The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling awarding damages after a newly sold home was found to be infested with snakes in Marshalltown.

William and Joyce Welp sold their home in Marshalltown to Jade and Shannon Robinson in 2014. The Welps checked “no” on the disclosure form that asked if there were any problems with mice, bats, roaches, snakes or spiders. A few days after moving into the home the Robinsons found a large bull snake on the basement bar. The continued finding bull snakes inside the home and in the pool — with an estimated total of 22. They also found around 40 snake skins in the insulation of the walls and the drop ceiling. The district court awarded the Robinsons 64-thousand dollars for money spent on a contractor to clear out the snakes and 53-thousand dollars in attorney fees.  The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld the ruling — saying the Welps’ claim that did not know about the snake infestation at the time of the sale does not hold up.