Carpenter v. Ruperto

315 N.W.2d 782 (1982)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Carpenter (P) and her husband moved in 1951 to a home they purchased in Des Moines. P's husband died, but P lived on the premises continuously. A larger undeveloped lot bounded P's property to the north. Ruperto (D) and their predecessors have held record title to this lot at all material times. While living on the land P and her husband cleared several feet of the property to the north, graded it and planted grass seed on it. P has used the land since that time as an extension of her yard. P installed a propane tank, constructed a dirt bank on the city right of way to divert water and put a driveway infringing five feet onto the land. D's lot was planted in corn until 1957. From 1960-1978, the Rosenfeld's owned the lot, and the only use of the land that was made was to store junk and debris on it. Except for the strip used by P, the lot was overgrown by brush and weeds. McCormick purchased the lot in 1978 and was aware of a possible boundary dispute because of the location of the propane tank and the driveway. D was unsuccessful in efforts to settle the dispute over the land and P took a quiet title action. The court held that P had not established her possession under a claim of right in that a claim of right must be made in good faith and P knew that someone else held title to the land. The court ordered D to do equity by deeding the land to her that the driveway was on and to pay the costs of moving the propane tank. Everyone appealed.