Fencl v. City of Harpers Ferry

TERNUS, Justice.

The appellant, Robert Fencl, brought this action to quiet title to a twenty-foot strip of land that was originally platted as an alley in the City of Harpers Ferry, but never used as such. The trial court held that the alley was public trust property and, therefore, Iowa’s Marketable Record Title Act, Iowa Code sections 614.29-38 (1997), did not apply to cut off the appel-lee city’s interest. On appeal, we hold that the unused alley is not public trust property. Notwithstanding this holding, we conclude that the act does not apply to extinguish the city’s interest because a…