2025 Archive | Court of Appeals Court Opinions

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Linda M. Fangman, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Langholz, J., and Telleen, S.J.  Opinion by Telleen, S.J.  (7 pages)

            Jason Hocking appeals his conviction for robbery in the first degree, arguing insufficient evidence supported his conviction.  OPINION HOLDS: Sufficient evidence was presented to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Hocking committed robbery in the first degree, and we thus affirm his conviction.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Jeanie Vaudt, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (7 pages)

            Reynolds appeals the denial of his postconviction-relief application from two convictions for lascivious acts with a child.  He alleges ineffective assistance of counsel and actual innocence. OPINION HOLDS: We affirm the district court’s denial of relief because Reynolds failed to preserve error for his ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims and he failed to prove actual innocence.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, David Nelmark and Samantha Gronewald, Judges.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (6 pages)

            Nicolas Aragon Jr. and Regina Ward appeal a grant of summary judgment for the defendants.  They allege the district court erred in dismissing (1) their negligence claim because Aragon was a trespasser and (2) the breach-of-contract claim because the plaintiffs did not have third-party beneficiary rights.  OPINION HOLDS: Because the record demonstrates Aragon was a trespasser and the plaintiffs did not have third-party beneficiary rights, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Black Hawk County, Melissa Anderson-Seeber, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Buller, J.  (7 pages)

            An applicant for postconviction relief appeals the denial of relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Finding the alleged breaches of duty did not prejudice the applicant, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Greene County, Jennifer Miller, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Heard at oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Ahlers and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Langholz, J.  Dissent by Tabor, C.J.  (19 pages)

            Thirteen property owners in the City of Jefferson appeal the district court’s dismissal of their petition for a writ of certiorari challenging the city council’s decision to rezone a parcel of land.  They argue that the court erred in holding that their petition failed to plead sufficient facts showing their standing to challenge the rezoning decision and that it abused its discretion in not letting them amend their petition to allege more facts to cure any deficiency.  OPINION HOLDS: The district court correctly dismissed the petition for lack of standing because the mere ownership of property in the city—none of which was alleged to be near the rezoned property—does not show a specific personal or legal interest that has been or is imminently likely to be harmed by the rezoning decision.  And the property owners’ second argument—that the court should have let them amend their petition—is not preserved for our review.  They did not raise this issue to the district court before its dismissal ruling by making a written or oral motion for leave to amend—suggesting at oral argument that they “could amend” the petition “if the Court wishes” is not a motion.  What’s more, they could have filed an amended petition—without needing the court’s permission—at any time in the two months between the city moving to dismiss and the court’s dismissal ruling.  But they chose not to do so.  And asking the court to reconsider its dismissal order to permit an amended petition is too late to raise this new issue.  DISSENT ASSERTS: I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion because I believe the property owners made a contingent request for leave to amend, and so the district court erred in dismissing the petition.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Pottawattamie County, Eric J. Nelson, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral arguments by Schumacher, P.J., and Badding and Langholz, JJ.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (6 pages)

            Richard Siemer appeals from the summary dismissal of his second application for postconviction relief.  He asserts that a genuine issue of material fact exists as to whether phone records constitute a new ground of fact that could not have been raised within three years of his conviction; the statute of limitations should be tolled by the relation-back doctrine established in Allison v. State, 914 N.W.2d 866 (Iowa 2018); and the 2019 amendment to Iowa Code section 822.3 violates both the equal protection clause and the due process clause of the federal and Iowa constitutions.  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we affirm the summary dismissal of Siemer’s second application for postconviction relief.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Dubuque County, Monica Zrinyi Ackley, Judge.  AFFIRMED IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Badding, J.  (14 pages)

            Phil Mausser appeals a bench trial ruling finding him liable for unjust enrichment for unpaid hay deliveries.  On appeal, Mausser challenges the admission of scale tickets alleged to show the quantity of hay delivered.  He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the court’s award.  OPINION HOLDS: We reject the evidentiary challenge but grant partial relief on the merits following our de novo review.  While we agree with the district court’s award as to some of the hay deliveries, the evidence linking other loads to Mausser is too conjectural to hold him liable.  We accordingly vacate the judgment against Mausser for those loads and remand for entry of a corrected judgment.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Jefferson County, Myron Gookin, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Greer, P.J.  (9 pages)

            Donna Peterson, the executor of Dennis Peterson’s estate, appeals the probate court ruling setting priority over estate funds in favor of Joe Parcell, an estate beneficiary, arguing the estate is insolvent and any leftover funds must be paid towards an Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) probate claim for medical expenses.  OPINION HOLDS: Because HHS filed a release and satisfaction of its probate claim against the estate, the probate court properly ordered the executor to pay any remaining sums available in the estate to Parcell.  We affirm. 

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Chickasaw County, John Bauercamper, Judge.  AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., and Greer and Buller, JJ.  Opinion by Tabor, C.J.  (10 pages)

            Tyler and Noelle Hansen appeal a district court decree finding that their neighbors proved their claim of adverse possession.  OPINION HOLDS: We affirm as modified because we find the district court’s reliance on Iowa Code chapter 650 (2019) is misplaced.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Cerro Gordo County, Karen Kaufman Salic, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Tabor, C.J., Badding, J., and Doyle, S.J.  Opinion by Doyle, S.J. (10 pages)

            On appeal from his conviction for operating while intoxicated, Terry Schmitz challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence from the traffic stop.  Schmitz contends the officer did not have probable cause to stop the vehicle because the officer made a mistake of law about the speed limit.  OPINION HOLDS: We conclude that Schmitz’s driving fifty-two miles per hour violated the forty-five-miles-per-hour maximum mandated by Iowa Code section 321.285(2)(a)(3) (2023), the default speed limit for suburban districts within a city, giving the officer probable cause to initiate the stop.  That the trooper may have been mistaken in his belief that the lawful speed limit was twenty-five miles per hour does not alter our conclusion.  

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Marion County, Terry Rickers, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Greer, P.J., and Badding and Chicchelly, JJ.  Opinion by Chicchelly, J.  (5 pages)

            Robert Church appeals the order denying his application for postconviction relief.  OPINION HOLDS: Because Church failed to show he would not have pled guilty and would have insisted on going to trial if he had been informed that his conviction would result in a lifetime requirement to register with the sex offender registry, we affirm.

            Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Scott County, Joel W. Barrows, Judge.  AFFIRMED.  Considered without oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., Ahlers, J., and Bower, S.J.  Opinion by Schumacher, P.J.  (7 pages)

            Jermaine Carter Jr. appeals his convictions for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, possession of a controlled substance, interference with official acts–firearm, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, and person ineligible to carry dangerous weapons.  Carter claims the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because “the objective facts” known to police did not “rise to the level of reasonable suspicion necessary to justify the warrantless seizure of Carter and his vehicle.”  OPINION HOLDS: Upon our review, we conclude even if the seizure was unreasonable, Carter’s resistance to arrest provided an independent basis to search, resulting in the discovery of methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, and a firearm.  Accordingly, we affirm.