Trial courts have a duty under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to assure that a criminal defendant who cannot afford to hire a lawyer is provided one at the State’s expense. To comply with that constitutional mandate, Iowa created the Office of State Public Defender (SPD) to employ attorneys to provide indigent defense or to contract with attorneys in private practice willing to take on those criminal cases.
IOWA SUPREME COURT CASES IN THE PIPELINE
2025-2026 TERM
Case Number: 25-0873
Case Name: In Re: Election Contest of Highland School Bond Referendum, Ronald Greiner and Marcus Fedler v. Highland Community School District
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0821
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Kevin Charles Lind
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0819
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Kevin Charles Lind
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0501
Case Name: Kindle Schneider, as Temporary Administrator for the Estate of Cynthia Miles, Decedent v. Patricia Goodemote, MD, Cass Health, Tarrah Holliday, Amy Phillips, Zion Integrated Behavioral Health Services, Inc., Jenny Stewart and Heartland Family Service
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0443
Case Name: State of Iowa, ex rel., Iowa Department of Natural Resources v. Donald Lilly and Ronald Albrecht and Global Fiberglass Solutions, Inc., GFS Holding Group, LLC, Global Fiberglass Solutions of Texas, LLC, GFSI-MHE Manufacturing of Texas, LLC
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0306
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Timothy Lee Hall, Jr.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0157
Case Name: Norman Davis IV v. State of Iowa
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1886
Case Name: 5th and Walnut Parking LLC, 5th and Walnut Tower LLC, 5th and Court LLC, Justin Mandlebaum and Sean Mandlebaum v. City of Des Moines
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0285
Case Name: Leroy Cole, Both Personally and as Executor of the Estate of Betty Ann Cole v. Arbor Court Healthcare LLC; Midwest Geriatric Management LLC; MGM Healthcare; Arbor Court Realty LLC; Southeast Iowa Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, P.C.; and Dr. Michael W. Hendricks, M.D.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0717
Case Name: Sarah Kingsbury v. Second Injury Fund of Iowa
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0752
Case Name: Melinda Williams v. Kenneth J. Hartman, M.D. and Davenport Surgical Group, P.C.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0559
Case Name: Lisa Boggess, as Administrator of the Estate of Brent Boggess, and as next friend to minors Z.A.B. and J.L.B.; Drake L. Boggess, individually; and Kim Buttshaw, individually v. City of Waterloo and Kenneth Schaaf
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-0885
Case Name: Leonard Gregory, Dee J. Radke, Sean O'Geary, Jerry Newell, John Hrbek, Chad Welsh, Clarence Fenton, Jack Hays, Joseph Lawrence, Zachary Zimpel, Philip Stacy, Richard Cortez, Gene Cook, Donte Gilmore, and Melvin Dennis v. State of Iowa, Iowa State Legislature, and Iowa Department of Corrections
Appellee:
Amici:
Case Number: 24-1309
Case Name: Dr. Paul R. Gausman v. Sioux City Community School District; Daniel D. Greenwell; Jan George; Taylor Goodvin; and Bob Michaelson
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0671
Case Name: Michael R. Trask v. Amar F. Ahmed, M.D.; Sandro Younadam, M.D.; Shellie O'Brien-Perry, A.R.N.P.; Kimberly A. Willich, A.R.N.P.; Oforbuike C. Ewelukwa, M.D.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0260
Case Name: Joellen Myers v. Miguel Delos Reyes, Calvin Rivera, Dennis Rivera, Melsy Enamorado, and Farmers Auto Insurance Association
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1331
Case Name: Eagle Rise Development, LLC, Troy Scott Wilbur, and Alexander Scott Wilbur v. Iowa District Court for Clinton County
Appellant:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1139
Case Name: In the Matter of the Estate of James Edwin Ibeling, Decedent
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0845
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Victoria Linda Nichole Gibbs
Appellant:
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Wednesday, February 18, 2026
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-1002
Case Name: Chickasaw County Board of Review v. Property Assessment Appeal Board and Growmark, Inc.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Amici:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 24-1991
Case Name: Jerry Hayes v. Christian Retirement Homes, Inc., d/b/a Ridgecrest Village Senior Living Center and West Bend Mutual Insurance Company
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-1084
Case Name: In the Matter of the Estate of Herman C. Stille: Mayo Clinic v. Floyd County Medical Center
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-0169
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Dillon Michael Heiller
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-0170
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Dillon Michael Heiller
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-1015
Case Name: In Re: Marriage of Sprague
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-1158
Case Name: CMT Highway, LLC an Iowa Limited Company v. Logan Contractors Supply, Inc., an Iowa Corporation
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Thursday, February 19, 2026
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-0755
Case Name: Gloria Ann Shontz, as administrator of the Estate of Shirley Kay Gomez, deceased, Andrea Marie Bell, individually, Kristina Christian Lincoln, individually, and Kim Marie Kerr, individually v. Mercy Medical Center-Clinton, Inc. and Amareshwar Chiruvella, M.D.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-0145
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Brian Thompson
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 24-0735
Case Name: Matthew Hunter v. City of Des Moines, Iowa
Appellant:
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-0763
Case Name: MidWestOne Bank, Trustee, Haywood B. Belle Family Trust v. Short’s Burger & Shine, LLC; Kevin Perez; and Dan Ouverson
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 25-0575
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Eric Martin Schadl
Appellant:
Appellee:
Amici:
Case Number: 25-0044
Case Name: In the Interest of L.P., Minor Child
Case Number: 23-2040
Case Name: Green Belt Bank and Trust v. Unverferth Manufacturing Company, Inc.
