Madden v. City of Iowa City
Annotate this CasePlaintiff was injured when she crashed on her bicycle while riding on a sidewalk abutting the grounds of the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Plaintiff filed a negligence action against the City, claiming that an alleged defect in the sidewalk caused the accident. The City filed a motion to add the State as a third-party defendant, citing the City’s ordinance requiring an abutting property owner to maintain the sidewalk in a safe condition. The district court granted the motion. The City then filed a cross-claim against the State seeking contribution. The district denied the State’s motion to dismiss the City’s cross-claim, concluding (1) the City’s contribution claim was not excluded from the Iowa Tort Claims Act (ITCA) and adequately pled a claim under the ITCA; and (2) an ordinance can establish a duty, the breach of which supports a negligence claim. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the City’s ordinance was not preempted by Iowa Code 364.12(2); (2) the potential imposition of indemnity under the ordinance does not give rise to an unlawful tax; and (3) the City’s claim against the State was within the scope of ITCA for purposes of waiver of sovereign immunity.
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