2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Kossuth County, John M. Sandy, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Sandy, J., takes no part.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  (9 pages)

            Christopher Weydert appeals the property provisions of the decree dissolving his marriage to Amber Weydert.  He claims that Amber dissipated marital assets, district court should not have awarded Amber a portion of land because the land was gifted to him, and the court over-valued a dividend.  OPINION HOLDS: Christopher failed to preserve error on his dissipation claim.  The particular facts of this case justified awarding Amber a portion of the land even though it was gifted to Christopher.  And the record supports the district court’s valuation of the dividend.

    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Nicholas L. Scott, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., Sandy, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Bower, S.J.  (13 pages)

    Robert Thompson appeals his convictions for operating while intoxicated, second offense, and carrying a dangerous weapon while under the influence.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm Thompson’s convictions and sentence.
 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Patrick D. Smith, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED.  Heard by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Sandy, JJ., but decided en banc.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  Dissent by Greer, J.  (15 pages)

            Linda Betz filed suit against four employees of her previous workplace for defamation, claiming that statements made in internal documents and meetings harmed her reputation and led to her termination.  The district court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss because the petition was filed after the two-year statute of limitations ran.  On appeal, Betz argues the district court erred in dismissing her suit.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the alleged defamatory statements were made internally, Betz would have had limited opportunity to become aware of them.  We conclude the discovery rule should be applied in this situation.  The question of when she became aware of the statements is a question of fact that must be determined to decide the statute of limitations.  We reverse the district court’s dismissal and remand the case for further proceedings as if the motion had been denied.  DISSENT ASSERTS: I do not think Betz’s case was dismissed prematurely.  Because she was on inquiry notice when she filed her November 2020 lawsuit, I would conclude her March 2023 defamation claim was barred by the applicable statute of limitations and affirm the district court. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, David F. Staudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (5 pages)

            Clarence Tejan appeals the district court’s denial of his application for postconviction relief, raising claims of ineffective assistance of counsel relating to counsel’s failure to call character witnesses at sentencing and counsel’s “previous ethical violations.”  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Jeffrey Bert, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (8 pages)

            Ron Millbrook appeals the dismissal of his postconviction-relief petition, arguing his trial counsel was ineffective because counsel failed to impeach Vincent Harris, Millbrook’s own witness, with his prior inconsistent statements.  OPINION HOLDS: We find counsel’s decision not to impeach was a tactical one and did not constitute ineffective assistance. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Plymouth County, Patrick H. Tott, Judge.  REVERSED AND REMANDED FOR NEW TRIAL.  Considered by Greer, P.J., and Ahlers and Badding, JJ.  Opinion by Ahlers, J.  Partial Dissent by Greer, P.J.  (21 pages)

           James Ellis appeals his conviction for willfully failing to appear.  He contends the evidence presented was insufficient to support his conviction and challenges the admission of a court order as an exhibit.  OPINION HOLDS: The evidence was sufficient to support the conviction, but the district court erroneously admitted as an exhibit the court order containing factual findings.  The admission was not harmless.  We reverse Ellis’s conviction and remand for a new trial.  PARTIAL DISSENT ASSERTS: While I agree with the majority that Ellis’s sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge fails, I part ways on the evidentiary question.  I would conclude Ellis failed to preserve error on the specific hearsay objection the majority considers on appeal.  Even if the issue was preserved, I would rule the court order was admissible under an exception to the hearsay rule or, because the same evidence was admitted without objection, that any error was harmless.

    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Des Moines County, Joshua P. Schier, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J. (8 pages)

    After hearing evidence that Gayle Palmer fled police in a vehicle carrying drugs, a jury convicted him of felony eluding and possession of controlled substances.  Palmer appeals, contending that the State failed to prove the identity element for any of the offenses and failed to prove that he knowingly possessed marijuana or methamphetamine.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding sufficient evidence to support both the identification of Palmer as the fleeing driver and his constructive possession of the drugs found in the vehicle, we affirm.
 

    Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Story County, Bethany Currie and John J. Haney, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Tabor, C.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (17 pages)

    A jury convicted Aidan Ralph of third-degree sexual abuse and assault causing bodily injury.  Ralph claims that the district court erred by (1) admitting a portion of a police officer’s testimony over his objection that it improperly vouched for the victim’s credibility; and (2) admitting evidence that he physically abused the victim on prior occasions to establish his motive for sexually abusing her.  He requests that we reverse his sexual abuse conviction and remand for a new trial.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding that the district court properly exercised its discretion in admitting the challenged evidence, we affirm.
 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Butler County, DeDra Schroeder, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Tabor, C.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (10 pages)

            Green Belt Bank & Trust, a judgment creditor, appeals an order of garnishment entered by the district court against Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Inc., an employer of judgment debtor Mashon Van Mill.  Green Belt challenges the district court’s application of the garnishment exemption under Iowa Code section 642.21(1)(e) (2020) to determine Green Belt could recover “only ten percent of the total invoice value during the garnishment period.”  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Boone County, Ashley Beisch, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J. (11 pages)

            Pat Kepner appeals his convictions for indecent exposure, arguing the district court abused its discretion by excluding his eyewitness identification expert’s testimony.  OPINION HOLDS: Because we find the district court’s ruling on the admissibility of Kepner’s expert’s testimony was a reasonable exercise of judicial discretion, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Becky Goettsch, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered by Tabor, C.J., and Schumacher and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, J.  (4 pages)

            Tyler Goode appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty plea, arguing (1) the district court erred when it declined to follow the sentencing recommendation in the plea agreement and (2) the State’s absence at Goode’s sentencing hearing constitutes a failure to advocate for the sentencing recommendation and thus is a breach of the plea agreement.  Opinion Holds: Goode’s consent to the State’s absence waived his right to challenge such on appeal.  And because Goode failed to show the district court abused its discretion when it imposed a statutorily compliant sentence, we affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Linn County, Jason D. Besler, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard by Greer, P.J., and Langholz and Sandy, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (20 pages)

            After falling in her home, Joanne Jones was taken by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center, where she was treated by Dr. Jordan Imoehl.  Jones later brought a lawsuit against the medical center and doctor (collectively, Mercy), claiming professional negligence, infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, and res ipsa loquitur—all based on the theory that she was not timely diagnosed and treated for a stroke she suffered.  After Jones failed to file a certificate of merit, the district court dismissed each of Jones’s claims, concluding expert testimony was necessary for each so the lack of certificate of merit was fatal.  Jones appeals, challenging the dismissal of her claims for infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, and res ipsa loquitur.  OPINION HOLDS: Jones cannot evade the need for expert testimony and a certificate of merit through artful pleading.  Because expert testimony is necessary to establish each of Jones’s claims against Mercy, we affirm the dismissal of her lawsuit.