2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (6 pages)

            James Saluri appeals the district court’s ruling on a postsecondary education subsidy.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the district court correctly found good cause for the subsidy and properly applied the statutory three-step process to calculate James’s share of the subsidy.  The court did not abuse its discretion in awarding Sandra Saluri attorney fees.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Sarah Crane, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (5 pages)

            An employer and its workers’ compensation carrier appeal from the district court ruling on judicial review affirming the agency’s award of permanent partial disability benefits to an employee.  OPINION HOLDS: Because substantial evidence supports the agency’s determination that a work injury caused a permanent partial disability to the employee, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Mills County, Timothy O'Grady, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (4 pages)

            Steve Palmer appeals from a decree dissolving his marriage to Debra Palmer.  He claims the district court did not award him enough spousal support.  OPINION HOLDS: We afford the district court considerable latitude in determining spousal support.  Here, the district court’s award fits well with Steve and Debra’s relative needs and resources.  The district court did not fail to do equity.  We affirm.  And we assess costs of this appeal to Steve.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Bethany J. Currie, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Greer, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Blane, S.J.  (6 pages)

            A ward appeals from the district court’s appointment of his parents as co-guardians and co-conservators.  He argues there was insufficient evidence to establish the need for a guardianship or conservatorship.  In the alternative, he argues the court should have established a limited guardianship.  OPINION HOLDS: The ward’s untreated acute paranoid schizophrenia, refusal to acknowledge his mental illness, and refusal to take medication show his decision-making is impaired enough to warrant guardianship and conservatorship.  A limited guardianship is not appropriate here because of the severity of the illness and the ward’s lack of rational engagement with his mental-health condition.  We find no error in the court’s order appointing the parents as guardians and conservators. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie K. Vaudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (6 pages)

            Gary Dickey Jr. appeals from the dismissal of his petition for judicial review by which he sought to challenge a decision of the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we agree with the district court that Dickey has not demonstrated “a specific and injurious effect” such that he may obtain judicial review of the Board’s ruling under Iowa Code section 17A.19(1), we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Crawford County, Tod Deck, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON CROSS-APPEAL.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (10 pages)

            Joshua Thomsen appeals and MaKinzie Nelson cross-appeals the district court’s custody decree.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the district court properly determined joint physical care was inappropriate.  We also find the district court properly awarded physical care to MaKinzie.  While we generally agree with the district court’s visitation schedule, we modify the holiday schedule to permit the child to share holidays with Joshua’s girlfriend’s children.  Finally, we decline to grant appellate attorney fees to either party.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Zachary Hindman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (8 pages)

            Richard Magnuson appeals the ruling of the district court approving the guardian and conservator’s annual report and application for authorization to expend conservatorship funds for caregivers.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our de novo review of the record, we dismiss two of Magnuson’s three claims on appeal as moot.  And we find Magnuson’s last claim that the care provided to the ward was “contrary to [the ward’s] prior orders” to lack merit, and we agree with the district court that the guardian and conservator did not breach her fiduciary duties.  Thus, we affirm the court’s rulings in all respects and dismiss the two claims as moot.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie K. Vaudt, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Greer, J., and Carr, S.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (7 pages)

            3E, also known as Electrical & Engineering Company, and Travelers Indemnity Company appeal the district court’s decision denying their motion to dismiss Steven Bell Jr.’s petition for judicial review on the ground Bell failed to timely serve notice of the petition.  OPINION HOLDS:  We determine the district court erred by denying the motion to dismiss, as Bell did not substantially comply with the requirements for service of notice found in Iowa Code section 17A.19(2) (2018).  We reverse the decision of the district court and remand for an order dismissing the petition for judicial review.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Patrick A. McElyea, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J.  (9 pages)

            A father appeals from the denial of his petition for modification of a dissolution-of-marriage decree.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the denial of the father’s modification petition. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Stephen A. Owen, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Mullins and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (9 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to two of her minor children.  OPINION HOLDS: The State has proved grounds for termination by clear and convincing evidence, termination is in the children’s best interests, and no statutory exception exists to prevent termination.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Romonda Belcher, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (4 pages)

            A father appeals the termination of his parental rights to his minor child.  OPINION HOLDS: The father does not challenge the statutory grounds for termination under Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(b) (2018), which does not require reasonable efforts toward reunification.  Regardless, the father failed to demand additional efforts and waived the issue on appeal.  We affirm the juvenile court’s termination of the father’s parental rights.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Rachael E. Seymour, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Doyle and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (7 pages)

            A mother appeals the juvenile court order terminating her parental rights.  She claims the child could have been returned to her care at the time of the hearing and, alternatively, requests an additional six months to reunite with the child.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm.