Farm Credit Bank of St. Paul v. Gibson

Dan Gibson appeals a declaratory judgment establishing his right to only one acre of land as his homestead exempt from execution by Farm Credit Bank of St. Paul, a judgment creditor. Gibson, who resides in a trailer home on a 106-acre farm and works a portion of the land part of the time, asserts a statutory right to a forty-acre exemption. The trial court ruled that he was entitled only to his dwelling and one acre of land reasonably necessary for use of the dwelling as a home. Because the trial court reasonably exercised its discretion, we affirm.

Following the mortgage foreclosure of his…