Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-0834
View Summary for Case No. 18-0834
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Crawford County, Tod Deck, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (16 pages)
Ronald Nelson appeals from the judgment entered against him following a jury trial, where the jury determined he was the successor-in-interest and mere continuation of Broken Wing Farms, Inc., against which Heartland Co-op had obtained a judgment in 2014 for $810,021.95 with 3.25% interest. On appeal, Nelson argues he was wrongly prevented from challenging Broken Wing’s debt to Heartland and that the district court erred by allowing the arbitration award against Broken Wing to have preclusive effect on the successor-liability claim against him personally. He also disputes the district court’s rulings on two jury instructions and maintains the court should have granted his motion for directed verdict because there was insufficient evidence to submit the question of his successor liability to the jury. OPINION HOLDS: Having reviewed each of Nelson’s claims and finding no reversible error, we affirm.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-0915
View Summary for Case No. 18-0915
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Grundy County, Jeffrey L. Harris, District Associate Judge, and Bradley J. Harris, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Blane, S.J. Opinion by Blane, S.J. (13 pages)
A defendant challenges on appeal, after trial to the court on the minutes, the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence of a gun found during an inventory search of his vehicle, and failure to suppress his refusal to take a breathalyzer test due to a claimed violation of his statutory right to make phone calls pursuant Iowa Code section 804.20 (2016). OPINION HOLDS: The district court properly denied the motion to suppress: when it determined (1) the evidence of gun was admissible based on ultimate discovery rule; and (2) the officer complied with the requirements of section 804.20 and, even if the officer failed to comply, not suppressing evidence of denial of breathalyzer was harmless error in light of other overwhelming evidence of the defendant’s intoxication.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-0979
View Summary for Case No. 18-0979
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, William C. Ostlund, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (7 pages)
Charles B. Lex appeals from a ruling ordering him to fix obstructed drainage tile located below his property. He contends the district court should not have found an easement on subsurface tiling from a neighboring property onto his property. In the event of an affirmance, Lex asks that the ruling be amended to assess future costs associated with tile maintenance to the neighbor. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s order for injunctive relief in the form of replacement of the tiles. Further, the issue of future tile costs was not raised or decided below, and therefore, resolution of the issue is premature.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-0989
View Summary for Case No. 18-0989
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Henry W. Latham II, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Tabor, J., and Blane, S.J. Opinion by Blane, S.J. (9 pages)
Defendant appeals the jury’s guilty verdict and the trial court’s denial of his motion for new trial based on his claim the complaining witness’s recantation of the allegation of sexual abuse at trial constitutes the greater weight of the evidence against his conviction. OPINION HOLDS: The jury heard all of the evidence and determined the credibility of the witnesses regarding the recantation. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying the defendant’s motion for new trial.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1077
View Summary for Case No. 18-1077
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cass County, James M. Richardson, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (12 pages)
Sara Gustafson appeals from the district court’s summary dismissal of her claims against Tracey Bell and Shelly Towne for defamation, abuse of process, malicious prosecution, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Gustafson maintains the district court erred because there are genuine issues of material fact in dispute that preclude the summary dismissal of each of her claims. OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the district court that each of Gustafson’s claims fails as a matter of law. We affirm the summary dismissal of each of her claims.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1092
View Summary for Case No. 18-1092
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Karen Romano, Judge. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED. Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ. Gamble, S.J., takes no part. Opinion by Tabor, J. (13 pages)
Annett Holdings appeals the district court’s order certifying Anthony Roland’s class action, arguing the case presents no common question of fact or law and individual issues predominate over those common to the class. OPINION HOLDS: Because we find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s conclusion a question common to all class members, the legality of the Memorandum of Understanding, lies at the heart of the dispute, or in its conclusion that common issue predominates over the individual issues involved, we affirm and remand for further proceedings.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1118
View Summary for Case No. 18-1118
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Benton County, Lars G. Anderson, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Bower, J. (11 pages)
Sheryl Schwab appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in her legal malpractice action against Jennifer Zahradnik. Schwab claims Zahradnik provided negligent legal representation by failing to preserve her rights to her ex-spouse’s potential medical-malpractice claim, her right to file a loss-of-consortium claim, and a right to reimbursement for insurance premiums paid during the dissolution. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court dismissal of Schwab’s legal malpractice claims.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1129
View Summary for Case No. 18-1129
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dickinson County, David A. Lester, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (14 pages)
Property owner Mau Family Ltd. Partnership appeals the district court’s judicial-review order affirming the Property Assessment Appeal Board’s (PAAB) valuation of its properties between East Lake and West Lake Okoboji, arguing there were various errors in PAAB’s assessment and it is not supported by substantial evidence. OPINION HOLDS: Because we find no merit in the alleged errors and the valuation was supported by substantial evidence, we affirm.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1171
View Summary for Case No. 18-1171
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Kellyann M. Lekar, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Vogel, C.J., Vaitheswaran, J., and Mahan, S.J., but decided by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Mahan, S.J., and Vogel, S.J. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (5 pages)
JLL LLC appeals the district court’s order on its application for attorney fees and costs following a condemnation action by the City of Cedar Falls. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s ruling on taxation of costs.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1200
View Summary for Case No. 18-1200
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeffrey D. Farrell, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Tabor, J. (9 pages)
Homebuyers David and Rachael Sokol appeal an adverse ruling in their lawsuit against seller Bob Morrissey alleging breach of the implied warranty of good and workerlike construction. OPINION HOLDS: Because we find substantial evidence supporting the district court’s conclusion the Sokols could have reasonably identified the claimed defects before purchasing the home, we affirm.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1294
View Summary for Case No. 18-1294
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Patrick McElyea, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (12 pages)
Plaintiff John Hintermeister appeals the district court decision granting summary judgment to defendants Nathan Barber, Belin McCormick, P.C., Riverview Hotel Development, LLC, and MLC Land Company, LLC for his claims of tortious interference with business relations and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The district court determined the litigation privilege applied to the defendants’ conduct and granted their motion for summary judgment. OPINION HOLDS: We determine the district court properly granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment.
Filed Jul 24, 2019
View Opinion No. 18-1399
View Summary for Case No. 18-1399
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Steven J. Oeth, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Vogel, S.J., and Gamble, S.J. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (10 pages)
Cassandra McConkey, the mother of a child, appeals the district court’s denial of her petition for relief from sexual abuse filed on behalf of the child against the child’s father, Kevin Huisman. She contends (1) she met her burden of proving Huisman sexually abused the child and (2) the district court should have excluded Huisman’s expert witness for failure to disclose her. OPINION HOLDS: We find the second issue dispositive. Given the prejudice to McConkey of Huisman’s expert non-disclosure, we reverse and remand for a new trial on McConkey’s petition. We also remand for a hearing on the reasonableness of McConkey’s attorney fee request.