2022 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, John G. Linn, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Heard by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J. Special concurrence by Greer, J.  (14 pages)

            Stephen Swanson appeals the grant of summary judgment for the defendants on claims related to disclosing information in his personnel record.  OPINION HOLDS: I. Because nothing in the record supports a finding that Swanson exhausted all contractual, legal, and statutory remedies after a final disciplinary action, the disclosure of his personnel record was not permitted under the open records statute.  II. Swanson’s blacklisting claim fails as a matter of law because he only presents speculation and conjecture to show the defendants intended to injure him by preventing future employment.  III. Swanson failed to show a factual dispute on whether the statements Oldenburger made in disclosing the termination notice were false or made with actual malice, so his defamation claim fails as a matter of law.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I concur in the majority opinion but write separately to offer additional support for the analysis of the open records violation.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Paul D. Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (8 pages)

            Devon Wendler Alvord appeals the district court’s denial of her petition to modify the parties’ agreement to share joint physical care.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the denial of Devon’s petition to modify the dissolution decree.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Hamilton County, Derek Johnson, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (6 pages)

            Nicholas Janvrin appeals the district court’s order denying his motion in arrest of judgment, requesting his guilty plea be set aside.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Janvrin’s plea, conviction, and sentence for third-degree burglary.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (8 pages)

            A mother appeals the district court’s decree of paternity establishing custody, physical care, visitation, and support.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude the court’s decision to grant the father physical care of the child was in the child’s best interests.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Chicchelly, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J.  (13 pages)

            Mt. Sinai Christian Fellowship Church of God in Christ, Inc. (Mt. Sinai) appeals from the district court’s denial of its petitions for writ of mandamus against the Scott County Board of Supervisors and the Scott County Treasurer (collectively, the County) regarding the County’s failure to abate property taxes or refund previously paid property taxes.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we concur with the district court’s statutory interpretation and conclusions, we affirm the dismissal of Mt. Sinai’s mandamus actions.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Monona County, Patrick H. Tott, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Greer, J., and Doyle, S.J.  Opinion by Greer, J.  (3 pages)

Dennis Lawson appeals the denial of his motions for mistrial and a new trial.  OPINION HOLDS: As Lawson did not move for a mistrial for prosecutorial misconduct before the case was submitted to the jury, any objection to misconduct was waived. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Nicholas L. Scott, District Associate Judge.  CONVICTIONS AFFIRMED, SENTENCES VACATED, AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Emmanuel Pledge appeals his sentence in a criminal conviction that was to run consecutively to the not-yet-imposed sentence of a different conviction.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Pledge’s convictions but vacate his sentences and remand for the district court to determine whether the sentence in FECR140949 should run consecutively to the sentence in AGCR141183.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott D. Rosenberg, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (12 pages)

            Brian Denemark appeals the district court’s ruling on judicial review, which affirmed the workers’ compensation commissioner’s denial of two applications for alternate medical care.  OPINION HOLDS: In conducting judicial review, the district court properly applied the law on the agency’s discretion.  The district court did not make its own legal findings or require proof of his employer’s ulterior motive in denying medical care.  Finally, Denemark failed to show the agency’s decision conflicts with prior precedent.  We therefore affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Michael Jacobsen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, P.J.  (12 pages)

            DSM Investment Group, LLC (DSM) appeals from a district court ruling in favor of the City of Des Moines.  DSM claims the district court erred in failing to rule on its motion in limine, not awarding damages, classifying certain requested damages as attorney fees, and failing to rule on its due process claim.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court was not required to rule on the motion in limine in this bench trial.  Because DSM failed to object to evidence as it was presented, its evidentiary claims on appeal are not preserved.  DSM failed to present evidence of damages.  The attorney fees were correctly classified as such.  DSM did not preserve its due process claim because it did not file a timely Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.904(2) motion alerting the court of its failure to address the due process claim.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Crawford County, Tod Deck, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Tabor, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (12 pages)

            Muff Corporation and Thomas and Lawrence Muff, as conservators for the Joseph Muff Conservatorship, appeal a district court decision holding Tadd Paige’s inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs) are exempt from collection of a money judgment.  OPINION HOLDS: Because inherited IRAs are not “retirement investments” under the exemption statute, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Washington County, Lucy J. Gamon, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Tabor, J., and Scott, S.J.  Opinion by Scott, S.J.  (3 pages)

            Jacob Eugene Hansel appeals his convictions for possession with intent to deliver and failure to affix a drug tax stamp, claiming improperly admitted prior “bad acts” testimony.  OPINION HOLDS: Trial counsel made no objection, made no further record, and did not ask to strike testimony.  The trial court made no ruling.  We have nothing to review; thus, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (10 pages)

            Elizabeth Sheckells appeals the denial of her petition to modify the physical-care provisions of a dissolution decree.  Her former husband, Darrick Anderson, requests an award of appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, concluding Elizabeth did not show a substantial change in circumstances warranting modification and the result of modification would be contrary to the child’s best interests.  Darrick’s request for an award of appellate attorney fees is denied.