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1296
Case Name: Cody Lee Smith v. State of Iowa
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1645
Case Name: Rhonda Baldwin, as Executor of The Estate of Garrett O. Baldwin, v. Central Iowa Hospital Corp., d/b/a/Iowa Methodist Medical Center
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1972
Case Name: Margaret Lofgren, Both Individually and as Administrator of The Estate of Louden P. Lofgren v. Thomas Simpson, M.D. and ENT Medical Services, P.C.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1753
Case Name: Leonora Streeter, Rodney Dehaan, Esther Dehaan, Kurt Menefee, Robert Lampe, Douglas Benjamin, Barbara Benjamin, Teresa Garvey, Charlotte Thoma, Jeffrey Burke, Jan Burked, Jane Flammang, Aaron Flammang, Susan Sundlin, Steve Brennan, Kevin Brennan, et. al. v. The Dunn Trust Dated May 20, 2005, Charles L. Dunn and Diane K. Dunn, Co-Trustees
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 23-2092
Case Name: Timothy Kono v. D. R. Horton, Inc. and D.R. Horton-Iowa, LLC d/b/a Classic Builders
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1669
Case Name: Matthew McQuillen and Elizabeth McQuillen, as Limited Co-Guardians and Co-Conservators of Margaret G. McQuillen, and Individually v. West Side Transport, Inc. and Clifford Charles Takes
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1994
Case Name: Estate of Jill Cataldo by Zachary Mead, Individually and as Special Administrator v. RCHP-Ottumwa, Matthew Jay Breeding, RN and Elvin McCarl, M.D.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-2034
Case Name: Michelle Bunce, by and through Gaurdian and Conservator Thomas C. Bunce; Thomas Bunce, Individually, and Victoria Bunce v. Calvin Hansen, M.D.; Pradeep Panuganti, M.D.; Seenaiah Byreddy, M.D.; Mohammad Alsharabati, M.D.; Iowa Physicians Clinic Medical Foundation d/b/a UnityPoint Clinic and Methodist Plaza Specialty; Central Iowa Hospital Corporation d/b/a Iowa Methodist Medical Center; Iowa Health System d/b/a Iowa Methodist Medical Center
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0287
Case Name: Linda Jones v. Larry Lindell, MD, individually, Broadlawns Medical Center Foundation d/b/a Broadlawns Medical Center, et al.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0182
Case Name: Charlene Jorgensen and Michael Jorgensen v. Adam B. Smith, M.D., Adam B. Smith, M.D., P.C. and Tri-State Specialists, LLP
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1254
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Andrew Jay Porter
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-0409
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Rodney Dee Brown
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1001
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Joshua Uranga
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-2031
Case Name: Amanda Cooke v. Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1112
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Gregory Jackson
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1813
Case Name: Worthwhile Wind, LLC v. Worth County Board of Supervisors
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-0720
Case Name: Estate of Kara V. Tornell, Preston H. Tornell, Administrator, and Preston H. Tornell, Individually v. Trinity Health Corporation; Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa Corp. d/b/a MercyOne West Des Moines; William E. Nowysz; William Nowysz P.C.; Des Moines River Physicians, LLC, Ryan Brimeyer; and The Iowa Clinic, P.C.
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1123
Case Name: Donald Lee Wyldes, Jr. v. State of Iowa
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 23-2016
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Christopher Joseph Hidlebaugh
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0239
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Austin Dean Mahana
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0011
Case Name: State Public Defender v. Iowa District Court for Scott County
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 23-2113
Case Name: Jenna Sondag v. Orthopaedic Specialists, P.C. and John Hoffman, M.D.
