April 2021 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (5 pages)

            Maylin Reverol appeals the child custody provisions of the decree dissolving her marriage to Luis Reverol.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the evidence shows Luis is better able to provide for the children’s best interests, we affirm the custody provisions of the decree.  We decline to award Luis appellate attorney fees and tax costs of the appeal to Maylin.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Stuart P. Werling, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (4 pages)

            Femi Hill appeals the sentences imposed after she plead guilty to theft in the second degree and unauthorized use of a credit card.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court acted within its discretion in imposing Hill’s sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clay County, Don E. Courtney, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Northwest Iowa Mental Health Center, d/b/a Seasons Center for Behavioral Health (Seasons), appeals the district court order granting summary judgment in favor of G. William Phelps.  OPINION HOLDS: On our review of the record, the facts of this case reveal Phelps intended for the trade fixtures to be used in support of his dental practice.  There are no facts showing he intended for the trade fixtures to become permanently affixed to the property.  Because no genuine issue of material fact remains regarding whether the trade fixtures were permanently affixed to the property and should have remained, we agree with the district court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of Phelps. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Sarah Crane, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J. (4 pages)

            Jonathan Gines appeals his conviction for child endangerment resulting in bodily injury.  Gines claims the court improperly relied on facts in the minutes of testimony to which he did not admit when imposing sentence.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Gregory D. Brandt, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., and Mullins and May, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J. (6 pages)

            Dan Schwabe appeals the sentences imposed upon his dual convictions of operating while intoxicated, one as a third offense and one as a first offense.  He argues “the district court denied [him] the right to meaningful allocution at sentencing.”  OPINION HOLDS: We find Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.23(1)(d) was satisfied and affirm the sentences imposed.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Doyle, P.J., May, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by May, J.  (3 pages)

            Jack Hays appeals dismissal of his second action for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Hays did not establish that the testimony of certain witnesses was a ground of fact that could not have been raised within the three-year limitation period.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (5 pages)

            Gaston Keahna appeals his two-year prison sentence for domestic abuse assault, second offense.  He claims the district court should have suspended his sentence and granted probation to best address his domestic violence issues.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding no abuse of discretion in the sentencing decision, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Kurt L. Wilke, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (3 pages)

            Larry Kennedy appeals the district court’s dismissal of his third application for postconviction relief, contending a relation-back doctrine recognized by the supreme court should have been applied to overcome the untimely filing.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the dismissal of Kennedy’s third postconviction-relief application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jasper County, Martha Mertz, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (5 pages)

            Iowa Cash Buyers, LLC and R.C. Homes, LLC appeal the district court’s refusal to set aside the default judgment against them.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s refusal to set aside the default judgment against the limited liability companies.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Lawrence P. McLellan, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (6 pages)

            Sean Farmer appeals the disciplinary decision of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners (Board), which was upheld by the district court on judicial review.  OPINION HOLDS: Because substantial evidence supports the Board’s factual findings, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica L. Zrinyi Wittig, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Doyle, J.  (7 pages)

            Curtis Mitwede appeals the order modifying his child support obligation.  OPINION HOLDS: Because no evidence shows that Curtis manipulated his tax returns to reduce his income for purposes of calculating his child support, we modify his child support obligation to reflect his earnings as shown by his pay stubs plus the ordinary business earnings shown on his tax return.  We also eliminate the requirement that the parties contribute equally to expenses for show choir because no evidence supports a finding that it is an extraordinary expense requiring deviation from the child support guidelines.  We affirm the court’s refusal to modify the provisions of the decree ordering Amber Feldman to provide the children’s health coverage and decline to award appellate attorney fees.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Crawford County, Duane E. Hoffmeyer, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by May, P.J., Greer, J., and Danilson, S.J.  Opinion by May, P.J.  Special Concurrences by Greer, J. and Danilson, S.J.  (9 pages)

            Bradley Wendt appeals the dismissal of his application for order for rule to show cause, which sought to hold his child’s mother, Mahanaim Peterson, in contempt.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion by declining to hold Peterson in contempt.  We affirm.  We also decline Wendt’s request for appellate attorney fees.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I specially concur.  I agree with the opinion of the majority, but I would also afford the contempt judge’s determination substantial weight and confirm going forward that the exhibit at issue is not mandatory under the decree but merely aspirational.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I concur in the result but would add that without a reference to incorporation, Exhibit D may not be enforced by the court’s contempt powers.  Exhibit D was mentioned, but it was not incorporated into the decree.  Under these facts, the district court correctly observed it lacked authority to entertain Wendt’s contempt claims.