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Iowa Supreme Court Does Not Reverse District Court Determination That The Supreme Court’s COVID-19 Orders Tolling Statutes Of Limitations Violated The Iowa Constitution

The Iowa Supreme Court is responsible for supervising and regulating trial and appellate courts across the state. As the COVID-19 pandemic descended upon the state in early 2020, the Supreme Court was forced to issue emergency orders to protect the public and court staff while keeping the state’s court system functioning. …

Corporate Shareholders Suing Directors Face Heightened Pleading Requirement, Iowa Supreme Court Holds

by Matt McGuire | 6.01

In 2019, the publicly traded stock of EMC Insurance Group, Inc. (“EMCI”) was acquired in a “going private transaction.” Certain shareholders sued members of EMCI’s board of directors for breaching fiduciary duties owed to public shareholders. Those individual directors moved to dismiss the plaintiffs’ claims, an …

Eighth Circuit Vacates Injunction Against Iowa’s Mask Mandate Ban On Mootness Grounds

by Matt McGuire | 5.19

On Monday, May 16, a panel of judges from the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated an Iowa federal district judge’s injunction barring enforcement of Iowa’s ban of mask mandates in schools. In doing so, the Court of Appeals overturned its prior ruling from January, which affirmed the injunction …

Iowa Supreme Court and Eighth Circuit Uphold Denials Of Insurance Coverage Arising From COVID-19 Business Closures

by Matt McGuire | 4.27

In separate opinions, each issued on Friday, April 22, the Iowa Supreme Court and the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit held that businesses that closed in spring 2020 to comply with COVID-19 emergency regulations could not obtain coverage under commercial insurance policies that required “direct physi …

In Emergency Opinion, Iowa Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Abby Finkenauer’s U.S. Senate Nominating Petition

by Matt McGuire | 4.15

Former Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer is seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate from Iowa for the 2022 general election. She submitted her nominating petition with the Iowa Secretary of State on March 10, 2022. Two private citizens filed objections to the petition, asserting defects wi

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Iowa Supreme Court declines to overrule its precedent allowing multiple robbery charges when theft victims are also assaulted

In 2022 Brandon Lee entered the home of an elderly couple in Coggon, physically assaulted each of them with the aim of forcing them to reveal the location of cash, and left with $50,000 they had kept in a safe in the basement.

Lee was convicted by a Linn County jury for one count of theft and two counts of first-degree r …

Suit regarding ownership of Terrace Hill contents remanded to trial court by Iowa Supreme Court

The Iowa Supreme Court sent a case back to Polk County District Court for further proceedings on a suit brought by the Terrace Hill Society Foundation against the Terrace Hill Commission regarding which party controls the collection of artifacts in the Terrace Hill governor’s mansion.

The Terrace Hill Society Foundatio …

Thirty cases yet to be decided in Iowa Supreme Court’s term ending in June

The Iowa Supreme Court has 30 cases left to decide in the two months that remain in the Court’s 2023-24 term.

The case that has been on the undecided list the longest – State v. Bauler, which raised a question of whether a defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated in a traffic stop – was argued N …

Iowa Supreme Court sends question of State Auditor’s application of records law back to district court

The Iowa Supreme Court reversed in part a Polk County District Court ruling granting summary judgment in favor of State Auditor Rob Sand’s withholding release of communications related to the Auditor’s investigation of the governor’s office. The justices sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings on …

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On Brief: Iowa’s Appellate Blog is devoted to appellate litigation with a focus on the Iowa Supreme Court, the Iowa Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.