Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0021
View Summary for Case No. 22-0021
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Joseph W. Seidlin, Judge. SENTENCE VACATED AND REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ. Opinion by Bower, C.J. (5 pages)
Alyssa Martin appeals her sentence following guilty pleas to two counts of neglect of a dependent person. OPINION HOLDS: We find the court considered unproven facts and therefore vacate Martin’s sentence and remand for resentencing.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0040
View Summary for Case No. 22-0040
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Jeffrey D. Bert, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Greer, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Blane, S.J. Opinion by Blane, S.J. (8 pages)
Jesse Brown appeals the district court’s grant of the State’s motion for summary dismissal of his fifth postconviction-relief (PCR) application. OPINION HOLDS: On de novo review of Brown’s claim of ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to challenge two potential jurors for cause, the claim is barred by res judicata, there was no new-ground-of-law exception to the three-year statute of limitation, and no prejudice was established. As to Brown’s claim of newly discovered evidence, since it was only for impeachment, it does not qualify as a newly discovered fact to extend the statute of limitations.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0041
View Summary for Case No. 22-0041
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Ian K. Thornhill, Judge. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (17 pages)
Following the dissolution of her marriage to Matthew Harper, Stephanie Harper appeals the district court’s grant of physical care to Matthew, division of a retirement account, the calculation of her spousal support, and award of attorney fees. Stephanie and Matthew each request appellate attorney fees. OPINION HOLDS: We find joint physical care is not in the children’s best interests and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in its award of attorney fees. But, because we find no facts to support using a date other than that of the dissolution trial to determine the value of marital assets, we remand to the district court with instructions. We decline to award either party appellate attorney fees.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0056
View Summary for Case No. 22-0056
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Clay County, Charles Borth, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Badding, J. (15 pages)
Plaintiffs appeal the grant of summary judgment for defendants on claims stemming from a contract dispute. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the grant of summary judgment for defendants, concluding there are no genuine issues of material fact on any claim.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0122
View Summary for Case No. 22-0122
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark Fowler, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Tabor, P.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ. Opinion by Chicchelly, J. (4 pages)
Nathan Jurski appeals the sentence imposed after his written guilty plea to assault causing serious injury, in violation of Iowa Code section 708.2(4) (2020). He alleges the district court failed to exercise its discretion by following a fixed sentencing policy due to Jurski’s age. OPINION HOLDS: Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm Jurski’s sentence.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0187
View Summary for Case No. 22-0187
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Paul D. Miller, Judge. AFFIRMED. Heard by Bower, C.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Buller, J. (7 pages)
Shari Hintermeister seeks judicial review of the agency decision denying her claim for benefits under pandemic unemployment assistance coverage. OPINION HOLDS: Substantial evidence supports the agency determination that Hintermeister was not advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine or scheduled to commence employment.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0206
View Summary for Case No. 22-0206
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, John M. Wright, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Bower, C.J., and Greer and Badding, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (5 pages)
Raymond Edwards Jr. argues his conviction for possessing contraband in a county jail was not supported by sufficient evidence. OPINION HOLDS: Because substantial evidence supports the jury’s finding that the object in question was capable of causing injury, we affirm.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0240
View Summary for Case No. 22-0240
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Sean McPartland, Judge. AFFIRMED AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (10 pages)
David Ficken appeals the denial of his request for a modification of his spousal support to Theresa Ficken. OPINION HOLDS: Because David’s claimed change in circumstances does not warrant a modification in spousal support, we affirm. We remand to the district court for a determination of Theresa’s reasonable appellate attorney fees.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0371
View Summary for Case No. 22-0371
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Sean McPartland, Judge. AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED. Considered by Bower, C.J., Tabor, J., and Danilson, S.J. Opinion by Tabor, J. (8 pages)
William Kirsch appeals the modification decree eliminating his award of traditional spousal support. Both parties request appellate attorney fees. OPINION HOLDS: Given the substantial change in circumstances, we agree with the district court that modification was proper. But we modify the decree to reduce William’s spousal support to $450 per month. We decline to award appellate attorney fees to either party.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0458
View Summary for Case No. 22-0458
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cass County, James S. Heckerman, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR FURTHER PROCEEDINGS. Considered by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ. Opinion by Greer, J. (8 pages)
Jean Wolfe deeded Cass County property to Tatiana Anderson, now Thielen, and her father and mother, Randall and Rebecca Anderson, as tenants with full rights of survivorship. With a desire to sell her interest in the residential real estate, Tatiana and her husband, Zach Thielen, initiated this action when they petitioned for a partition by sale of the property. Focusing on the equitable interests of the parties in the real estate, the district court dismissed the partition action, directing the Andersons to pursue their action to quiet title. The Thielens appeal. OPINION HOLDS: Reformation was not proper because there was no evidence of mutual mistake. We reverse the district court’s dismissal of the partition action and remand for further proceedings.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0587
View Summary for Case No. 22-0587
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Samantha Gronewald, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Heard by Vaitheswaran, P.J., and Ahlers and Buller, JJ. Opinion by Vaitheswaran, P.J. Special concurrence by Buller, J. (11 pages)
The appellant railroad company appeals the denial of its new trial motion due to omission of a question on the trial verdict form, among other challenges. OPINION HOLDS: We reverse the denial of the appellant’s new trial motion and remand for a new trial. SPECIAL CONCURRENCE ASSERTS: I agree with the majority that Whitlow v. McConnaha, 935 N.W.2d 565, 569 n.4 (Iowa 2019), appears to control our resolution of the error-preservation question. But if writing on a blank slate, I would not embrace Whitlow and would instead enforce our longstanding principles of error preservation and rules of civil procedure.
Filed Jan 25, 2023
View Opinion No. 22-0617
View Summary for Case No. 22-0617
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Washington County, Daniel Kitchen, District Associate Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Heard by Greer, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Gamble, S.J. Opinion by Chicchelly, J. (4 pages)
This appeal concerns the district court’s pretrial dismissal of a charge against Kendall Hammes for animal abuse causing serious injury or death. The State contends dismissal was in error because Hammes does not have an absolute statutory defense. OPINION HOLDS: Finding the State’s statutory interpretation correct, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.