case arose after the collaboration of Friends of Bunker Mill Bridge (FBMB) with an Iowa nonprofit corporation, North Skunk River Greenbelt Association, Inc. (NSRGA), for repair and restoration of the bridge deteriorated. FBMB contracted with NSRGA in 2013, after the bridge burned due to arson and the Washington County Board of Supervisors voted to demolish the bridge. The individual defendants, along with many other Kalona area residents, formed FBMB as an unincorporated nonprofit association to save the bridge from demolition, and raised nearly $150,000 for its repair and restoration ($80,000 of which was granted by the Washington County Board of Supervisors). FBMB also convinced the Washington County Board of Supervisors to sell it the bridge for $1.00. NSRGA’s executive director demanded that NSRGA also be named in the purchase agreement for the bridge—possibly to set the stage for the lawsuit.

In 2016, when construction on the bridge was substantially complete, NSRGA’s executive director took the position that NSRGA was the sole owner of the bridge because FBMB had not yet incorporated when the purchase agreement for the bridge was executed. (Siobhan helped FBMB incorporate in 2017.) On this basis, NSRGA filed suit to quiet title to the bridge in NSRGA. NSRGA also sought approximately $35,000 from FBMB as contribution for purported construction on the bridge that NSRGA had paid for with funds not raised by FBMB.

After a four-day trial in equity, the Washington County District Court quieted title to the bridge in FBMB and denied NSRGA’s request for contribution. The court also ruled in FBMB’s favor on several minor issues, denying NSRGA all other requested recovery.

On February 23, 2018 the attorneys of Pugh Hagan Prahm PLC shared their expertise with local contractors, realtors and developers at the Iowa City Area Association of Realtors Contract Law Seminar. The presentations covered the topics of: Elements of a Contract, Sales Agreements, Construction Contracts, Remodeling Contracts, Warranties, Subcontractor Agreements, Construction Law and Dispute Avoidance and Resolution.

Property and Zoning Litigation Takes Center Stage at Pugh Hagan Prahm

Pugh Hagan Prahm is well-known for its real estate and development practice. In 2017, zoning and property disputes have become a significant part of Pugh Hagan Prahm’s litigation practice.

Since May, the attorneys at Pugh Hagan Prahm have filed three Petitions for Writs of Certiorari challenging the actions of an “inferior tribunal.” See Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.1401. Two of these actions challenge zoning decisions in Johnson County. Writs have been issued in each. The third action challenges a road vacation in Washington County. There, Pugh Hagan Prahm successfully resisted defendant’s motion to dismiss and is awaiting issuance of the writ.

Pugh Hagan Prahm is also litigating several property disputes on behalf of individuals and corporations. In one action, the firm is defending claims of boundary by acquiescence (or “boundary by fence line”) and adverse possession well as claim to quiet title, in which the firm’s expert uncovered a “smoking gun” document concerning inconsistent legal descriptions in the deeds at issue. In another, the firm has asserted a claim of adverse possession based on the client’s possession and improvement of the disputed parcel over thirty years. Pugh Hagan Prahm is also defending an action in which one non-profit corporation has asserted claims of trespass and quiet title against another non-profit pursuant to its “fiscal sponsorship” of the repair of an historic bridge.

If you have questions regarding real estate development, land use, zoning or litigation please reach out to any one of the attorneys at Pugh Hagan Prahm.

Pugh Hagan Prahm PLC is pleased to announce plans for its new office (Opening Spring 2017) on E Oakdale Blvd (between 1st Avenue and Dubuque Street) in Coralville. The office is centrally located and easily accessible to allow our attorneys to better serve their clients’ needs throughout Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty and the surrounding area.