Iowa Supreme Court Decisions 2023

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa reviewed a case where a plaintiff, James Penny, brought a lawsuit against the City of Winterset and a police officer, Christian Dekker, for damages caused by a collision. Officer Dekker was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Iowa ruled that the State University of Iowa, Iowa State University of Science and Technology, and the University of Northern Iowa were required to be members of the Iowa Individual Health Benefit…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Iowa, the appellants, the estate and family of Deanna Dee Fahrmann, had filed a wrongful-death action against ABCM Corporation and two of its employees, alleging nursing home malpractice. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Scott Olson, an employee of BNSF Railway Company, sued the company under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, seeking damages for injuries he sustained in a workplace accident. A jury found in favor of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of Iowa, the plaintiff, Renee Hummel, brought a medical malpractice suit against the defendants, Adam B. Smith, Adam Smith, M.D., P.C., and Tri-State Specialists, L.L.P. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Iowa was asked to interpret and apply three provisions of the Iowa Code relating to workers' compensation. The plaintiff, Corey Tweeten, worked on his father's farm and sustained a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves an Iowa attorney, Marc Harding, who hired an Indiana-based doctor, Rick Sasso, to provide expert witness services in a potential medical malpractice suit in Iowa. After things did not go as planned,…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case from the Supreme Court of Iowa involves a juvenile, I.S., who was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography. The juvenile court initially waived its jurisdiction over the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case from the Supreme Court of Iowa, the appellant, David Gordon, a minor at the time of committing his crimes, was charged with theft in the first degree and willful injury resulting in bodily injury. He pleaded…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case from the Supreme Court of Iowa, the defendant, Stephen Arrieta, a truck driver, was pulled over at a weigh station after his vehicle failed a "PrePass" check. During the stop, an Iowa Department of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of Iowa, the court reviewed the trial and conviction of Robert Krogmann for attempted murder and willful injury causing serious injury. This was Krogmann's second trial after his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case before the Supreme Court of Iowa, the defendant, Robert Clark Geddes, was charged with trespass as a hate crime. The defendant had trespassed onto various properties, leaving behind anonymous notes that urged…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court denying Defendant's motion to suppress and convicting him of firearm violations, holding that the law enforcement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the district court and court of appeals did not err in finding that Defendant was not seized before the law enforcement officer who eventually arrested him discovered his probable intoxication…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for operating while intoxicated (OWI) and eluding, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting evidence about a preliminary breath test…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained during a traffic stop, holding that because Defendant's license plate cover violated Iowa Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's judgment of sentence and confirmed what it held in State v. Wilbourn, 974 N.W.2d 58 (Iowa 2022) and State v. Treptow, 960 N.W.2d 98 (Iowa 2021), that if good cause is lacking to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant, following a jury trial, of murder in the second degree, obstructing prosecution, and abusing a corpse, holding that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court ruling that an Employer's refusal to collect dues from Union members' paychecks was a breach of certain collective bargaining rights and awarding money…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of first-degree robbery and willful injury causing serious injury, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's convictions for first-degree robbery and willful injury causing serious injury, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the juvenile court granting the State's delinquency petition against Defendant and its motion to waive jurisdiction to allow for Defendant's prosecution as an adult, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court ordering Respondent's continued hospitalization following his court-ordered psychiatric treatment, holding that respondents in proceedings brought under Iowa…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that Desira Johnson, a teacher at the West Des Moines Community Schools (the District), was not subject to individual liability under the Iowa…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's claim alleging she suffered permanent lung injury from toxic vapors that spread…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in this wrongful discharge action, holding that the district court did not err in denying the motion to dismiss Plaintiff's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) to grant MidAmerican Energy Company's petition for a franchise to build electric transmission lines…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Thomas L. Cardella & Associates' (Cardella) motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict in this case alleging common law negligent supervision or…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' lawsuit challenging the City of Windsor Heights's attempts to collect automated traffic citation fines not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment granted by the district court in favor of the City of Muscatine on claims seeking to hold the City vicariously liable for a former police officer's sexual assault, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the district court denying Polk County's motion to dismiss this tort action under Iowa Code 670.4A, a new provision of the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court granting Larry Hedlund's motion seeking retrospective application of the amendments to Iowa's whistleblower-protection law, Iowa Code section 70A.28, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court denying three plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment in this suit brought to challenge the City of Des Moines' use of the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court dismissing an attorney's pro se petition to establish an involuntary guardianship of J.W., holding that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the trial court on interlocutory appeal denying Defendants' remand for a jury in this argument over the requirement that civil enforcement actions brought by the attorney general…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Exile Brewing Company's attempt to intervene in the underlying probate matter and striking Exile's motion to vacate, dismiss, and close two estates…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying the motion filed by the Council Bluffs Water Works' to dismiss the claim brought by Jim and Angela Sutton for strict liability, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to a police detective and his city employer in this case alleging defamation, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the summary judgment of the district court concluding that a condominium owner-landlord owed no duty of care with respect to a downspout that discharged water directly onto a shared driveway,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this direct appeal brought by the Iowa Department of Human Services (HDS) from a district court ruling requiring Iowa's Medicaid program to pay for sex reassignment surgery for two transgender…

