1.1015(1) The title of a good faith purchaser to property sold under the original judgment shall not be affected or impaired by any judgment, order or proceeding under rules 1.1011 through 1.1013.
Rule 1.1015.Titles and liens protected
Division X: Proceedings After Judgment · Last amended February 15, 2002 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceRule 1.1015 protects a good faith purchaser's title to property sold under the original judgment from being undone by a later proceeding under rules 1.1011 through 1.1013, and preserves any liens or securities if the judgment is only modified rather than set aside.
Full Text of Rule 1.1015
(2) If the original judgment is merely modified pursuant to any of said rules, all liens or securities obtained under it shall be preserved in the modified judgment.
Plain-English Summary
Rules 1.1011 through 1.1013 give a party ways to reopen, vacate, or modify a judgment after the fact — through retrial after publication service, or through a petition based on one of rule 1.1012's six grounds. Rule 1.1015 protects someone who is not a party to that dispute at all: a good faith purchaser who bought property sold under the original judgment before it was disturbed.
Rule 1.1015(1) states plainly that such a purchaser's title is not affected or impaired by any later judgment, order, or proceeding under those three rules. Someone who bought in good faith reliance on a judgment that looked final can rely on that purchase even if the judgment is later reopened.
Rule 1.1015(2) addresses a related but narrower situation: when the original judgment is merely modified, rather than set aside, under those rules. In that case, all liens or securities obtained under the original judgment carry forward and are preserved in the modified judgment. A creditor who secured a lien based on the first judgment doesn't lose that lien merely because the judgment amount or terms later change.
Frequently Asked Questions
I bought property that was sold under a court judgment. Can that sale be undone if someone later gets the judgment vacated?
No, if you bought in good faith. Rule 1.1015(1) states that a good faith purchaser's title to property sold under the original judgment is not affected or impaired by any later judgment, order, or proceeding under rules 1.1011 through 1.1013.
What if the original judgment is just modified, not set aside — do I lose my lien on the property?
No. Rule 1.1015(2) provides that when a judgment is merely modified under these rules, all liens or securities obtained under the original judgment are preserved in the modified judgment.
Does this protection apply to every kind of post-judgment challenge, or only specific ones?
It applies specifically to proceedings under rules 1.1011 through 1.1013 — the retrial-after-publication-service rule and the petition-to-vacate-or-modify rules.
What makes a purchaser a “good faith” purchaser under this rule?
Rule 1.1015 does not itself define the term; it merely extends protection to a purchaser who bought in good faith, as distinguished from someone with notice of a defect or a claim against the underlying judgment.
Why does Iowa protect purchasers this way instead of letting a vacated judgment unwind every later transaction?
The rule reflects a practical choice to let people rely on judgments that appear final when they buy property, rather than leaving every later sale vulnerable to being undone whenever an earlier judgment is later reopened.
Source & verification. Rule text and the Comment are
reproduced verbatim from the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure, adopted by the
Iowa Supreme Court. Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: iowa good faith purchaser judgment saleprotecting liens after modified judgment iowarule 1.1015 iowa civil proceduretitle protection vacated judgment iowapurchaser at judgment sale iowa