2024 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, John M. Wright, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J.  (15 pages)

            Leanne Rana appeals the judgment of the district court finding that she breached an express oral contract with Stanley Higdon.  On appeal, she argues (1) the district court erred by not finding Higdon to be an incompetent witness and (2) the evidence was insufficient to establish that she ever manifested assent to a contract.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding (1) Rana’s competency argument was not preserved for appeal and (2) the record discloses substantial evidence of mutual assent to a contract.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Fae E. Hoover-Grinde, Judge.  APPEAL DISMISSED.  Considered by Badding, P.J., and Langholz, J., and Gamble, S.J.* Opinion by Badding, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Property Holders, Ltd. appeals a district court order annulling its writ of certiorari that challenged a nuisance property designation.  OPINION HOLDS: While this appeal was pending, Property Holders sold the property at issue, making this appeal moot.  We decline to apply the public-importance exception to the mootness doctrine and dismiss the appeal. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Scott J. Beattie, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., Sandy, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, S.J.  (9 pages)

            Richard Mutchler appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief following his 2010 convictions for two counts of first-degree murder.  Mutchler claims his trial counsel was ineffective.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Mutchler did not establish prejudice, his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims fail.  Accordingly, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Crawford County, Patrick H. Tott, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Badding, J., and Doyle, S.J.  Opinion by Doyle, S.J.  (5 pages)

            Following a bench trial, Montoya appealed claiming that the district court lacked authority to try his criminal case without a jury, absent a valid Iowa Rule of Criminal Procedure 2.17(1) waiver.  OPINION HOLDS: Having failed to preserve error on the issue, we affirm Montoya’s convictions and sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marshall County, Paul G. Crawford, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (4 pages)

            Joshua Steven Nelson appeals the sentence imposed after he pled guilty to one count of domestic abuse assault causing bodily injury, second offense.  OPINION HOLDS: Nelson has not met his burden of affirmatively showing the court improperly considered unproven criminal offenses when it sentenced him to a two-year term of incarceration rather than suspending his sentence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Calhoun County, Blake H. Norman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., Chicchelly, J., and Bower, S.J.  Buller, J., takes no part.  Opinion by Bower, S.J.  (6 pages)

            Freddy Crisp appeals the denial of his application for postconviction relief, claiming he alleges he received ineffective assistance of counsel from his trial attorney.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Mark R. Lawson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J. (11 pages)

            A criminal defendant appeals his convictions for first-degree murder and felon in possession.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding the defendant was not justified when he used a gun during a fistfight to shoot the victim in the back.  We also find sufficient evidence of the required mens rea elements.  And we discern no abuse of discretion in the district court’s evidentiary ruling concerning the defendant’s statements regarding the “murder weapon.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Joseph Seidlin, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Tabor, C.J., and Chicchelly and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Sandy, J.  (17 pages)

            The City of Cedar Falls appeals the district court’s ruling granting International Association of Fire Fighters, Local 1366’s petition for judicial review of a remedy order issued by the Iowa Public Employment Relations Board (PERB).  On appeal, the city argues (1) the district court applied an incorrect standard of review to PERB’s action in this case and (2) did not give the appropriate level of deference typically afforded agency actions.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the ruling of the district court, finding (1) PERB’s action in this case violated Iowa Code section 17A.19(10)(i) (2023) and (2) the district court gave the appropriate amount of deference in reviewing PERB’s action.  We remand to the district court with instructions to remand to the Iowa Employment Appeal Board for purposes of fashioning a remedy consistent with this opinion. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Lee (North) County, Joshua P. Schrier, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J. (18 pages)

            A criminal defendant appeals his conviction and sentence for second-degree murder.  He raises issues concerning a motion for continuance related to a jury-composition claim, sufficiency of the evidence, and his sentence.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, finding no abuse of discretion in denying the requested continuance, the verdict was supported by sufficient evidence, and the sentence complied with our case law for sentencing juvenile murderers to a mandatory minimum.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Johnson County, Joan M. Black, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Schumacher, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (6 pages)

            A juvenile challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his delinquency adjudication for second-degree sexual abuse, arguing that the State did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the victim’s allegations were true.  OPINION HOLDS: The record shows that the victim was consistent in recalling that D.W. sexually abused her when she was six or seven years old.  We thus find substantial evidence to support the adjudication.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Bethany J. Currie, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Chicchelly and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, P.J.  (11 pages)

            Barrett Vonk appeals his conviction and the district court’s ruling on his motion for a new trial.  He argues (1) the jury’s verdict was against the greater weight of the evidence, (2) the district court should have excluded evidence of a pretextual call made to Vonk by the victim and her roommate, (3) the district court allowed improper vouching testimony, and (4) the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by placing a sex toy on counsel table in view of the jury.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court did not abuse its discretion in finding the guilty verdict was not contrary to the weight of the evidence or in admitting evidence of the pretextual call.  Vonk failed to preserve error on his final two claims.  We affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Audubon County, Christopher C. Polking, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (15 pages)

            A law firm appeals a declaratory judgment finding their legal malpractice insurers had no further obligation to defend or indemnify.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding the law firm did not meet its contractual obligation to report potential claims, we affirm.