News
Release
September
10, 2012
Contact: Steve
Davis, Court Communications Officer, (515)725-8058
Iowa
Supreme Court to Hear Oral Arguments in Ottumwa
Des
Moines, September 10, 2012—
On Wednesday, September 19, the Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in
Ottumwa, Iowa. The proceeding will take place in St. John Auditorium at Indian
Hills Community College, 525 Grandview Avenue. The session will begin at 7 p.m.
The
court will hear lawyers argue in two
cases:
Postell v. American Family Mutual Insurance
Co.
Case
context: On appeal from an action to recover benefits under a homeowner's
insurance policy, plaintiff challenges the district court's ruling that her
insurance policy did not provide coverage for losses incurred as a result of a
fire that her husband had intentionally set to their home. Plaintiff argues:
(1) she is a "separate insured" and as an innocent coinsured is
entitled to the statutorily required minimum coverage, (2) when the insurance
policy is read as a whole each insured is a separate insured and the
intentional acts of one malfeasant insured do not bind the other insureds, and (3) because her husband was suicidal, his
delusional conduct in burning down their home was not done with an "intent
to cause a loss" as that term is used in the insurance policy's
intentional loss exclusion clause.
The
lawyer for Postell is: Joseph C. Creen, Davenport. The lawyer for American Family Mutual
Insurance Co. is Ted J. Wallace, Davenport.
State
of Iowa v. Kern
Case
context: Defendant appeals her convictions on marijuana-related charges on the
grounds that law enforcement conducted an unlawful search of her home without a
warrant. Defendant, a parolee at the time, argues the warrantless search
violated her constitutional rights despite her signature on a parole agreement
giving advance consent to a search of her home. Defendant
contends the trial court improperly considered the evidence obtained during the
search.
The
lawyer for the State of Iowa is: Kevin Cmelik,
Assistant Attorney General. The lawyer for Kern is: Christopher R. Kemp, Des
Moines.
Note
to Editors: News
media are invited to attend the oral arguments. Court rules regarding expanded
media coverage apply. You can find information on expanded media coverage on
the Judicial Branch Website at
http://www.iowacourts.gov/News_Service/Expanded_Media_Coverage/.
The
Iowa Court Rules regarding expanded media coverage on the Iowa Legislature website
at http://www.legis.state.ia.us/DOCS/ACO/CR/LINC/08-15-2012.chapter.25.pdf.
# # #
2012
Iowa Supreme Court
1111 East Court Avenue
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-3952
