Rule 1.1301.For what causes

Quo warranto is not an everyday civil remedy — it's a distinct action for challenging someone's legal right to hold a public office, exercise a corporate franchise, or act under a state-granted authorization at all. Rule 1.1301 opens Iowa's version of this action, describing it as a civil action in the nature of quo warranto, triable by equitable proceedings, brought in the name of the state rather than in the name of a private plaintiff.

The rule lists who can be sued this way. It reaches a defendant unlawfully holding or exercising a public office or franchise in Iowa, or an office in an Iowa corporation, and a public officer who has done or allowed something that forfeits the office. It also reaches a person or entity acting as a corporation in Iowa without lawful authorization, and a corporation that exercises powers the law never gave it, or that does or fails to do something that forfeits its corporate rights or privileges.

The fifth category covers someone claiming rights under a state-granted patent, permit, certificate of convenience and necessity, or license — where that grant was obtained through fraud, mistake, or ignorance of a material fact, or where its term has expired or its conditions have been violated or forfeited by the holder. For that category, the rule states the goal of the action directly: to annul or vacate the patent, permit, certificate, or license in question.