Bill Text: IA HSB31 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to attorney fees and court costs in an action to quiet title after a request for a quitclaim deed.
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (N/A - Dead) 2017-02-14 - Committee report, recommending amendment and passage. H.J. 307. [HSB31 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-HSB31-Introduced.html
House
Study
Bill
31
-
Introduced
HOUSE
FILE
_____
BY
(PROPOSED
COMMITTEE
ON
JUDICIARY
BILL
BY
CHAIRPERSON
BALTIMORE)
A
BILL
FOR
An
Act
relating
to
attorney
fees
and
court
costs
in
an
action
1
to
quiet
title
after
a
request
for
a
quitclaim
deed.
2
BE
IT
ENACTED
BY
THE
GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
OF
THE
STATE
OF
IOWA:
3
TLSB
1770YC
(3)
87
jh/sc
H.F.
_____
Section
1.
Section
649.5,
Code
2017,
is
amended
to
read
as
1
follows:
2
649.5
Demand
for
quitclaim
——
attorney
fees.
3
1.
If
a
party,
twenty
days
or
more
before
Before
bringing
4
suit
to
quiet
a
title
to
real
estate,
requests
of
a
party
5
may
make
a
written
request
to
the
person
holding
an
apparent
6
adverse
interest
or
right
therein
the
execution
of
a
in
the
7
property
asking
that
such
person,
and
that
person’s
spouse
8
if
any,
execute,
have
acknowledged,
and
deliver
a
quitclaim
9
deed
thereto,
and
also
tenders
to
the
person
one
dollar
and
10
twenty-five
cents
to
the
property
to
such
requesting
party.
11
2.
The
written
request
described
in
subsection
1
shall
12
include
a
draft
quitclaim
deed
to
the
property,
a
copy
of
this
13
section,
a
self-addressed
stamped
envelope,
and
fifty
dollars
14
to
cover
the
expense
of
the
execution
,
acknowledgment,
and
15
delivery
of
the
deed
,
and
if
.
16
3.
If
the
person
refuses
or
neglects
holding
an
apparent
17
adverse
interest
or
right
in
the
property
fails
to
comply
18
within
twenty
days
of
receiving
the
written
request
,
the
filing
19
of
a
disclaimer
of
interest
or
right
shall
not
avoid
the
costs
20
in
an
action
afterwards
brought,
and
the
court
may
,
in
its
21
discretion,
if
the
plaintiff
succeeds,
assess,
in
addition
22
to
the
ordinary
costs
of
court,
an
a
reasonable
attorney
23
fee
for
plaintiff’s
the
requesting
party’s
attorney
,
not
24
exceeding
twenty-five
dollars
if
there
is
but
a
single
tract
25
not
exceeding
forty
acres
in
extent,
or
a
single
lot
in
a
city,
26
involved,
and
forty
dollars,
if
but
a
single
tract
exceeding
27
forty
acres
and
not
more
than
eighty
acres.
In
cases
in
which
28
two
or
more
tracts
are
included
that
may
not
be
embraced
in
one
29
description,
or
single
tracts
covering
more
than
eighty
acres,
30
or
two
or
more
city
lots,
a
reasonable
fee
may
be
assessed,
not
31
exceeding,
proportionately,
those
provided
for
in
this
section
.
32
EXPLANATION
33
The
inclusion
of
this
explanation
does
not
constitute
agreement
with
34
the
explanation’s
substance
by
the
members
of
the
general
assembly.
35
-1-
LSB
1770YC
(3)
87
jh/sc
1/
3
H.F.
_____
This
bill
makes
changes
to
Code
section
649.5,
relating
1
to
attorney
fees
and
court
costs
for
a
party
who
succeeds
in
2
an
action
to
quiet
title
and
who
requested
a
quitclaim
deed
3
from
the
party
holding
an
apparent
adverse
interest
prior
to
4
bringing
the
action
to
quiet
title.
5
Under
current
law,
if
the
defendant
in
an
action
to
quiet
6
title
appears
before
the
court
and
disclaims
all
right
and
7
title
adverse
to
the
plaintiff,
the
defendant
recovers
the
8
defendant’s
costs.
However,
if
20
days
prior
to
bringing
9
suit,
the
party
seeking
to
quiet
title
requests
a
quitclaim
10
deed
from
the
party
holding
an
apparent
adverse
interest,
and
11
the
adverse
party
refuses
to
deliver
the
requested
quitclaim
12
deed,
the
adverse
party
cannot
avoid
the
costs
of
the
action
13
by
disclaiming
all
right
and
title
in
the
property.
Instead,
14
if
the
plaintiff
succeeds,
the
court
has
the
discretion
to
15
assess
the
ordinary
costs
of
court
and
an
attorney
fee
for
the
16
plaintiff’s
attorney.
The
attorney
fee
cannot
exceed
$25
if
17
the
property
in
dispute
is
only
a
single
tract
not
exceeding
18
40
acres
or
is
a
single
lot
in
a
city.
The
attorney
fee
cannot
19
exceed
$40
if
the
property
in
dispute
is
only
a
single
tract
20
greater
than
40
acres
but
less
than
80
acres.
If
the
property
21
is
two
or
more
tracts
which
are
not
contained
in
a
single
22
description,
or
a
single
tract
covering
more
than
80
acres,
23
or
two
or
more
city
lots,
the
attorney
fee
is
a
reasonable
24
fee,
not
to
exceed,
proportionally,
the
attorney
fees
with
a
25
specified
dollar
amount.
26
The
bill
amends
current
law
to
specify
that
the
court
may
27
assess
a
reasonable
attorney
fee,
regardless
of
the
size
of
the
28
property
or
the
number
of
tracts
or
lots.
29
Under
current
law,
when
a
party
requests
a
quitclaim
deed,
30
the
party
must
provide
$1.25
to
the
person
with
an
apparent
31
adverse
interest
to
cover
the
expense
of
the
execution
and
32
delivery
of
the
deed.
The
bill
provides
that
the
party
33
requesting
the
quitclaim
deed
provide
$50
to
the
person
with
34
an
apparent
adverse
interest
to
cover
the
expense
of
the
35
-2-
LSB
1770YC
(3)
87
jh/sc
2/
3
H.F.
_____
execution,
acknowledgment,
and
delivery
of
the
deed.
The
bill
1
also
requires
the
person
making
the
request
for
the
quitclaim
2
deed
to
do
so
in
writing,
and
to
include,
in
addition
to
the
3
$50,
a
draft
of
the
quitclaim
deed,
a
copy
of
Code
section
4
649.5,
and
a
self-addressed
stamped
envelope.
5
-3-
LSB
1770YC
(3)
87
jh/sc
3/
3
