Justia Iowa Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

An executor brought a cause of action against a bank for failing to obtain approval for investments it made on behalf of the deceased when the deceased was under conservatorship and the bank acted as conservator. The district court dismissed the executor's claim. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the conservator's failure to seek prior approval of the investment of the ward's property under Iowa Code 633.647 did not, in and of itself, make the conservator personally liable for losses caused by the investment; (2) to find the conservator personally liable for losses caused by an investment, the executor must prove a breach of fiduciary duty under Iowa Code 633.633A; and (3) in this case, the executor failed to prove a breach of fiduciary duty. View "Leo v. First Cmty. Trust, N.A." on Justia Law

During the administration of Ralph Roethler's estate, the executor of the estate did not notify Becky and Kent Lewis that Roethler's will gave the Lewises a first right to purchase eighty acres of farmland. The Lewises later sought to reopen Ralph Roethler's etate to allow them to exercise the option. The district court held that the Lewises met the statutory grounds set out in Iowa Code 633.489 to reopen the estate. The court of appeals reversed, holding that the Lewises' petition to reopen was time-barred. On review, the Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals and affirmed the district court's judgment, holding (1) the Lewises' petition to reopen satisfied the statutory grounds set forth in section 633.489 to reopen an estate, and (2) the district court properly construed the will to permit the Lewises to exercise their first right of purchase irrespective of the executor's intent to sell the land. View "In re Estate of Roethler" on Justia Law