Iowa Supreme Court Decisions 2023

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…