2020 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Randy V. Hefner, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (6 pages)

            Andreas Benford appeals the dismissal of his application for postconviction relief (PCR).  OPINION HOLDS: Benford’s PCR action challenged the revocation of his release under Iowa Code section 903B.1 (2018).  But while Benford’s appeal was pending, the Iowa Board of Parole released him again.  We believe this makes the case moot.  And we decline to apply the public-importance exception.  We grant the State’s motion to dismiss.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Muscatine County, Henry W. Latham II, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., Schumacher, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Tabor, J., takes no part.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (11 pages)

            Antonio Cooks appeals his conviction for robbery in the second degree.  OPINION HOLDS: Cooks failed to show the jury’s verdict was not supported by substantial evidence or that it was contrary to the weight of the evidence.  Cooks did not preserve error on his claim concerning the jury instructions, and therefore, we do not address this issue.  Also, Cooks did not preserve error on his claim that the jury venire did not represent a fair cross-section of the community.  Finally, Cooks has not shown the State engaged in purposeful discrimination in exercising peremptory challenges, and we conclude he is not entitled to a new trial based on his claims under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 89 (1986).  We affirm Cooks’s conviction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Bradley J. Harris, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (11 pages)

            Richard Busch appeals a sentence requiring him to register as a sex offender.  OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports the sentencing court’s determination that Busch’s conduct was sexually motivated. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Randy V. Hefner, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by May, J.  (9 pages)

            Andreas Benford appeals the dismissal of his petition for judicial review.  OPINION HOLDS: The Iowa Department of Corrections was not required to provide Benford with a tentative discharge date for his lifetime special sentence under Iowa Code section 903B.1 (2019).  So the district court was right to dismiss Benford’s petition for judicial review.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, John Bauercamper, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART AND REVERSED IN PART ON APPEAL; AFFIRMED ON CROSS-APPEAL.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, P.J.  (8 pages)

            On appeal, Wayne Mlady contends Sue Ann Dougan’s redemption attempt was untimely because she paid only $1,937,001.00 of the $1,938,799.79 due before expiration of the redemption period.  He also challenges the court’s determination that interest stopped accruing when he obtained a sheriff’s deed, arguing it accrues until the time of full redemption.  On cross-appeal, Dougan challenges the rate of interest determined by the district court.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the amount of interest accrued following the sheriff’s sale affects the total amount of the redemption payment, we begin with the parties’ arguments about the rate of interest and period in which interest accumulates.  We agree that the rate of interest must be calculated at the default rate of 21%.  Dougan failed to strictly comply with the statutory requirement to pay the full amount due within the redemption period.  As a result, her redemption attempt was untimely. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Crawford County, Jeffrey A. Neary, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., Tabor, J., and Vogel, S.J.  Opinion by Vogel, S.J.  (3 pages)

            Ramon Hernandez appeals his sentence, asserting ineffective assistance of his resentencing counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: We lack authority to consider his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Bradley J. Harris, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (15 pages)

            Several homeowners appeal, while the city and a business owners association cross‑appeal, an order denying the homeowners’ request for specific performance of maintenance provisions in a storm water easement agreement between the city and the association.  As a threshold issue, the city argues the homeowners could not seek specific performance because they were not the intended third-party beneficiaries of the easement agreement.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding merit in the city’s contention that the homeowners lacked standing to bring this action, we affirm the denial of equitable relief on that ground and do not reach the other issues raised on appeal and cross-appeal. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Iowa County, Patrick R. Grady, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  Concurrence in part and dissent in part by Greer, J.  (22 pages)

            Scheer Agri-Enterprises, Inc. (Scheer) sued Ledger Swine Farms, Inc. (Ledger) related to the purchase of a group of pigs, which were infected with a highly contagious disease.  The district court entered summary judgment for Ledger based on the terms of a written contract.  Scheer appeals, asserting the court erred in concluding the parties did not have a valid and enforceable oral contract and that Scheer could not recover under a theory of negligence.  OPINION HOLDS: Because genuine issues of material fact remain, the district court erred in granting summary judgment to Ledger.  PARTIAL DISSENT ASSERTS: I agree with the majority that we should reverse the district court summary judgment ruling on the oral contract claim.  But because the Genetic Stock Agreement trumps all other claims asserted by Scheer, I would grant summary judgment on all of the other claims and find Scheer bound by the contract he signed in all other respects.

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

            James Williams appeals the district court’s summary dismissal of his fourth postconviction-relief application.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s dismissal of Williams’ postconviction-relief application as time-barred.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Christopher Kemp and William A. Price, District Associate Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, and Tabor and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. (9 pages)

            Deng Majouk appeals the district court’s entry of judgment, sentence, and denial of his motion to suppress contending (1) the district court abused its discretion in failing to suspend the fine; (2) the district court should have granted his suppression motion; and (3) the evidence was insufficient to support the district court’s finding of guilt.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the finding of guilty and Majouk’s judgment and sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lawrence P. McLellan, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Greer, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (10 pages)

            As a rear-seat passenger in a Lyft vehicle whose driver was pulled over for traffic violations, Khalen Williams challenges the police officers’ actions leading to a warrantless search that resulted in his criminal conviction.  Williams appeals, arguing that the court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained during the warrantless search and seizure of his person.  Williams raises three arguments: (1) the officers lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct a pat down search of his person for weapons; (2) his admission to possessing a firearm was a product of custodial interrogation without the benefit of Miranda warnings and should have been suppressed; and (3) we should decline to follow Maryland v. Wilson, 519 U.S. 408, 415 (1997), which holds that “an officer making a traffic stop may order passengers to get out of the car pending completion of the stop,” under the Iowa Constitution.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Williams did not advocate for a different standard under the Iowa Constitution in his motion to suppress to the district court, his claim that the Iowa Constitution requires more protection for passengers than the Federal Constitution is not preserved.  Additionally, because we find the officers involved had reasonable suspicion that Williams was potentially armed and dangerous—even without Williams’s statements admitting he had a gun—we find the officers had reasonable suspicion to support the pat down of Williams for weapons.  We affirm the district court’s denial of Williams’s motion to suppress. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Sarah Crane, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Doyle, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (7 pages)

            The appellants appeal the district court’s judicial review decision affirming the decision of the workers’ compensation commissioner awarding a partial commutation of James Hessenius’s workers’ compensation benefits.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court properly found substantial evidence to support the commissioner’s decision, and we find no relevant and important matter the commissioner failed to consider.  Therefore, we affirm.