2021 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            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.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Doyle and Mullins, JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, J. (3 pages)

            Adam Nelms appeals the imposition of consecutive sentences upon his convictions.  He argues “the district court failed to explicitly state the reasons for imposing consecutive sentences.”  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we find the district court’s cursory explanation sufficient to allow appellate review of the trial court’s discretionary action and the court provided sufficient reasons for its decision to impose consecutive sentences.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Michael J. Shubatt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (6 pages)

            Caleb Birch challenges his sentence for the crime of possession with intent to deliver marijuana.  Birch claims the district court improperly considered unproven and unadmitted offenses.  OPINION HOLDS: In sentencing Birch, the district court referenced details that were part of the crime to which Birch pleaded guilty, and the record establishes Birch admitted those facts.  Therefore, we find no abuse of discretion and affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clinton County, Tamra Roberts, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.  Considered by May, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (21 pages)

            Niki Greenwood appeals the district court’s award of joint physical care of her minor child with Adam Haugen, in which the parents are to evenly split physical care.  Adam seeks to uphold the joint physical care arrangement.  Niki argues she should receive physical care of the child because joint physical care is not in the child’s best interest, in part because it would result in separating the child from her older half-sister.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we think physical care of the child with Niki better serves the best interests of the child, we modify the physical-care provision and visitation schedule and remand to the district court to determine the appropriate child-support obligation.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica L. Zrinyi Wittig, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (14 pages)

            Tobiah Budden and Lady Joana Budden were married and have one daughter together, C.J.B.  Tobiah and Lady divorced, and Lady was awarded physical care of C.J.B.  Tobiah appeals the award of physical care to Lady.  Tobiah also appeals the denial of his motion for a new trial based on newly discovered evidence.  Further, Tobiah appeals the district court’s modification of the passport and child support provisions of the dissolution decree.  And lastly, both parties request appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: Recognizing the strong interest in maintaining sibling relationships, we affirm the award of physical care to Lady, who also provides a home for C.J.B.’s two half-sisters.  We find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s denial of Tobiah’s motion for new trial.  Further, we uphold the modifications of the passport and child-support provisions.  Lastly, we hold that both parties shall pay their own appellate attorney fees.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, James C. Ellefson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., May, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (5 pages)

            Eddie Risdal appeals the summary dismissal of his most recent application for postconviction relief challenging his 1986 convictions for second-degree sexual abuse and third-degree sexual abuse.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm.