Iowa Supreme Court Decisions 2014
Date: December 26, 2014
Docket Number: 140288
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was the established father of J.C., although he was not the child’s biological father. After the juvenile court adjudicated J.C. a child in need of assistance (CINA), the State filed a petition to terminate the…
Date: December 26, 2014
Docket Number: 141406
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 130925
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Cable One, Inc., which offers cable television and internet access, began offering Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service to its residential customers in Sioux City. In 2008 and 2009, the Iowa Department of…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 131636
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved three small school districts, Northeast Community School District, East Central Community School District, and Preston Community School District. In 2010, the school boards of Northeast and East…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 131808
Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin Fink filed a petition requesting alternate medical treatment for knee injuries allegedly sustained during the course of his employment with Denison Municipal Utilities (DMU). The workers’ compensation commissioner…
Date: December 19, 2014
Docket Number: 131895
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to two counts of incest and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of incarceration not to exceed five years. The Supreme Court remanded the case for resentencing on the grounds that the district…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 13-1764
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance pursuant to a plea agreement. The district court deviated from the recommended sentence in the plea agreement. However, the court did not give its reason…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 130060
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bank acquired an apartment complex by deed in lieu of foreclosure the bank discovered substantial black mold in the units. The bank sued the builder, alleging, inter alia, that the builder breached the implied…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 131285
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a contractor-developer, bought a residential lot from a realtor in order to build townhomes for sale. Plaintiff filed a complaint against the original developers whose contractor had performed purportedly…
Date: December 12, 2014
Docket Number: 140944
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 120729
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree. The court of appeals reversed the conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not abuse…
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 121633
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of sexual abuse in the second degree. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that Defendant was entitled to a new trial on the ground that a certain expert…
Date: December 5, 2014
Docket Number: 122264
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual abuse in the second degree. The court of appeals reversed the conviction, concluding that Defendant was entitled to a new trial on the ground that an expert witness…
Date: November 21, 2014
Docket Number: 130888
Justia Opinion Summary: Fifteen-year-old D.S. was accused of harassing a peer during an after-school confrontation. The State filed a petition alleging that D.S. had committed a delinquent act, specifically harassment in the third degree. After…
Date: November 21, 2014
Docket Number: 131228
Justia Opinion Summary: After he was arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI), Defendant sought legal advice regarding whether to submit to a chemical breath test during a teleconference with a lawyer. Defendant asked for…
Date: November 21, 2014
Docket Number: 140806
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, a child-in-need-of-assistance (CINA) petition was filed alleging that three minor children were in need. The guardian ad litem subsequently subpoenaed Mother’s therapist to testify at the CINA adjudicatory…
Date: November 14, 2014
Docket Number: 121065
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with first-degree kidnapping. The trial information included a proposed enhancement based on Defendant’s prior Ohio conviction of a sexually predatory offense. A jury ultimately found Defendant…
Date: November 7, 2014
Docket Number: 130253
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a limited liability company, contracted with Defendant, a utility bill review consultant. After Defendant reviewed four utility bills and informed Plaintiff it was entitled to a substantial refund for sales…
Date: October 31, 2014
Docket Number: 130496
Justia Opinion Summary: Tenant leased certain property from Landlord. Landlord filed a petition for a declaratory judgment seeking a ruling that it could have reasonable access to the property to show it to prospective buyers. The district…
Date: October 24, 2014
Docket Numbers: 131329, 131329
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with four counts of unintentionally causing serious injury by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle. Before trial, the State moved to allow three out-of-state victims of the car accident and three lab…
Date: October 17, 2014
Docket Number: 130665
Justia Opinion Summary: The Workers’ Compensation Commission found Employee to be totally and permanently disabled under the odd-lot doctrine and denied Employer and its Insurer (collectively, Employer) certain credits for disability payments…
Date: September 12, 2014
Docket Number: 140510
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on a complaint from a district court judge alleging that District Associate Judge Emily Dean arrived at a courthouse in an intoxicated state and could not perform her judicial duties, the Iowa Commission on…
Date: September 5, 2014
Docket Number: 140426
Date: September 5, 2014
Docket Number: 140507
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 111020
Justia Opinion Summary: When he was seventeen years old, Appellant committed the crime of first-degree robbery. Appellant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed twenty-five years. Appellant was sentenced under a statute that…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 111339
