Rolling Hills Bank and Trust v. Jacobsen

── Rolling Hills Bank and Trust v. Jacobsen ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: April 15, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 25-0395 Filed April 15, 2026 _______________ Rolling Hills Bank and Trust, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. Walter Jacobsen, Theresea Jacobsen and Jacobsen-Holz Corporation, Defendants–Appellants, Daniel Brubaker and Claudia Brubaker, Intervenors–Appellees. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, The Honorable Terry Rickers, Judge. _______________ AFFIRMED _______________ Matthew J. Hemphill of Bergkamp, Hemphill & McClure, P.C., Adel, attorney for appellants. C. Scott Finneseth and Nicholas J. Spellman of Finneseth, Dalen & Powell, P.L.C., Perry, attorneys for intervenor appellees. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Ahlers, P.J. 1 AHLERS, Presiding Judge. Walter Jacobsen, Theresea Jacobsen, and Jacobsen-Holz Corporation (collectively “the Jacobsens”) defaulted on promissory notes secured by mortgages on three of their properties—two in Dallas County and one in Greene County. The bank holding the notes filed this foreclosure action in Dallas County and obtained a decree foreclosing the mortgages on all three properties. Only the Greene County property is at issue in this appeal. The Greene County property was sold at a sheriff’s sale held in Greene County. Daniel and Claudia Brubaker were the purchasers at the sale. The sale was subject to a one-year redemption period. The Jacobsens attempted to redeem the Greene County property by paying the Dallas County clerk of court on September 20, 2023—the final day of the one-year redemption period. When no action occurred in response to the attempted redemption, the Jacobsens filed an application asking the Dallas County district court to provide guidance on disbursing the funds and canceling the certificate of purchase. The Brubakers filed a motion seeking to intervene as interested parties, and the court granted that motion. At the hearing on the Jacobsens’ application, the Brubakers argued that the attempt to redeem the property failed. They relied on Iowa Code section 628.1 (2023), which states “[a]ll redemptions made under the provisions of this chapter shall be made in the county where the sale is had.” Because the Jacobsens attempted to redeem by paying the Dallas County clerk of court rather than the Greene County clerk of court, the Brubakers argued the attempt to redeem failed. The district court agreed, and the Jacobsens appealed. The issue on appeal is whether the Jacobsens’ payment to the wrong county clerk of court constituted valid redemption. 2 I. Standard of Review Foreclosure actions are equitable proceedings under Iowa Code section 654.1, so our review of those proceedings is de novo. Iowa R. App. P. 6.907; Mlady v. Dougan, 967 N.W.2d 328, 332 (Iowa 2021). “We give weight to the factual findings of the trial court, but we are not bound by them.” Mlady, 967 N.W.2d at 332 (quoting Decorah State Bank v. Wangsness, 452 N.W.2d 438, 439 (Iowa 1990)). “We review questions of statutory interpretation for correction of errors at law.” Id. (quoting Standard Water Control Sys., Inc. v. Jones, 938 N.W.2d 651, 656 (Iowa 2020)). II. Analysis On appeal, the Jacobsens claim they successfully redeemed the Greene County property by making the required redemption payment in Dallas County. In support of this claim, the Jacobsens argue t