Opinion ID: 1803911
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Separability Clause.

Text: Generally, when a portion of an agreement is deemed invalid, the remaining portions of the agreement can be enforced as long as they can be separated from the illegality. 10A McQuillen, § 29.95, at 11. For example, if the invalid portion is merely incidental to the primary purpose of the contract, the contract remains in effect. See id. However, if the contract would not have been entered into independent of the invalid portion, the entire contract is void. Id. at 11 & n. 4; see also Equity Control Assocs., Ltd. v. Root, 638 N.W.2d 664, 671 (Iowa 2001) (a contract is not separable if it intends each and all of its parts to be interdependent); In re Estate of Claussen, 482 N.W.2d 381, 383 (Iowa 1992) (same); Quarton v. Am. Law Book Co., 143 Iowa 517, 533, 121 N.W. 1009, 1015 (1909) (same). In this case, we are not confronted with the situation where a portion of the contract is declared illegal. Instead, the Board did not have the authority to contract with Miller without first fulfilling the statutory requirements. Because the contract in its entirety is void, there is nothing left to sever. See 10A McQuillen, § 29.95, at 11 (where good and bad parts of contract are inseparable, the contract as a whole is deemed invalid). Consequently, neither the separability clause in the lease agreement nor the general doctrine of separability can save the municipal contract in this case.