Brian Hager
v.
M & W Welding, Inc., Colton Beals, Jacob Rhoades and Benjamin Andrew Guy St. Lawrence
Appellant
Brian Hager
Appellee
M & W Welding, Inc., Colton Beals, Jacob Rhoades and Benjamin Andrew Guy St. Lawrence
Attorney for the Appellant
Clinton Luth (argued) and Benjamin Bergmann
Attorney for the Appellee
Alison F. Kanne (argued)
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Monroe County, Crystal S. Cronk, Judge. REVERSED AND REMANDED. Heard at oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Sandy, J. (15 pages)
Brian Hager appeals two rulings of the district court that effectively deprived him of the opportunity to present a hostile work environment claim to a jury. He contends he sufficiently pled a hostile work environment claim in his original petition. Thus, he argues the district court erred by denying his request for a proposed jury instruction for a hostile work environment claim. Alternatively, he asserts the district court abused its discretion in denying his pretrial motion to amend his petition and motion to conform to proof to “add” a hostile work environment claim. OPINION HOLDS: Because we conclude Hager’s original petition sufficiently pled a hostile work environment claim, we conclude the district court’s ruling on his pretrial motion to amend improperly denied him the opportunity to move forward to trial with such a claim. Accordingly, we find Hager is entitled to a new trial on a hostile work environment claim. And because we find this issue to be dispositive, we do not reach Hager’s alternative arguments.
