July 2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Michael J. Shubatt and Monica Zrinyi Ackley, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (8 pages)

            Bryant appeals the denial of his motion to suppress, arguing the search of the backpack in the back seat would not be a valid search for “contraband,” because Iowa Code section 321.284(1) (2023) provides that an open container is only illegal if it is “in the passenger area of the motor vehicle.”  He claims any alcohol bottle in the backpack, even if open, could not be considered contraband.  In response, the State argues both subject matter jurisdiction and error preservation.  OPINION FINDS: We find, considering recent Iowa Supreme Court precedent, that this court has subject matter jurisdiction.  On the error preservation issue, Bryant failed to preserve error to his argument on appeal in his motion to suppress.  As a result, we decline to reach the merits of his argument and affirm the decision of the district court. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie Vaudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (12 pages)

            Russell and Diane Paul divorced after a fourteen-year marriage.  In this appeal, Russell challenges three aspects of their divorce decree.  First, he contests the decision to grant physical care of their two children to Diane.  Second, he contends the award of traditional spousal support was inequitable.  And third, Russell argues that the district court erred in ordering him to maintain a minimum balance in his flexible spending account (FSA) for the children’s unreimbursed medical expenses.  In response, Diane defends the decree and seeks appellate attorney fees.  OPINION HOLDS: Following our independent review of the record, we decline to change the children’s physical care.  We also find the spousal support award achieves equity between the parties—though we modify the decree to provide that Russell’s obligation ceases upon his death.  We also modify the decree to terminate Russell’s requirement to maintain life insurance for the benefit of the children when his child-support obligation ends.  Lastly, we affirm the reasonable requirement for Russell to maintain a balance of $1500 per year in his FSA given their daughters’ medical and orthodontic needs.  But because we affirm the spousal support award, we find that Diane has the means to pay her own attorney fees.

            Discretionary review from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Ian K. Thornhill, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (9 pages)

            A criminal defendant attempts to appeal denial of his attorney’s last-minute request to continue sentencing following his guilty plea, claiming the district court violated his constitutional rights or abused its discretion.  OPINION HOLDS: We find the constitutional issue unpreserved, grant discretionary review to address the abuse-of-discretion question, and affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Page County, Justin R. Wyatt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J. (3 pages)

            A criminal defendant appeals his conviction for theft in the third degree, challenging sufficiency of the evidence.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm, based in part on credibility determinations made by the district court as fact-finder.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED AND REMANDED.  Considered by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (27 pages)

            Victor Nimrick appeals from a dissolution decree dissolving his marriage to Stephanie Nimrick.  He challenges the decree’s protective order restricting his contact with Stephanie, a social-media restriction, the determination placing sole legal custody of three minor children with Stephanie, the physical-care and visitation provisions, the child-support calculation, and the award of attorney fees and related enforcement mechanism.  OPINION HOLDS: We modify the social‑media restriction to ensure Victor retains his free-speech rights by having a forum in which he can express derogatory comments about Stephanie if there is no reasonable probability the children will be exposed to or otherwise affected by the comments.  We remand with directions for the district court to enter an order consistent with that holding.  And we otherwise affirm the decree in its entirety. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Webster County, Kurt J. Stoebe, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, MODIFIED IN PART, AND REVERSED IN PART.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (12 pages)

            Alex Taylor appeals the decree establishing paternity, custody, visitation, and support of J.T., the child he shares with Amanda Hergenreter.  OPINION HOLDS: We modify the decree to award Amanda $28,163.57 in past child support.  We affirm the award of past cash medical support.  Because the court exceeded its authority, we reverse the award of one-half of the parties’ 2018 income tax refund to Amanda.  Finally, we affirm the denial of trial attorney fees and decline to award appellate attorney fees.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Plymouth County, Robert D. Tiefenthaler, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Badding and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (10 pages)

            Danielle Ladenthin appeals a custody decree that placed her child with Michael Davis in Michael’s physical care.  OPINION HOLDS: Despite Danielle’s history of being the child’s primary caretaker, we conclude that it is in the child’s best interests to be placed in Michael’s physical care.  Michael is an active parent with a safe home who supports the child’s relationship with Danielle.  We accordingly affirm the district court’s physical-care decision.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Humboldt County, Kurt Wilke, Judge.  AFFIRMED ON APPEAL AND CROSS APPEAL.  Heard at oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (12 pages)

            Two adjoining landowners, Joseph Crossley and Mark Kellner, dispute a fence line acquiescence.  Kellner appeals the finding of boundary by acquiescence by the district court, and Crossley cross‑appeals the directed verdict for his trespass claim and rulings on the admissibility of certain witness testimony.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding substantial evidence supports the establishment of a boundary by acquiescence, that Crossley did not establish damages for trespass, and that the district court did not abuse its discretion in its rulings on the admissibility of witness testimony, we affirm on appeal and cross‑appeal.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Amy M. Moore, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (4 pages)

            An applicant appeals the denial of postconviction relief, which the district court below treated as an illegal-sentence challenge.  OPINION HOLDS: Rejecting the constitutional challenges to the applicant’s sentence, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Mark T. Hostager, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J. (4 pages)

            Lonnie Hamilton Jr. appeals the sentence imposed after he pled guilty to operating while under the influence, third or subsequent offense.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding that the district court considered all relevant sentencing factors, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dallas County, Thomas P. Murphy, Judge.  SENTENCE VACATED AND CASE REMANDED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Langholz, J.  Dissent by Ahlers, J.  (10 pages)

            Lance Battiste appeals his sentence for second-degree theft, arguing that the district court improperly considered unproven conduct in relying on the description of the nature of the offense in the minutes of testimony and improperly considered only a single factor in selecting the sentence.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the district court improperly considered unproven criminal conduct described in the minutes of testimony to determine the nature of Battiste’s offense and made clear this was a significant factor in the selection of the sentence imposed, we vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.  DISSENT ASSERTS: Because I do not believe the defendant met his burden to affirmatively show that the district court considered an unproven charge or improper factor when it described the offense as “sophisticated,” I would affirm the sentence imposed by the district court.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Worth County, Colleen Weiland, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Heard at oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (12 pages)

            Jared Johanns appeals multiple provisions of the decree dissolving his marriage to Amanda Johanns.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the provisions of the decree relating to physical care of their child, property division, and trial attorney fees.  We also affirm the default visitation schedule but modify the decree to remove a provision restricting the parties’ use of alcohol while the child is in their care.  Finally, we decline to award either party appellate attorney fees.