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was a seventeen-year-old high school student when he took a small plastic bag containing marijuana from a fellow student outside the high school. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of robbery in the…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 120913
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, fourteen African-Americans, brought a class action suit against the State, including thirty-seven different executive branch departments, under the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. In…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 121150
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant, a probationer, with burglary and theft after police officers conducted a warrantless search of Defendant’s home. Defendant filed a motion to suppress contending that the search warrant was…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 121182
Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis Smith was formerly employed by the College of Engineering at Iowa State University (ISU), where he was “subjected to wrongful conduct for an extended period of time in a job he had held for nearly a decade.” Smith…
Date: July 18, 2014
Docket Number: 121899
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a pastor who had sexual relations with four women in his congregation. Defendant was convicted of four counts of sexual exploitation by a counselor or therapist and one count of a pattern or practice to…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 120596
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff developed a neurological disorder from her prolonged use of metoclopramide, sold under the brand name Reglan and as a competing generic formulation. Plaintiff admitted she ingested only generic metoclopramide…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 120827
Justia Opinion Summary: Susan Heathcote and Carrie La Seur served on the Environmental Protection Commission during a period of time when the Commission considered the adoption of rules to prevent the degradation of Iowa’s water resources. In…
Date: July 11, 2014
Docket Number: 130642
Justia Opinion Summary: Eagle Point Solar proposed to enter into a long term financing agreement with the City of Dubuque that would provide the City with renewable energy. Under the agreement, Eagle Point would construct a solar energy system,…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 120924
Justia Opinion Summary: Aaron Cannon, a student at Palmer College of Chiropractic, was blind and requested that Palmer make accommodations for his visual disability. Palmer denied the request, explaining that it could not provide the proposed…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 130010
Justia Opinion Summary: John Goodpaster worked as a customer service manager for Schwan’s Home Service, Inc., the largest home delivery frozen foods company in the nation, at Schwan’s Des Moines location. Goodpaster’s duty was to sell and…
Date: June 27, 2014
Docket Number: 130729
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell Phillips, an employee of the Chicago Central & Pacific Railroad, filed a negligence action against the railroad. The jury returned a general verdict in favor of Phillips, and the district court awarded Phillips…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 130405
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, who attended school in the New London Community School District, was fourteen years old when Gina Sisk, a teacher who also served as Plaintiff’s track coach, began to engage in improper sexual conduct toward…
Date: June 20, 2014
Docket Number: 130832
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded no contest to second-degree sexual assault of a child, a felony, in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin trial court deferred judgment of conviction (DJOC), which allowed the Wisconsin court to refrain from…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 120022
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse for performing a sex act on a two-year-old girl. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by admitting as prior bad acts evidence…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 120180
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with and pled guilty to criminal transmission of HIV in violation of Iowa Code 709C.1. The district court accepted the plea, sentenced Defendant to twenty-five years suspended and placed Defendant…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 130673
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff 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…
Date: June 13, 2014
Docket Number: 130723
Justia Opinion Summary: Grain Processing Corporation (GPC) operated a local corn wet milling facility in Muscatine. Plaintiffs, eight individuals who resided within one and one-half miles of GPC’s facility, filed a lawsuit on behalf of…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 120800
Justia Opinion Summary: The administrators of Decedent’s estate listed residential real estate for sale. Decedent’s common law spouse objected to the proposed sale, claiming it was her marital home. The district court recognized the surviving…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 122120
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, the workers’ compensation commissioner, filed an amended petition against the State and individual defendants named in their official and individual capacities. Plaintiff’s claims stemmed from his refusal to…
Date: June 6, 2014
Docket Number: 122310
Justia Opinion Summary: When she was sixteen years old A.J.M. was adjudicated delinquent by the juvenile court. The delinquency was based on the crime of sexual abuse in the second degree, an offense covered under the sex offender registry…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 121491
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of possession of marijuana and crack cocaine with intent to deliver. The court of appeals reversed, holding that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions.…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 130204
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Waterloo agreed to transfer to a residential developer property the City originally acquired for use as a road right-of-way. Taxpaying residents of the City challenged the legality of the proposed transfer,…
