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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA No. 1-818 / 11-0211 Filed December 21, 2011 CY & CHARLEY'S FIRESTONE, INC., and HEARN PROPERTIES, L.L.C., Plaintiffs-Appellants, vs. RICHARD D. RUNNING and BONNIE R. RUNNING, Defendants-Appellees. ________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, Bradley J. Harris, Judge.

Plaintiffs appeal district court orders denying their claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and promissory estoppel, and awarding defendants attorney fees. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.

Robert S. Hatala, Matthew J. Adam, Robert E. Konchar, and Kerry A. Finley of Simmons, Perrine, Moyer & Bergman, P.L.C., Cedar Rapids, for appellants. Joseph T. Moreland of Hayek, Brown, Moreland & Smith, L.L.P., Iowa City, for appellees.

Heard by Tabor, P.J., Mullins, J., and Miller, S.J.*
*Senior judge assigned by order pursuant to Iowa Code section 602.9206 (2011).

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MULLINS, J. This case involves a dispute that arose from the sale of two parcels of real estate. For the reasons stated herein, we affirm the district court's order denying plaintiffs' claims for breach of contract, unjust enrichment , and promissory estoppel, and the order awarding attorney fees to the defendants. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. Ronald Hearn owns two businesses, Cy & Charley's Firestone, Inc. and Hearn Properties, L.L.C.1 Cy & Charley's is a general automotive and appliance sales business in Independence. Richard and Barbara Running are Wisconsin residents, who have real estate investments in Iowa. Kurt Mills is a general contractor from Wisconsin, and is the Runnings' daughter-in-law's father. The Runnings and Mills have previously worked together when making real estate investments. In these instances, Mills found the property and

negotiated the price and terms for purchase, and the Runnings would actually purchase the property. The Runnings, in turn, would give Mills a finder's fee and priority in any construction needed for the property. In October 2005, while Mills was building a restaurant on land purchased by the Runnings in Independence, Mills saw a parcel of land across the street that he believed could be an excellent investment opportunity. Mills contacted the Runnings and was given permission to pursue the purchase of the property.

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We will refer to Hearn and his businesses collectively as "Hearn" unless specifically noted otherwise herein.

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The property, located on 3rd Avenue SE near the Highway 20 exchange, was owned by a local developer, Edgar Larson (the Larson Property). On April 3, 2006, the Runnings purchased the Larson Property for $110,000. Prior to the Runnings purchasing the Larson Property, Mills was already in communication with several prospective purchasers of the Larson Property from the Runnings. One of these prospective buyers was Hearn, who had been given the opportunity in 2005 to purchase the Larson Property for $98,000 as a possible new location for Cy & Charley's, but declined to do so because he could not find a buyer for his current Cy & Charley's location (Cy & Charley's Property), and was hesitant about building a new facility. According to Hearn, during their communications, Mills suggested performing a like-kind exchange in selling the Larson Property and the Cy & Charley's Property. See 26 U.S.C.

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