March 2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Joel A. Dalrymple, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Doyle, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (7 pages)

            Tony Eugene Doolin appeals the judgment and sentence entered following his convictions for intimidation with a dangerous weapon, assault while participating in a felony, and carrying weapons.  OPINION HOLDS: I. Because the record is incomplete as to why counsel did not object to the in-court identification and request a jury instruction on eyewitness identification, we decline to reach Doolin’s claims his trial counsel was ineffective in order to allow Doolin to raise them in a postconviction-relief action.  II. When viewed in the light most favorable to the State, there is sufficient evidence for a rational jury to find Doolin was under the influence based on a police officer’s testimony regarding his observation of Doolin and his belief that Doolin was impaired.  III. Because the evidence does not preponderate heavily against a finding that Doolin was the assailant, the district court did not abuse its discretion in overruling Doolin’s motion for a new trial. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David P. Odekirk, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Bower, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J. (9 pages)

            Donald Hutton appeals his conviction of assault causing bodily injury on sufficiency-of-the-evidence grounds.  He argues the trial court erred in denying his motions for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he acted without justification.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude substantial evidence supports Hutton’s conviction of assault causing bodily injury.  We therefore affirm his conviction. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Washington County, Randy S. DeGeest, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vogel, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by Vogel, C.J.  (2 pages)

            Michael Labarbera appeals his conviction for the manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver marijuana.  He asserts his counsel was ineffective for failing to object to the prosecutor’s comments and witness’s testimony that he claims improperly inflamed the jury.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the conviction but preserve the ineffective-assistance claim for possible postconviction relief. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cedar County, Stuart P. Werling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vogel, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by McDonald, J. (5 pages)

            Zachary Hayes appeals his convictions of multiple acts of child endangerment resulting in serious injury and neglect of a dependent person.  OPINION HOLDS: Hayes’s counsel did not provide ineffective assistance by failing to motion for judgment of acquittal on the charge of neglect of a dependent person.  Hayes’s counsel did not provide ineffective assistance by failing to challenge a jury instruction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert A. Hutchinson, David N. May and Arthur E. Gamble, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., Bower, J., and Carr, S.J.  Gamble, S.J., takes no part.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (12 pages)

            Bar owner Steven McFadden challenges the process approved by the district court for dissolving and liquidating two limited liability companies.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no failure by the district court to do equity; substantial evidence supports its rationale for not requiring the Baldwins to assign the Mickey’s Irish Pub lease to McFadden as part of the liquidation.  McFadden failed to preserve his claim alleging a breach of fiduciary duty in the Shotgun Betty’s dissolution.  Accordingly, we affirm.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Poweshiek County, Rose Anne Mefford, District Associate Judge, and Lucy J. Gamon, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Vogel, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Vogel, C.J.  Special Concurrence by Vaitheswaran, J.  (12 pages)

            Frederic Hayer appeals his convictions and sentence for the crimes of carrying weapons, operating while intoxicated, and possession of marijuana.  He argues the district court’s incorrect interpretation of Iowa’s implied consent statute resulted in the inappropriate denial of his motion to suppress.  Also, he asserts none of the jury’s guilty verdicts were supported by sufficient evidence.  OPINIONS HOLDS: We conclude the district court correctly interpreted and applied Iowa law, and therefore, properly denied Hayer’s motion to suppress the urine test.  In addition, we find substantial evidence supports all of the jury’s guilty verdicts.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I believe Childs does read to suggest there must be a showing of impairment in addition to a showing the defendant ingested “any amount” of an illegal substance.  However, because that portion of the opinion is only dicta, I agree with the majority’s holding that we cannot construe that decision as Hayer would like.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (11 pages)

            John Hadsall appeals the probate court’s judgment ordering him to return $383,595.63 to his mother Jean’s estate.  OPINION HOLDS: Because John was in a confidential relationship with Jean, and because he failed to show that his transfers of substantial amounts of Jean’s assets from her accounts to his were made in good faith or at the direction of or with the assent of Jean, we agree with the probate court that John must return the “gifted” assets to Jean’s estate.  Additionally, the amount calculated by the probate court to be returned was within the permissible range of evidence, and we find no reason to disturb the calculation.  We therefore affirm the probate court’s ruling in all respects.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge.  AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (14 pages)

            Delaware Township appeals the judgment entered in favor of Midwest Ambulance Service of Iowa, Inc. (Midwest Ambulance) after a jury awarded Midwest Ambulance $170,000 in damages on a breach-of-contract claim.  OPINION HOLDS: I. Delaware Township’s claim concerning the invalidity of the contract based on failure to meet statutory notice requirements is without merit.  Delaware Township had the authority to enter into the contract with Midwest Ambulance pursuant to Iowa Code section 359.42 (2009) (explicitly authorizing the trustees of each township to provide emergency medical service), and the township’s failure to provide notice as required by section 359.17 does not render the contract void.  II. Because Delaware Township failed to raise the issue of Midwest Ambulance’s failure to exhaust contractual remedies in its motion for directed verdict, the issue is not preserved for our review.  III. Delaware Township also failed to preserve error on its claim that Midwest Ambulance breached the contract by failing to exhaust contractual remedies.  IV. The district court properly exercised its discretion in excluding evidence of a fatal accident involving a Midwest Ambulance vehicle because the danger of unfair prejudice outweighed what little probative value the evidence contributed.  Even if evidence concerning the township’s failure to comply with statutory notice requirements was relevant, the court properly exercised its discretion by excluding it because the evidence was cumulative.  V.  The district court’s award of $72,255.51 in attorney fees and costs was not clearly unreasonable or based on untenable grounds.  Because the district court acted within its discretion in awarding attorney fees and costs, we affirm.  VI. We remand to the district court for the limited purpose of an evidentiary hearing on and the fixing of appellate attorney fees. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Paul D. Miller and Chad Kepros, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (3 pages)

            Timothy Hines appeals the dismissal of his application for postconviction relief.  OPINON HOLDS: We affirm the dismissal of Hines’s application. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Bremer County, Colleen D. Weiland, Judge.  AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Vogel, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, J.  (10 pages)

            Mark McLeish appeals the probate of June McLeish’s will, challenging the district court’s determinations that (1) he had a confidential relationship with June, (2) he breached a fiduciary duty under the terms of his power of attorney, (3) he intentionally interfered with the sisters’ inheritance, and (4) the sisters were entitled to damages under the doctrine of ademption.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s order, and we remand to the district court for consideration of an award of appellate attorney fees.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Steven P. Van Marel, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Doyle, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (10 pages)

            Ryan Dunn appeals the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress.  Dunn concedes that he initially engaged in a consensual interaction with police officers but argues actions taken by officers during the encounter resulted in the unconstitutional seizure of his person.  He also argues his vehicle was unconstitutionally searched without a warrant and without an applicable exception to the warrant requirement.  Finally, Dunn argues, in the alternative, that he was subject to custodial interrogation without receiving a Miranda warning.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial of Dunn’s motion to suppress.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Richard H. Davidson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and McDonald, JJ.  Opinion by McDonald, J. (3 pages)

            Roger Lustgraaf appeals his conviction of two counts of sexual abuse in the second degree.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Lustgraaf’s motion for new trial.  Lustgraaf’s counsel was not ineffective for failing to object to a jury instruction.