Justia Opinion Summary: On interlocutory appeal and cross-appeal of a ruling on a motion to dismiss the state constitutional tort and common law claims arising out of a warrantless arrest of Plaintiff's spouse the Supreme Court affirmed in part…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's various legal theories of direct damages liability under the Iowa Constitution, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that "repowering" a wind plant, or replacing a substantial proportion of its parts, does not change the analysis for valuing wind plants for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying a request for a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), holding that without a divorce or separate maintenance proceeding under Iowa Code chapter…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's petition for judicial review of an order of the Iowa Utilities Board approving a regulated public utility's emissions plan and budget,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for the Center for Special Needs Trust Administration, Inc., as trustee of a polled special needs trust held for the benefit of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court concluding that the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) was entitled to a detailed accounting and all of the residual funds The Center for Special Needs…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of sexual abuse in the third degree, holding that Defendant was not entitled to reversal of his convictions on his allegations of error.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's sentence and remanded this case for resentencing, holding that the district court imposed an illegal sentence by choosing not to impose the requirements set forth in Iowa Code…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of one count each of willful injury and intimidation with a deadly weapon, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this action concerning a lease renewal for property on which a cell tower was built the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court and the court of appeals in favor of a cell phone service company and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the rulings of the district court and court of appeals that the workers' compensation commissioner erred in granting Employer's motion for summary judgment and dismissing Employee's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellant's motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that the district court did not err in denying Appellant's motion. After a jury trial,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court refusing to certify Appellant's case as a class action, holding that, based on the facts and circumstances of this case, the district court did not abuse its…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants as to some of Plaintiff's claims and the judgment entered on the defense verdicts on Plaintiff's remaining defamation…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed as modified the judgment of the district court denying Defendants' motion to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims of open records violations, holding that Iowa's Open Records Act, Iowa Code chapter 22,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, second offense, harassment of a public official, and interference with official acts,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for two counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and two counts of failure to possess a tax stamp, holding that the district court did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court concluding that Defendants discriminated against prospective tenants in violation of municipal law by steering prospective tenants of a protected religion or…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying the state auditor's application to enforce a subpoena against the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP), holding that ICAP is not a governmental…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court reversing the decision of the workers' compensation commissioner denying the claim filed by the husband of a deceased employee for burial expenses and death…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of murder in the first degree, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error. In 2019, police charged Defendant with murder in the first…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's claims against Defendants for wrongful termination, workplace harassment, and age discrimination, holding that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decisions of the district court and employment appeal board affirming the decision of the department of workforce development denying Appellant's claim for unemployment benefits, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the district court's dismissal of the medical malpractice action brought by the Estate of Roberta Butterfield against Chautauqua Guest…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that Iowa Code 35C.8, an exception to the veterans preference statute that applies to veterans who "hold[] a strictly confidential relation to the appointing officer" does not apply unless the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court and the decision of the court of appeals in this dispute over the beneficiary designation of an individual retirement account (IRA), holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in this appeal concerning attorney fees, holding that the court abused its discretion in ordering an eighty-nine-year-old…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's convictions for sexual abuse in the second degree, holding that the district court erred by giving the jury asymmetrical, particularized noncorroboration instructions focusing on the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal from the court of appeals' decision affirming a default judgment in a foreclosure case the Supreme Court held that, when a defendant is known to be represented by a lawyer, a plaintiff must send a copy of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the Iowa Public Employee Relations Board (PERB) and the district court misinterpreted Iowa Code 20.32 by extending broader bargaining rights to nontransit employees in the same bargaining unit…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this interlocutory appeal in a case involving claims for injuries resulting from a high-speed chase, the Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court denying the State's motion for summary judgment,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied motions sought by Appellants to dismiss their misdemeanor cases on the ground that their no-bond arrest warrants, arrest, and subsequent temporary detentions were unlawful, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court refusing to quash subpoenas that required production of documents and testimony for use in a Louisiana products liability lawsuit, holding that the subpoenas…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals reversing the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Wapello County in this property dispute, holding that the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction and sentence for voluntary manslaughter, holding that the circuit court committed no instructional error or constitutional violation in the underlying proceedings. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendant and dismissing Plaintiff's claim that Iowa's tax-sale statute violates due process because it doesn't require…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute - between a revocable trust and a man who had provided the settlor with services during the settlor's lifetime - over the sale of certain trust property, the Supreme Court held that the net proceeds from…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court's ruling granting Defendant's motion to suppress statements she made during a custodial interview, holding that some deception by law enforcement in this case did not exceed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals modifying a dissolution decree to award a payee spouse seven years of transitional spousal support, holding that, under the circumstances, the court of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal of a restitution order that was cross-filed in a felony case and a dismissed misdemeanor case the Supreme Court declined to grant review in the dismissed misdemeanor case, granted felony review in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for an agricultural supplier in its foreclosure action to recover the amount of its unpaid bills from…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case stemming from a commercial lease dispute between Landlord and Tenant the Supreme Court held that both parties breached the lease agreement but that only the tenant's breach was material. At issue in this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that Defendant was not entitled to a new trial after the Supreme Court remanded the case with instructions for the district court to hold a hearing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court dismissing with prejudice Plaintiff's petition asserting claims arising under the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act (IMTCA), holding that the district court erred…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this medical malpractice case the Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court vacating Plaintiff's prior voluntary dismissal of her action without prejudice and dismissing the case with prejudice, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court granting summary judgment for Defendants in this medical malpractice action, holding that a plaintiff who files a noncompliant certificate of merit and then…