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 131966
Date: May 30, 2014
Docket Number: 140049
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 130146
Justia Opinion Summary: The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) allowed an independent transmission company, ITC Midwest, to use the pay-and-go procedure of Iowa Code 476.27, the railroad-crossing statute, to run electrical power lines across a railroad…
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 131082
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1991, Husband and Wife were married in Florida. Later that year, the couple signed a postnuptial agreement expressly providing that Florida law would apply. The agreement contained a provision stating that Wife waived…
Date: May 23, 2014
Docket Number: 131333
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 120649
Justia Opinion Summary: Rick Bertrand, a Republican, and Rick Mullin, a Democrat, were candidates for the Iowa Senate in the 2010 general election. During campaigning, Mullin approved of a television commercial, titled “Secrets,” which stated…
Date: May 16, 2014
Docket Number: 122221
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of operating while intoxicated, second offense. Defendant appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress the breath-test result obtained after his arrest, arguing that he had been…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 111685
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with and found guilty of driving under revocation. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court’s admission of a certified abstract of his driving record and affidavits of the mailing of…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 120302
Justia Opinion Summary: Larysa and Alan Asher filed an action individually and as parents and next friends of their minor child, asserting that Dr. Anthony Onuigbo was negligent in delivering their baby. The jury found in favor of Asher and…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 120919
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff worked as a service dog trainer but was not disabled. Plaintiff filed a lawsuit against Drake University Law School, where she was a student, alleging that Drake barred her from bringing with her a dog she was…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 131158
Justia Opinion Summary: AFSCME Iowa Council 61, which represents certain State employees in collective bargaining, entered into negotiations with the State regarding its 2013-2015 collective bargaining agreement. The State proposed deleting…
Date: May 9, 2014
Docket Number: 131372
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 120139
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers stopped Defendant’s vehicle after discovering that the vehicle’s license plate frame covered up the county name on the license plate, which the officers believed violated Iowa Code 321.37(3). As a result…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 122088
Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis Hagenow was injured in an automobile accident with Betty Schmidt. Hagenow and his wife (Plaintiffs) filed an uninsured motorist claim with American Family Mutual Insurance Company. American Family denied the…
Date: May 2, 2014
Docket Number: 130778
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, property owners, filed a lawsuit against the City of Ottumwa alleging that the City negligently managed storm water by approving a development. Plaintiffs alleged this action caused flooding to their…
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 130964
Date: April 25, 2014
Docket Number: 131606
Justia Opinion Summary: After the mother of nine-year-old N.S. and five-year-old J.S. admitted to using methamphetamine, the juvenile court filed an order adjudicating N.S. and J.S. children in need of assistance (CINA) under Iowa Code…
Date: April 18, 2014
Docket Number: 130505
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether a mother who serves as the guardian for her intellectually disabled adult son must obtain court approval before arranging a vasectomy for him. Maria Kennedy was the legal guardian of…
Date: April 15, 2014
Docket Number: 140553
Justia Opinion Summary: On March 11, 2014, Anthony Bisignano filed an affidavit of candidacy for Iowa Senate in District 17 with the Iowa Secretary of State. Ned Chiodo filed an objection to the affidavit of candidacy, claiming that Bisignano…
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 121862
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual exploitation by a school employee in violation of Iowa Code 709.15(3)(a) and (5)(a). At the time of the offense, Defendant was a worker at a local pipe manufacturer…
Date: April 11, 2014
Docket Number: 122168
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was a registered sex offender who was not permitted to loiter within 300 feet of a public library. In 2012, Appellant was arrested for sitting on a park bench located across the street from the main entrance of…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 111842
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 121771
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial in 2007, Tammy Smith was convicted of child endangerment resulting in serious injury against her four-year-old son. The court of appeals affirmed on appeal. In 2009, Smith applied for postconviction…
Date: April 4, 2014
Docket Number: 131871
Date: March 31, 2014
Docket Number: 140512
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 120627
Justia Opinion Summary: Elmer Gaede, who owned a 120-acre farm together with his wife, died testate on February 2005. Elmer’s daughter, Diean, was named executor under the will. Diean designated Ivan Ackerman to render legal services in the…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 122055
Justia Opinion Summary: After taking self-care leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Plaintiff was terminated from her employment with the State. A jury found the State terminated Plaintiff in violation of her rights under the…
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 131124
Date: March 28, 2014
Docket Number: 131965
Date: March 21, 2014
Docket Number: 111133
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and five counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent. The Supreme Court vacated Defendant’s convictions on three counts of intimidation…
Date: March 21, 2014
