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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA
No. 111 / 04-0843 Filed December 15, 2006 JOHN A. KLINGE, Appellee, vs. KEVIN BENTIEN, Appellant. ________________________________________________________________________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clayton County, J.G. Johnson, District Associate Judge.

Appellant appeals district court's denial of his motion to dismiss. REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR DISMISSAL.

Reed H. Glawe of Gislason & Hunter, New Ulm, Minnesota, for appellant.

John A. Klinge, Farmersburg, pro se, appellee.

2 STREIT, Justice. Ambrose Bierce once described litigation as "[a] machine which you go into as a pig and come out of as a sausage." 1 This adage is certainly true in the present case. Two pig farmers attempting to resolve their

contract dispute in small claims court, ended up in district court and now our court. Because mediation of farm disputes is mandatory, the decision of the small claims court is void. We reverse and remand for dismissal without prejudice. I. Facts and Prior Proceedings

John Klinge and Kevin Bentien entered into an oral contract concerning the raising and feeding of pigs. Bentien purchased feeder

pigs and placed them at Klinge's farm to be cared for until they reached market weight. Klinge sued Bentien in small claims court for $3000

claiming he was not fully compensated under the terms of the contract. Bentien countersued for $5000 alleging Klinge's negligence killed 100 pigs. Neither party requested mediation under Iowa Code chapter 654B before the commencement of the action or any time thereafter. The parties appeared before the small claims court for trial. Neither party was represented by counsel. The small claims court ruled in favor of both parties. The court ordered a judgment be entered in

favor of Klinge against Bentien in the amount of $3000. Likewise, the court ordered a judgment be entered in favor of Bentien against Klinge in the amount of $5000. Klinge appealed the judgment against him to the Clayton County District Court. Bentien did not appeal the judgment against him. Again, neither party was represented by counsel. The district court requested

1Abrose

Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary 79 (2003).

3 "written statements" from both parties. Based upon those statements, the district court found insufficient evidence to support either claim. It found the small claims court "should have dismissed both the claim and the counterclaim." However, since Bentien did not appeal the judgment against him, the district court held the $3000 judgment "must stand." Consequently, the district court only reversed the small claims court with respect to Bentien's claim against Klinge. Shortly after the ruling, Bentien consulted an attorney for the first time about this case. The next day, Bentien's attorney sent a letter to the district court along with a copy to Klinge. The purpose of the letter was to bring chapter 654B of the Iowa Code to the court's attention. Bentien's attorney represented to the court chapter 654B required the parties in this case to submit to mediation before filing suit. See Iowa Code

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