1. At any time after final adoption of the resolution of necessity, but before awarding the contract, the council may direct the city attorney to file, in the district court of the county in which the property proposed to be assessed is located, a petition praying that the acts done by the council relative to the proposed public improvement be confirmed by decree.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 384.54

  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • and: includes the disjunctive "or" and the use of the disjunctive "or" includes the conjunctive "and" unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. See Iowa Code 384.23
  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Clerk: means the recording and recordkeeping officer of a city regardless of title. See Iowa Code 362.2
  • Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Council: means the governing body of a city. See Iowa Code 362.2
  • District: means the lots or parts of lots within boundaries established by the council for the purpose of the assessment of the cost of a public improvement. See Iowa Code 384.37
  • Engineer: means a professional engineer, licensed in the state of Iowa, authorized by the council to render services in connection with the public improvement. See Iowa Code 384.37
  • Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. Source: U.S. Courts
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
  • Lot: means a parcel of land under one ownership, including improvements, against which a separate assessment is made. See Iowa Code 384.37
  • Person: means an individual, firm, partnership, domestic or foreign corporation, company, association or joint stock association, trust, or other legal entity, and includes a trustee, receiver, assignee, or similar representative thereof, but does not include a governmental body. See Iowa Code 362.2
  • Pretrial conference: A meeting of the judge and lawyers to discuss which matters should be presented to the jury, to review evidence and witnesses, to set a timetable, and to discuss the settlement of the case.
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • property owner: means the contract purchaser if there is one of record, otherwise the record holder of legal title. See Iowa Code 364.12
  • Public improvement: includes the principal structures, works, component parts and accessories of any of the following:
     a. See Iowa Code 384.37
  • Publication: means public notice given in the manner provided in section 362. See Iowa Code 384.37
  • real property: include lands, tenements, hereditaments, and all rights thereto and interests therein, equitable as well as legal. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
 2. The following must be filed with the petition in the office of the clerk of the court:

 a. A copy of the resolution of necessity as adopted by the council.
 b. A copy of the proposed schedule of assessments as adopted by the council under sections 384.48 and 384.51, which schedule shows the maximum amount that the council proposes to assess against any lot.
 c. Preliminary plans and specifications, or, if available, detailed plans and specifications as prepared by the engineer.
 d. A copy of the proposed contract if prepared.
 3. Notice of the filing of the petition must be given in the same manner as is provided for service of original notice by publication by the rules of civil procedure, except as follows:

 a. No affidavit of inability to obtain personal service within the state of Iowa is required.
 b. The original notice must name as defendants those property owners who, on the date of filing the petition, have an interest in the real property to be assessed as a part of the public improvement, and the original notice must state that a plat and schedule is on file in the office of the clerk of the district court where the action is pending. No property owner is an indispensable party to the action. Publication of plat and schedule as part of the original notice is not required, nor shall reference in the original notice to specific descriptions of affected real property or the amounts of proposed assessments be necessary.
 4. The petition must be given precedence over any other business of the court, except criminal cases. The court shall set the petition for hearing within thirty days from the date of final publication of notice. As a part of its order, the court may provide for a pretrial conference to be held not earlier than twenty days from the date of final publication of notice and require the appearance at the pretrial conference of all interested parties. Failure to appear at the pretrial conference may be grounds for dismissing any objection.
 5. If no person having an interest in property proposed to be assessed has entered an appearance or filed an answer within the time set for hearing on the petition, the court shall confirm the assessment, and order the clerk of court to certify its decree to the city clerk.
 6. If any person having an interest in property proposed to be assessed has entered an appearance or filed an answer to the petition, the court shall hear the cause as an action triable in equity.
 7. Upon the hearing the court may correct any irregularities or inequalities in valuations or in the schedule of assessments, and shall consider any objections because of alleged illegal procedure or fraud.
 8. The court shall render a decision upon the hearing as soon as practical after the final submission of the cause.
 9. The clerk of the court shall certify to the city clerk the final action of the court, within three days from the date of the final decree upon the petition, showing assessments as confirmed in the schedule of assessments.
 10. An appeal from the decree of the district court must be taken as in other equity cases.
 11. A contract may or may not be let, in the discretion of the council, until appeals are finally determined, but the appeals need not delay the letting and execution of a contract for the work, if the council concludes the appeals were not taken in good faith.
 12. An appeal does not, in the discretion of the council, delay the certification of an assessment or progress of an improvement, but upon decision of the appeal the assessment appealed from must be corrected and collected in the same manner as provided in section 384.74.
 13. Corrections of assessments or valuations made by order of the district court are conclusive and not subject to review on appeal, or otherwise, except as provided in subsections 10 through 12 of this section. When court confirmation is obtained there is no right of appeal under the provisions of section 384.66.
 14. If no contract is entered into within ninety days from the date of confirmation by the district court or within a further time allowed by the court on subsequent application, and if no appeal is pending, the court shall cancel the assessment, upon application of the city attorney.
 15. a. The cost of all court proceedings are a legitimate item of expense in connection with a public improvement, and may be included within the final assessment against any property specially benefited in the assessment district.

 b. Whenever on a hearing by the court, the amount of any assessment is reduced or canceled so that there is a deficiency in the total amount remaining assessed in the proceeding, the court may assess the deficiency to the city or distribute the deficiency upon the other property abutting upon or adjacent to the improvement or in the district assessed, in a manner the court finds to be just and equitable, not exceeding, however, the amount the property would be specially benefited by the improvement, and not exceeding twenty-five percent of the value of the lot as shown by the plat and schedule of assessments or as reduced by the court.
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