Iowa Supreme Court Decisions 2024

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute between the Terrace Hill Society Foundation (THSF) and the Terrace Hill Commission (the Commission) over the ownership and control of a collection of property and historical artifacts…

Justia Opinion Summary: A juvenile, K.C., was charged with two serious misdemeanors: carrying dangerous weapons and possession of marijuana. As K.C. was 17 at the time of the incident, the juvenile court had initial jurisdiction. However, after…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Lori Randolph, who was injured after falling down stairs in a rental property owned by Aidan, LLC. Randolph sued Aidan, alleging negligence in failing to provide safe stairs. Aidan, in turn,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around the Kirkwood Institute's request for public records from the Office of the Auditor of State in Iowa. The Institute sought emails between the Auditor's office and two investigative reporters. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa reviewed a case involving a dispute between the University of Iowa and Modern Piping, Inc., a mechanical contractor. The dispute arose during the construction of the University of Iowa Stead…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves a dispute within the Hora family over the operation of their family farm, Hora Farms, Inc. (HFI). Two brothers, Brian and Gregg Hora, brought a derivative action as minority shareholders against their…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Clayton Curtis Brown, who was convicted of possession of a firearm as a felon, aggravated eluding, and driving while barred. The charges stemmed from an incident where Brown eluded a police officer's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The defendant, Christopher James Wilson, was charged with two counts of indecent exposure after he was seen masturbating in public by two women, E.H. and T.A., at a gas station. Wilson followed the women to another…

Justia Opinion Summary: Jesse McCollaugh was found guilty of child exploitation after his wife discovered videos on his phone of her 15-year-old sister using the bathroom, which McCollaugh had secretly recorded. The videos showed the minor…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves William and Mary Goche, LLC; Global Assets, LLC; and Joseph Goche (collectively “Goche”), who own land in three different drainage districts in Kossuth County. The Kossuth County Board of Supervisors…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Tracy White, an employee of the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS), who filed a lawsuit against the State of Iowa and DHS under the Iowa Civil Rights Act (ICRA) alleging a hostile work environment.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Iowa, a case involved Bridgestone Americas, Inc., and Old Republic Insurance Company, appellants, against Charles Anderson, appellee. Anderson, an employee of Bridgestone, reported a right…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa upheld the decision of the Iowa Court of Appeals and the district court that sentenced a recidivist drug offender, Jacob Lee Goble, to an indeterminate prison sentence of up to five years.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa ruled in a case involving an individual, Faron Alan Starr, who was arrested and denied his request to call a family member to get an attorney. Starr was suspected of an assault and stealing two…

Justia Opinion Summary: The appellant, Lawrence George Canady III, had been charged with voluntary manslaughter, willful injury causing bodily injury, and assault causing bodily injury due to his involvement in a fatal nighttime shooting…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa affirmed the decision of the Court of Appeals and the District Court in favor of the City of Des Moines, in a case brought by Lime Lounge, LLC. Lime Lounge, a bar, challenged a city ordinance…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case at hand arose from the appeal by Scott Randolph Luke, who was convicted of domestic abuse assault while on probation for two previous domestic abuse assaults. The district court sentenced him to two years in…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Iowa, the case involved David Jackson, who was involved in a car accident that resulted in the death of another motorist. Jackson was convicted of vehicular homicide by operating while…

Justia Opinion Summary: A case was brought before the Supreme Court of Iowa involving Kadin Miller, who was convicted of harassment after he posted a video of himself and his ex-girlfriend engaged in consensual sexual intercourse on a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Iowa Supreme Court reviewed a dispute involving property owners David and Jeanie Vaudt and Wells Fargo Bank, which held the mortgage on neighboring property owned by Fredesvindo Enamorado Diaz and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa was asked to consider whether the Iowa Constitution supports a legislative privilege that protects legislators from compelled production of documents related to legislation. The court concluded…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Iowa upheld the conviction of the defendant, Sydney Leiann Slaughter, for gambling and making a false claim of winnings. The defendant falsely claimed that she won a slot machine…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Iowa, the defendant, Jesse Jon Harbach, was involved in a single-vehicle rollover accident. Based on observations at the scene, an officer applied for a warrant to draw blood from Harbach. The test revealed…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Iowa in 2021, a mother of six, Paula Cole, left her five oldest children, ranging in age from 12 to five, asleep at home while she left to go to Walmart for groceries, taking her youngest, an infant, with her. While…

Justia Opinion Summary: Marshall Sandlin, a laborer at Mid American Construction LLC, suffered an injury to his left foot during work. After an initial medical examination conducted by a physician chosen by Mid American's insurance carrier,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Charlene and Michael Jorgensen sued Dr. Adam Smith, his professional corporation (Adam Smith, M.D., P.C.), and Tri-State Specialists, L.L.P., a clinic that employed Dr. Smith, after Charlene underwent…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Iowa, a ten-year-old boy was treated at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) for a dislodged feeding tube and died the next day. The boy's mother filed administrative tort claims on behalf of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa examined a case where a defendant, T.J., was ordered to pay restitution after the court had already dismissed and expunged all charges upon completion of a deferred judgment. T.J. had pleaded…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Iowa reviewed a workers' compensation case involving Michael Rife, a welder who sustained two separate shoulder injuries in the course of his employment with P.M. Lattner Manufacturing…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the state of Iowa, a police officer investigated a suspected case of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated. The officer pulled over the suspect, Colby Laub, and obtained a search warrant to collect a breath…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard by the Supreme Court of Iowa, the defendant, Morgan Marie McMickle, was charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI). McMickle was stopped by law enforcement after rear-ending another…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, decided by the Supreme Court of Iowa, Justin Loew, an employee of Menard, Inc., appealed the district court's decision that denied his claim for workers' compensation benefits. Loew had previously received…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case concerns Sandra Selden, an employee at the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC), who alleged that she was a victim of illegal wage discrimination based on sex and wrongful retaliation. Selden discovered…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the early morning of January 26, 2019, Simranjit Singh was driving a truck on Interstate 80 in Cass County, Iowa, when he hit a cow that had wandered onto the road. Singh was injured and his truck was damaged. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Iowa, the State of Iowa appealed against the district court's dismissal of an extortion charge against Jerome Bailey Sr. Bailey had demanded $10,000 from his former property manager, threatening…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case was heard by the Supreme Court of Iowa and involved an appeal by a defendant, Demetrias Martin, who was challenging the mandatory minimum term imposed with his sentence for first-degree robbery. The main issue…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, three chiropractors and their respective business entities sued Wellmark, Iowa’s largest health insurer and claims administrator, alleging that the company violated Iowa antitrust laws through its…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Iowa addressed whether the district court erred in ordering the placement of a sexually violent predator in a transitional release program over the State’s objection. The State argued…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Iowa, the case involved a dispute between divorced parents who held joint legal custody of their children. The parents disagreed on whether their children should receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a workers' compensation case, an employee was injured and sought compensation from her employer and its insurance carrier. The employee failed to provide her expert witness's evidence in a timely manner, serving them…