2019 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            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.

            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.

            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.

            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.

            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.

            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.

            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. 

            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.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Randy V. Hefner, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Mullins and Bower, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, J.  (7 pages)

            Alok Epari appeals the district court’s order modifying the physical care and visitation provisions of the decree dissolving his marriage with Renee Nelson, formerly Renee Epari.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court ruling granting Renee physical care of the children, and affirm as modified the visitation schedule. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Hancock County, Colleen D. Weiland, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Tabor, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (9 pages)

            William Arnold sued members of his family for tortious interference and undue influence resulting in him not receiving a bequest of the family farmland from his aunt and uncle.  The district court granted the defendants summary judgment.  William appeals.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the evidence William brings is no more than speculative about the influence the defendants may have had on the deceased, the grant of summary judgment was proper, and we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wapello County, Myron L. Gookin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Doyle and Tabor, JJ.  Opinion by Potterfield, P.J.  (10 pages)

            James Olsen appeals the district court’s award of alimony to Deora Olsen.  James Olsen argues the district court improperly calculated both his and Deora’s incomes and improperly awarded Deora alimony of $300 per month for five years and then $250 per month for another five years.  Deora Olsen requests appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s award of alimony and its calculation of James’s income.  We decline to award Deora appellate attorney fees.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott J. Beattie, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Bower, J., and Mahan, S.J.  Opinion by Mahan, S.J.  (8 pages)

            Brandy Flemming-Jess appeals from an order modifying the child-support provisions of the decree dissolving her marriage to Matthew Flemming.  She argues Matthew is not entitled to a reduction of his child-support obligation because he voluntarily reduced his income.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our de novo review, we agree modification is appropriate under the facts of this case and we affirm.