March 2022 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fayette County, Laura Parrish, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (8 pages)

            Coby Euans appeals the denial of his postconviction-relief application, claiming a breach of an essential duty by trial counsel and PCR counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: We find neither trial counsel nor PCR counsel breached an essential duty.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (6 pages)

            Anthony Quinn appeals the summary disposition of his postconviction-relief application as time-barred under Iowa Code section 822.3 (2019).  OPINION HOLDS: Because Quinn filed his application after the three-year statute of limitations had expired and because the ground-of-fact exception in section 822.3 did not apply to his newly-discovered-evidence claim, we affirm the district court’s summary disposition of his postconviction-relief application. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David P. Odekirk, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by May, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (4 pages)

            Anthony Sanders appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief (PCR).  OPINION HOLDS: Because more than three years passed between Sanders’s conviction becoming final and the filing of his PCR application, the district court correctly ruled that his PCR application is barred by the three-year statute of limitations.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buchanan County, David P. Odekirk, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by May, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (6 pages)

            Michelle Kehoe appeals from the district court order granting the State’s motion for summary disposition and dismissing her application for postconviction relief (PCR).  OPINION HOLDS: Even if we apply the relation-back framework to Kehoe’s successive PCR application, Kehoe’s PCR application was not filed promptly after the conclusion of her first PCR action.  Therefore, we affirm the denial of the application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Wyatt Peterson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by May, P.J., Greer, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Mullins, S.J.  (9 pages)

            Micah Matthews appeals the summary disposition of his application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the summary disposition of Matthews’s application as time-barred.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Bethany Currie, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (15 pages)

            David Feeback appeals the grant of summary judgment on his claims of age discrimination, workplace harassment, and wrongful termination.  OPINION HOLDS: Considering Feeback’s evidence in the most favorable light, a jury could find Swift fired him because of his age.  So we reverse on the age discrimination claim and remand for trial.  But no genuine issues of material fact exist on the remaining claims, and we affirm summary judgment as to them.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Wayne County, Patrick W. Greenwood, Judge.  REVERSED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., Badding, J., and Potterfield, S.J.  Opinion by Potterfield, S.J.  (10 pages)

            Ronald Mehrhoff Jr. appeals the district court ruling that he was unjustly enriched by payments his former romantic partner, Tamera Atwell, made toward a car loan in his name.  The court ordered Mehrhoff to pay Atwell $13,105.56.  Mehrhoff argues (1) Atwell should not be able to recover under the theory of unjust enrichment because there was an express agreement between the parties and (2) the twenty-seven payments Atwell made did not confer a benefit on him or, alternatively, that it was not unjust for him to retain the benefit of the payments.  OPINION HOLDS: Because an express agreement about the vehicle existed, we agree with Mehrhoff that the district court improperly applied the doctrine of unjust enrichment to this case.  We reverse. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marion County, Robert B. Hanson, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Blane, S.J.  (25 pages)

            Taylor Sundby appeals the district court’s decree dissolving his marriage to Ali. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the decree of dissolution and modify financial provisions.  We remand for further proceedings including a determination of appellate attorney fees. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Kellyann M. Lekar, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (4 pages)

            Lance Brooks appeals the dismissal of his second application for postconviction relief.  Brooks admits he filed this application after the three-year statute of limitations under Iowa Code section 822.3 (2020) had expired.  But he claims that his action is saved by the relation-back doctrine in Allison v. State, 914 N.W.2d 866 (Iowa 2018).  OPINION HOLDS: Because our legislature amended section 822.3 to abrogate Allison, Brooks is left without a lifeline.  Thus, we affirm the dismissal of his untimely application.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Paul D. Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Mullins, S.J.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (22 pages).

            An applicant appeals the denial of his postconviction-relief application.  He alleges his trial counsel was ineffective due to the failure to object to several instances of prosecutorial misconduct, the failure to object to the admissibility of evidence, and the failure to pursue alternative defenses.  OPINION HOLDS: Clancy has failed to meet his burden required for postconviction relief.  Consequently, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  JUDGMENT AND SENTENCES CONDITIONALLY AFFIRMED, RULING ON NEW TRIAL MOTION VACATED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Ahlers, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J.  (7 pages)

            Marquis Brumfield appeals his convictions for going armed with intent, possession of a firearm by a felon, and carrying weapons.  He contends the trial court used the wrong standard in denying his motion for new trial and considered improper factors in imposing sentences.  OPINION HOLDS: The court employed an improper standard in ruling on the motion for new trial, but did not abuse its sentencing discretion.  We conditionally affirm the convictions and sentences but vacate the district court’s ruling on the motion for new trial and remand the case for the district court to apply the weight-of-the-evidence standard.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Bethany J. Currie, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Tabor and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J.  (9 pages)

        Abigail Carter appeals the district court’s dismissal of her application for postconviction relief seeking resentencing under her chosen name.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Carter has not established the use of her legal name is objectively harmful enough to establish a constitutional violation or that the Iowa Department of Corrections exhibits deliberate indifference by using it, her claim of cruel and unusual punishment fails, and we affirm the dismissal of her application.