2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Adam D. Sauer, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and May and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (4 pages)

            A mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to her two children.  She argues she should have additional time because she has a different attorney on appeal.  She also argues the Iowa Department of Human Services’ repeated failure to provide her with permanency plans violates her due process rights and it was abuse of discretion on the part of the district court to terminate her parental rights without the permanency plans. OPINION HOLDS: No due process violations occurred.  The mother’s abuse-of-discretion argument was not raised at any point before appeal and was not substantiated in the mother’s petition.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marion County, Steven Guiter, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (5 pages)

            The mother appeals the termination of her parental rights to three of her children, who are all age three or younger.  The juvenile court terminated the mother’s parental rights to each child pursuant to Iowa Code section 232.116(1)(e) and (h) (2019), citing the mother’s unresolved use of methamphetamine, housing instability, and issues involving mental health.  On appeal, the mother claims there is insufficient evidence to support the statutory grounds for termination and, in the alternative, asks for an extension of time to work toward reunification.  OPINION HOLDS: The statutory grounds for termination have been met, and an extension of time is not warranted.  We affirm the termination of the mother’s parental rights.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Bradley J. Harris and Andrea J. Dryer, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and May, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (11 pages)

            Rondell Cropp appeals the dismissal of his application for postconviction relief (PCR) following his 2007 convictions for robbery in the first degree and willful injury causing serious injury.  He maintains the PCR court improperly dismissed his application without giving him notice of its intention to do so or allowing him an opportunity to respond.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Cropp could not meet his burden of establishing his PCR claims survive the statute of limitations based on the new-ground-of-fact exception and because his illegal-sentence claims did not merit an evidentiary hearing, the PCR court did not err in dismissing Cropp’s claims without an evidentiary hearing.  We affirm the dismissal of Cropp’s PCR application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Emily Dean, District Associate Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (5 pages)

            E.M. appeals the district court order finding she was seriously mentally impaired.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the hospitalization order is not supported by clear and convincing evidence.  Accordingly, the order is reversed.  We remand the matter to the district court with instructions to deny the application and terminate the proceeding.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Kellyann M. Lekar, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and May, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (5 pages)

            Postconviction-relief (PCR) applicant Chester Polk Jr. appeals the dismissal of his second PCR application as untimely.  He asks the court to apply the “relation-back” doctrine set out in Allison v. State, 914 N.W.2d 866, 891 (Iowa 2018), to find his application was timely.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the applicant waited nearly six months to file his second PCR application, he did not meet the “prompt” filing mandate in Allison.  We affirm the dismissal. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Washington County, Randy S. DeGeest, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered Vaitheswaran, P.J., Vogel, S.J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (8 pages)

            Friends of Bunker Mill Bridge, Inc. (FBMB) appeals the district court’s ruling on its petition for writ of certiorari upholding the order of the Washington County Board of Supervisors vacating a portion of a secondary highway.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court decision denying FBMB’s petition for writ of certiorari.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Emmet County, Nancy L. Whittenburg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and May, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (11 pages)

            Jose Luis Aguilar Olvera appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief, alleging his trial attorneys were ineffective in allowing him to submit blood and saliva samples under a nontestimonial identification order.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court’s order did not violate Aguilar’s due-process rights, Aguilar did not prove his attorneys performed below professional norms by not objecting to the corresponding procedures.  We thus affirm the denial of postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Karen A. Romano, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (3 pages)

            Pablo Benavidez appeals a district court remand order with regard to his application for postconviction relief, contending the district court abused its discretion in deducting 5000 days of his earned time credits as a penalty for filing a frivolous action.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s deduction of 5000 days of earned time credits as a penalty for Benavidez’s frivolous filing. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Lars G. Anderson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and May, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (14 pages)

            The ward’s niece and nephew appeal from the denial of their applications for guardianship and conservatorship and the appointment of the ward’s long-time friends as guardians.  They contend the district court erred in concluding the ward was competent when executing two durable powers of attorney (POA) granting a medical POA to the friends and a general POA to a bank.  OPINION HOLDS: We find no error in the court’s conclusion the ward was competent to execute the POAs.  There is no dispute the ward now needs a guardian, but we further conclude the appointment of the ward’s friends was appropriate and did not involve an abuse of discretion.  Finally, the district court did not err in determining the bank is adequately handling her financial affairs and a conservatorship is unnecessary. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Bradley J. Harris, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (6 pages)

            Gregory Ragsdale appeals the district court’s order granting David Wireman’s motion for summary judgment on Ragsdale’s petition for declaratory judgment regarding the parties’ interests in a public way created by a prior condemnation proceeding.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not err in concluding the condemned tract of land was a public tract and in granting Wireman’s motion for summary judgment.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Michael D. Huppert, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., Greer, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (8 pages)

            The district court awarded loss-of-use damages to Chadmark, LLC resulting from damage to one of its trucks.  The company appeals the court’s calculation of damages and asserts it is also entitled to damages for out-of-pocket expenses to retrieve a replacement truck.  OPINION HOLDS: We agree with the district court’s calculation of loss-of-use damages but find additional damages for out-of-pocket expenses are appropriate.  We remand for entry of judgment reflecting the additional damages award.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Paul D. Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (2 pages)

            Anthony Browne appeals the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of his co-workers in his lawsuit alleging defamation and other torts.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm without opinion.