1. a.

 Findings.

 The general assembly finds that important public interests are advanced by preserving and encouraging the expansion of responsible animal agricultural production in this state which provides employment opportunities in and economic growth for rural Iowa, contributes tax revenues to the state and to local communities, and protects our valuable natural resources.

 b.

 Purpose.

 The purpose of this section is to encourage persons involved in animal agriculture to adopt existing prudent and generally utilized management practices for their animal feeding operations, thereby enhancing the fundamental role of animal agriculture in this state by providing a reasonable level of protection to persons engaged in animal agricultural production from certain types of nuisance actions.

 c.

 Declaration.

 The general assembly has balanced all competing interests and declares its intent to preserve and enhance responsible animal agricultural production, specifically animal agricultural producers in this state who use existing prudent and generally utilized management practices reasonable for their animal feeding operations.

Terms Used In Iowa Code 657.11A

  • Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • 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
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Fair market value: The price at which an asset would change hands in a transaction between a willing, informed buyer and a willing, informed seller.
  • Fee simple: Absolute title to property with no limitations or restrictions regarding the person who may inherit it.
  • 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
  • Life estate: A property interest limited in duration to the life of the individual holding the interest (life tenant).
  • person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
  • 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.
  • Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
  • State: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See Iowa Code 633D.2
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
 2. Except as otherwise provided by this section, an animal feeding operation, as defined in section 459.102, found to be a public or private nuisance under this chapter or under principles of common law, or found to interfere with another person‘s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other cause of action, shall be conclusively presumed to be a permanent nuisance and not a temporary or continuing nuisance under principles of common law, and shall be subject to compensatory damages only as provided in subsection 3.
 3. Compensatory damages awarded to a person bringing an action alleging that an animal feeding operation is a public or private nuisance, or an interference with the person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other cause of action, shall not exceed the following:

 a. The person’s share of compensatory property damages due to any diminution in the fair market value of the person’s real property proximately caused by the animal feeding operation. The fair market value of the real property is deemed to equal the price that a buyer who is willing but not compelled to buy and a seller who is willing but not compelled to sell would accept for the real property. The person’s share of any compensatory property damages must be based on the person’s share of the ownership interest in the real property. For purposes of this section, ownership interest means holding legal or equitable title to real property in fee simple, as a life estate, or as a leasehold interest.
 b. The person’s compensatory damages due to the person’s past, present, and future adverse health condition. This determination shall be made utilizing only objective and documented medical evidence that the nuisance or interference with the comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or property was the proximate cause of the person’s adverse health condition.
 c. The person’s compensatory special damages proximately caused by the animal feeding operation, including without limitation, annoyance and the loss of comfortable use and enjoyment of real property. However, the total damages awarded to a person under this paragraph “c” shall not exceed one and one-half times the sum of any damages awarded to the person for the person’s share of the total compensatory property damages awarded under paragraph “a” plus any compensatory damages awarded to the person under paragraph “b”.
 4. This section shall apply to an animal feeding operation in the same manner as section 657.11, subsections 4 and 5.
 5. This section shall not apply if the person bringing the action proves that the public or private nuisance or interference with another person’s comfortable use and enjoyment of the person’s life or property under any other cause of action is proximately caused by any of the following:

 a. The failure to comply with a federal statute or regulation or a state statute or rule which applies to the animal feeding operation.
 b. The failure to use existing prudent generally utilized management practices reasonable for the animal feeding operation.
 6. This section does not apply to a person during the time in which the person is classified as a habitual violator pursuant to section 459.604.
 7. This section does not apply to a cause of action that accrued prior to March 29, 2017.
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