2022 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Tabitha Turner, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., Doyle and Carr, S.J.J.  Opinion by Carr, S.J.  (8 pages)

            Shawn Durrell appeals his conviction following a guilty plea to sexual misconduct with an offender.  OPINION HOLDS: Durrell has shown good cause for a direct appeal.  He did not have a conditional guilty plea, and the court was not bound by the sentencing recommendation in the written guilty plea.  We find the court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Durrell.  We affirm his conviction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Christopher L. Bruns (summary judgment) and Mary E. Chicchelly (attorney fees and final judgment), Judges.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (10 pages)

            Ride Now Auto Parts LLC (Ride Now), Josephine Dolatowski, and Robert Hastis appeal the grant of summary judgment in favor of GreatAmerica Financial Services Corp. (GreatAmerica) related to a financing agreement and personal guaranty.  OPINION HOLDS: Ride Now ratified the financing agreement and is liable for its breach.  Dolatowski knew she was signing contracts and is bound by the terms of the personal guaranty.  Genuine issues of material fact remain as to whether fraud was perpetrated upon Hastis in the execution of the Guaranty.  As a result, we affirm the entry of judgment against Ride Now and Dolatowski, and we vacate the entry of judgment against Hastis and remand for additional proceedings.  We find no abuse of discretion in the amount of attorney fees awarded against Ride Now and Dolatowski. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Jennifer S. Bailey, District Associate Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Bower, C.J. (14 pages)

            Jay Salge pleaded guilty to fifty-eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, in violation of Iowa Code sections 728.1(7) and 728.12(3) (2020).  On appeal, Salge argues the consecutive sentences imposed are grossly disproportionate to his crimes under the United States and Iowa Constitutions.  Salge also contends the district court abused its discretion by failing to give adequate reasons for imposing consecutive prison sentences.  OPINION HOLDS: Salge was not given a mandatory minimum sentence and is immediately eligible for parole.  We therefore reject his claim of cruel and unusual punishment.  We discern no abuse of the court’s sentencing discretion. We therefore affirm.   

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Fayette County, Richard D. Stochl, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (7 pages)

            Zachary Welsh appeals his commitment as a sexually violent predator.  OPINION HOLDS: There was substantial evidence to support the district court’s finding that Welsh meets the criteria to be committed as a sexually violent predator.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Floyd County, Peter B. Newell, District Associate Judge.  CONVICTION CONDITIONALLY AFFIRMED, SENTENCE VACATED, AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS. Considered by Greer, P.J., Badding, J., and Gamble, S.J.  Opinion by Gamble, S.J. (7 pages)

            Latrice Saunders appeals following her conviction and sentence for fourth-degree criminal mischief in violation of Iowa Code section 716.6(1) (2019).  Saunders claims she is entitled to resentencing due to a statutory amendment and the district court did not properly consider her motion for new trial.  OPINION HOLDS: Saunders is entitled to resentencing due to an amendment to section 716.6(1), which became effective after Saunders’s conviction but prior to sentencing.  The district court did not apply the weight-of-the-evidence standard to Saunders’s motion for new trial.  So we remand for application of the correct standard to Saunders’s motion.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Howard County, Alan T. Heavens, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Badding, J., and Blane, S.J.  Opinion by Blane, S.J. (16 pages)

            Michelle Stockman appeals the denial of her motion to suppress evidence seized during execution of a federal search warrant.  OPINION HOLDS: Applying a Fourth Amendment analysis to the search warrant issued by a federal magistrate judge and primarily executed by federal agents, under the facts and circumstances of this case, the search of Stockman’s purse and of her person at jail were lawful and her motion to suppress was properly denied.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David P. Odekirk, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Heard by Mullins, P.J., and May and Ahlers, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (14 pages)

            FDP WTC, LLC (FDP) appeals a ruling in favor of Ryan Companies US, Inc. (Ryan) awarding damages on breach-of-contract claims; foreclosing mechanic’s liens; and awarding attorney fees, costs, and interest.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Ryan sought to increase costs of the work beyond the guaranteed maximum price without obtaining valid change orders for some of its work, we reverse that part of the district court’s ruling that awarded Ryan damages for the unapproved work and reduce Ryan’s damages accordingly.  The judgment in Ryan’s favor for attorney fees is vacated, and the case is remanded to the district court for determination of an appropriate attorney fee award.  We affirm the decision to foreclose Ryan’s mechanic’s liens, but for a modified amount consistent with this opinion to be determined on remand.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Buena Vista County, Carl J. Petersen, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Tabor and May, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, J.  (4 pages)

            Ronald Taylor appeals the dismissal of his fourth application for postconviction relief (PCR), asserting it was timely under Allison v. State, 914 N.W.2d 866 (Iowa 2018), and raising allegations of ineffective assistance from trial, appellate, and PCR counsel.  OPINION HOLDS: Under Iowa Code section 822.3 (2020), Taylor’s appeal is untimely.  And because this is Taylor’s fourth PCR application, Allison would not apply.  So Taylor’s application is untimely, and we affirm the dismissal. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Tod Deck, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Mullins, P.J. and Blane and Doyle, S.JJ.  Opinion by Mullins, P.J.  (9 pages)

            Laurie Taylor appeals a district court order affirming the Workers’ Compensation Commissioner’s denial of her claims.  This court will also consider the motion to strike a portion of Taylor’s reply brief filed by the Iowa State University Extension and Outreach (ISUEO).  OPINION HOLDS: Taylor’s tolling argument was raised for the first time in her reply brief on appeal and is in violation of our rule against raising an issue for the first time in a reply brief.  We thus grant ISUEO’s motion to strike that portion of Taylor’s reply brief.  Because the commissioner’s finding that there was not timely notice that Taylor’s May 14, 2015 injuries were work-related was supported by substantial evidence, we affirm.  Taylor’s duty-to-investigate argument was not raised and litigated before the commissioner, and is not preserved for our review.  We find nothing in the record indicating that the agency failed to liberally interpret the act in compliance with statutory directives.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Butler County, Christopher C. Foy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Mullins, P.J., and Schumacher and Ahlers, JJ.  Per Curiam.  Special concurrence by Ahlers, J.  (21 pages)

            Sherry Reints appeals from the district court’s order enforcing a premarital agreement that prohibits her from taking the spousal election against her deceased husband’s will.  OPINION HOLDS: Sherry failed to meet her burden to establish unenforceability of her premarital agreement based on unconscionability or inadequate disclosure.  She also failed to prove a material breach of the agreement by her husband or his estate that would relieve her of her obligation to perform her obligation to not take against the will.  Finally, the estate did not waive its ability to contest Sherry’s efforts to take against the will by sending her notice of her right to make such a claim.  As a result, we affirm.  SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I concur with the result, but I believe Sherry failed to preserve error on her claims of material breach by her husband or the estate and waiver by the estate due to sending her notice.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, James S. Heckerman, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Bower, C.J., and Vaitheswaran and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Vaitheswaran, J.  (8 pages)

            Paul and Therese Yakel appeal the district court’s grant of Randall Wheeler’s motion for summary judgment as to their breach-of-contract, negligent-construction, and breach-of-implied-warranty claims.  OPINION HOLDS: We dismiss the appeal as interlocutory because each of the claims against Wheeler are intertwined with claims against the remaining defendants and granting an application for interlocutory appeal would not otherwise serve the interests of sound and efficient judicial administration. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, Duane F. Hoffmeyer, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, P.J.  (8 pages)

            Jeffrey Krone appeals the denial of his postconviction petition.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court wrongly decided Krone waived his ineffective-assistance claim.  We reverse and remand for a ruling on the merits.