Summary
upholding district court's decision that city failed to prove Jade Engineering abandoned those properties
Summary of this case from Stuart v. City of Dubuque Zoning Bd. of AdjustmentOpinion
No. 17-0056
04-18-2018
CITY OF DUBUQUE, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JADE ENGINEERING, LLC and Dubuque County, Iowa, Defendants-Appellees.
Crenna M. Brumwell, City Attorney, Dubuque, for appellant. Stuart G. Hoover of Blair & Fitzsimmons, P.C., Dubuque, for appellees.
Crenna M. Brumwell, City Attorney, Dubuque, for appellant.
Stuart G. Hoover of Blair & Fitzsimmons, P.C., Dubuque, for appellees.
Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and McDonald, JJ.
MCDONALD, Judge.
The City of Dubuque pursues this appeal from an order denying its petition to obtain title to four pieces of real property claimed to be abandoned within the meaning of Iowa Code section 657A.10A (2016). On appeal, the city challenges the district court’s findings of fact, application of fact to law, and ultimate conclusion the city failed to prove the parcels were abandoned within the meaning of the case. Our review is de novo. See Iowa Code § 657A.10A(1) ; Iowa R. App. P. 6.907 ( ); City of Council Bluffs v. Harder , No. 08-1315, 2009 WL 3775116, at *2 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 12, 2009). We are not bound by the district court's factual findings, but we give them weight, especially when considering the credibility of witnesses. See Iowa R. App. P. 6.904(3)(g). On de novo review, balancing all of the relevant statutory factors, like the district court, we conclude the city failed to prove the property was abandoned within the meaning of the Code. We affirm the judgment of the district court without further opinion. See Iowa Ct. R. 21.26 (a), (d).