September 2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Nancy S. Tabor, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., May, J., and Mahan, S.J.  Tabor, J., takes no part.  Opinion by Mahan, S.J.  (12 pages)

            Puryear Law P.C. and Eric Puryear appeal the district court’s dismissal of a defamation action against Dirk Fishback and Jessica Harbaugh, contending the district court erred in granting a motion for directed verdict.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Kathleen A. Kilnoski, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (8 pages)

            Vernon and Mary Hilkemann appeal a district court ruling relating to zoning decisions by the City of Carter Lake City Council, Planning Board, and Board of Adjustment.  The Hilkemanns contest the district court’s finding the relation-back doctrine did not apply and the court’s authority to remand annulled variances to the board of adjustment for further proceedings.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the relation-back doctrine does not apply here and the court has the authority to order a remand for further proceedings. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Timothy J. Finn, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (9 pages)

            Atiba Spellman appeals the order dismissing his action for postconviction relief (PCR) as a discovery sanction.  OPINION HOLDS:  The reasoning supporting dismissal of Spellman’s PCR action is flawed.  First, the PCR court overlooked that Spellman amended his PCR application to provide the desired specificity for his PCR claims before the hearing on discovery sanctions.  Second, we disagree that Spellman’s failure to provide discovery answers impeded the State’s ability to move for summary judgment.  Third, Spellman did provide interrogatory answers within the deadline set forth in the court’s order compelling him to answer, and it is more likely that his failure to provide more specific answers or documents results from inability rather than willful refusal.  Finally, the circumstances here are less egregious than in cases where the courts upheld dismissal as a discovery sanction.  Given these circumstances, we find the PCR court abused its discretion in dismissing Spellman’s PCR application as a discovery sanction.  For these reasons, we reverse and remand for further proceedings. 

             Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, DeDra L. Schroeder, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (9 pages)

            Andrew Martin appeals a district court order adjudicating him a sexually violent predator and committing him to the custody of the department of human services for control.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court’s findings are supported by substantial evidence, we affirm the order adjudicating Martin a sexually violent offender and ordering his civil commitment.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Warren County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield and Tabor, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (21 pages)

            Richard Ehler appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief, arguing counsel was ineffective for failing to adequately research the viability of his speedy-trial claim.  OPINION HOLDS: Plea counsel breached a duty by failing to understand the applicable speedy-trial standard.  And because counsel’s failure influenced Ehler’s decision to plead guilty, it resulted in prejudice to Ehler.  We remand the case to the district court with instructions to grant Ehler’s PCR application, vacate the guilty plea, and dismiss the trial information.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Carla Schemmel, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (5 pages)

            Komut Mai appeals from judgment and sentence following the denial of his motion to suppress and trial on the minutes of testimony.  Mai maintains the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle in which he was a passenger.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the officer did not have a reasonable, articulable suspicion to stop the vehicle, we reverse the denial of Mai’s motion to suppress and remand for further proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Butler County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J, and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (8 pages)

            Melissa Sadler appeals an adverse summary judgment ruling and dismissal of her civil suit.  She argues the court (1) improperly failed to allow her fifteen days to respond to the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, (2) lacked jurisdiction to entertain the motion when an appeal was pending, (3) abused its discretion in denying her motion to extend expert-witness deadlines, and (4) erred by dismissing the lawsuit when an appeal was pending concerning the propriety of a motion to dismiss granted in favor of other defendants.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the outcome of the district court proceedings.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Andrea J. Dryer, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (4 pages)

            Christopher Thomas contends insufficient evidence supports his conviction for violating the sex offender registry requirements.  OPINION HOLDS: Sufficient evidence supports the conviction.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Gregory W. Steensland, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Potterfield and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, J.  (3 pages)

            Martin Hiatt appeals from the district court’s denial of his motion to quash.  Hiatt claimed the Iowa Department of Corrections (IDOC) was seizing funds from his prison account that came from outside sources without providing Hiatt a predeprivation hearing before doing so.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we are unable to ascertain on the record before us whether Hiatt was given notice or the opportunity to object before IDOC began collecting restitution from his prison funds from outside sources, we reverse the district court’s denial and remand for further proceedings. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Winneshiek County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (11 pages)

            Thomas and Jeanett Hansen appeal a trial court order finding in favor of Dean Thorson in a conversion and breach-of-contract action relating to a hay crop and farm-rental agreement.  The Hansens claim the trial court erred in denying their motion for new trial because Thorson made knowing material misrepresentations during trial that prejudiced the Hansens and the court erred in law and made a mistake of fact as to the date of conversion.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for new trial and did not make an error of law or mistake of fact.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Thomas A. Bitter, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (7 pages)

            Eddie Adams appeals from an order denying him postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Adams has not shown his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to have his DNA expert independently test the evidence when he never claimed additional testing would have changed the outcome of trial and the record does not support his claim of spoliation.  Nor has Adams shown his PCR counsel was ineffective by failing to move for an expanded ruling on the legality of an Allen charge when the record does not show the court gave the jury an Allen instruction. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lawrence P. McLellan, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (11 pages)

            Katherine Myer appeals the district court ruling finding she violated her obligations to her mother Sylvia Chott as her mother’s power of attorney by withdrawing funds from the mother’s bank account and ordering her to return the money and pay attorney fees and court costs.  Katherine argues the district court erred by evaluating her conduct under Iowa Code chapter 633B (2017), by finding she had not met her burden to prove she acted in good faith and Sylvia had acted freely, voluntarily, and intelligently when she transferred the money to Katherine, and by awarding Sylvia attorney fees.  Additionally, she requests appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court correctly evaluated Katherine’s conduct under chapter 633B.  The district court correctly determined Katherine had not met her burden of proof.  We affirm the award of trial attorney fees and award appellate attorney fees to Sylvia.  We affirm.