Docket Number: 111272
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pled guilty to three counts of intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent and one count of a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant appealed, arguing, inter alia, that…
Date: March 21, 2014
Docket Number: 111616
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant approached two separate tellers at a bank and demanded that each teller give him money from their cash drawers. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of robbery in the second degree. On…
Date: March 21, 2014
Docket Number: 131213
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 130869
Justia Opinion Summary: After Appellant drove her car off the road and destroyed a mailbox, Appellant gave a urine sample that tested positive for controlled substances. Based on the test results, the Iowa Department of Transportation revoked…
Date: March 14, 2014
Docket Number: 131510
Date: March 7, 2014
Docket Number: 121023
Justia Opinion Summary: Travis and Alfronia Sisson divorced in 2008. The next year, Alfornia was diagnosed with an incurable blood cancer. In 2011, Travis filed an action to modify the divorce decree, and Alfronia responded with her own claim…
Date: March 7, 2014
Docket Number: 130071
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Scott Schulte and Marisel Del Valle (together, Appellants) executed a promissory note and, as security for the note, a mortgage on real property. The note and mortgage were later assigned to BAC Home Loans…
Date: March 7, 2014
Docket Number: 130303
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, James House began working as a commercial truck driver for Mike Brooks, Inc. In 2007, House slipped and fell in any icy parking lot while retrieving cargo and injured his back. House returned to work but…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 122023
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an employee of BNSF Railway Company, was injured due to the railroad’s negligence. Because of his injury, Plaintiff was no longer able to work at his job. Plaintiff, who was almost fifty-nine years old, sued…
Date: February 28, 2014
Docket Number: 130412
Justia Opinion Summary: As a condition of her employment, Employee signed an agreement to arbitrate claims with Employer. Employee later filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission (ICRC), alleging that Employer had discriminated…
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 121377
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants owned residential real estate in West Des Moines. In 2011, the Dallas County Board of Review established an assessment value of Appellants’ property for tax purposes. In 2012, the Board established a new,…
Date: February 21, 2014
Docket Number: 131336
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were the parents of A.M. Following A.M.’s birth, the hospital staff expressed concerns about the couple’s ability to care for A.M. due to Mother’s lack of interest in feeding the baby and Father’s…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 111228
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of kidnapping in the first degree, among other charges. Defendant was a juvenile at the time of the kidnapping. The district court sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment…
Date: February 14, 2014
Docket Number: 120024
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, David Buchwald pleaded guilty to a single count of lascivious acts with a child. Upon his release from prison in 2004, Buchwald was required to register as a sex offender for ten years. In 2011, Buchwald…
Date: February 12, 2014
Docket Number: 122226
Date: February 7, 2014
Docket Number: 121192
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff’s truck was stopped at a red light when it was struck by Defendant’s car. Defendant saw the red light but claimed she didn’t see Plaintiff’s car. Later testing confirmed that Defendant had suffered a stroke…
Date: January 31, 2014
Docket Number: 121378
Justia Opinion Summary: The Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) hired a general contractor, which was a “targeted small business” (TSB), for two public construction contracts. The general contractor subcontracted with three subcontractors,…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 121928
Justia Opinion Summary: Melissa and Scott Mihm entered into a stipulation and agreement for dissolution of their marriage. The stipulation included an agreement to a child support amount below what was provided by the child support guidelines…
Date: January 24, 2014
Docket Number: 122226
Justia Opinion Summary: In an underlying termination of parental rights proceeding, the juvenile court concluded that while Mother, who was indigent, did not qualify for appointed counsel under Iowa Code 600A.6A, payment of the attorney’s fees…
Date: January 17, 2014
Docket Number: 121336
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with several crimes based on his involvement in a shooting. The jury found Defendant guilty of intimidation with a dangerous weapon with intent, among other crimes. At the same time, the jury…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 121295
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a passenger who was injured while riding in the vehicle of his brother, who had coverage, including underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, with Defendant. The policy contained a provision limiting the time…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 121593
Justia Opinion Summary: Arnold and Vesta Melby were trustors of separate irrevocable trusts. Both Arnold and Vesta received Medicaid benefits. After the Melbys’ deaths, the Iowa Department of Human Services notified Arnold’s estate that it…
Date: January 10, 2014
Docket Number: 121708
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff formed a contract with Imperial Premium Finance with regard to a financing arrangement for life insurance. Imperial later assigned its interest in the arrangement to Defendant, a limited partnership with its…
Date: January 3, 2014
Docket Number: 112087
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of escape. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the district court abused its discretion when it refused to instruct the jury that the crime of absence from…
Date: January 3, 2014
Docket Number: 131271
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