Peterson v. Petersen

LARSON, Justice.

This action seeks partition of the proceeds of sale of a twenty-three acre tract of land in Decorah, Iowa, which had been planned for development as a shopping center. The plaintiff, Leonard Peterson, claimed that the defendant Ross Petersen (no relation), had orally agreed to convey a one-third interest in the land in exchange for Leonard’s services in the development of the project. Proceeding in equity, the district court found that although the alleged agreement to convey an interest in the land was oral, and thus subject to the statute of frauds, part performance by the…