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1422
Case Name: Beecher Store, Inc. v. Iowa Department of Revenue Alcoholic Beverages Division
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1704
Case Name: Teresa Marie Rarick and Richard Dee Rarick v. Wesley R. Smidt, M.D. and Des Moines Orthopaedic Surgeons, P.C.
Case Number: 24-1380
Case Name: Patrick Willhoite, Individually and as The Executor of The Estates of Margaret Ruth Willhoite and Michael Willhoite, and Jessie Gafeller, individually v. Genesis Health System, Dean A. Bunting, M.D., Joseph M. Phelan, M.D., Radiology Group, P.C., S.C., Steven D. Lamer, D.O., Tenille M. Miller, A.R.N.P.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0220
Case Name: Patty Thorington, Individually and as Administrator of the Estate of Robert Ronald Mitchell v. Scott County, Iowa and Greg Hill
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 22-1941
Case Name: Northwest Bank v. Pershing Hill Lofts LLC
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 25-0442
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Alicia Elaine Fredericksen
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-0971
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Sherral Jermaine Tolbert, Jr.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-0097
Case Name: Brea Anne Griffith, Individually, as Administrator of the Estate of Michael Lee Griffith, and on behalf of L.M.G., a minor, and Brian L. Griffith v. John L. Kulper and Travis J. Galloway
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1701
Case Name: State of Iowa, Ex Rel. Iowa Department of Transportation v. Honey Creek Drainage District No. 6 Board of Trustees, Robert D. Hansen, Mason J. Hansen, and Richard J. Hansen In Their Capacities As Members of The Board of Trustees of Honey Creek Drainage District No. 6, Pigeon Creek Drainage Noc. 2 Subdrainage District No. 3 Board of Trustees, Michael P. Schropp, Dale D. Rief, and Frank J. Moran In Their Capacities as Members of The Board of Trustees of Pigeon Creek Drainage District No. 2 Subdrainage District No. 3, and Board of Supervisors of Pottawattamie County, Ex Rel., Honey Creek Drainage District No. 6 and Pigeon Creek Drainage District No. 2 Subdrainage District No. 3
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1133
Case Name: Victoria Abrahamson, Hana Schroeder, Jody Schroeder, Terry Schroeder, Samantha Johnson, Bre Ahna Boggess (f/k/a Bre Ahna Payne), Rebecca Bates, Tawni Hanson, Darby Jones, Hunter Miner, and the State of Iowa v. Benjamin Scheevel, Individually and in his Official Capacity as Officer of Estherville Police Department, Brent Shatto, Individually and in his Official Capacity as Chief of the Estherville Police Department, City of Estherville, Iowa, Acadia Insurance Company, and John Doe
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1143
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Douglas Neal Warburton
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1166
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Malorie Lynn Hallock
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1566
Case Name: State of Iowa, Ex Rel. Attorney General Brenna Bird v. Tiktok, Inc., Tiktok Ltd, Tiktok Pte. Ltd, Bytedance Ltd. and Bytedance, Inc.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1788
Case Name: Jacob M. Rose, Individually and as Executor of the Estate of Jack F. Rose and Jeremy P. Rose, Individually v. Oakland Healthcare Management, LLC d/b/a Oakland Manor
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1745
Case Name: Sara Montague, Individually, and as Parent and Next of Friend of C.M., A Minor, and as The Duly Authorized Representative of The Estate of Robert McFarland, Deceased v. Beth Skinner, William Sperfslage, Samantha Tucker-Sieberg, Sarah Holder, Daniel Clark, Jeremy Larson, Michael Heinricy, Chad Kerker, Scott Eschen, Brian Tracy, Robert Hartig, Josh Baal, Tracy Dietsch, Jeremy Burds, Jon Day, Lucas Fowler, Ronnie Beemer, Lance Lake, Estate of Brian Ahlrichs, Michael Kray, Kurt Gillmore, Laurance McMahon, Brian Suthers, John Clark, Todd Dingbaum, and Jerome Greenfield
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0353
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Ronald Richard Pagliai
Appellant:
Appellee:
Amici:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1845
Case Name: Mark Fink and Stacey Fink v. Donald Lawson and Linda Lawson
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1794
Case Name: Linda Betz v. Rebecca Mathisen, Eric Muller, Kelly Rasmussen, and Michael Wilson
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1752
Case Name: Alex Butter and Sydney Stodola v. Midwest Property Management IC LLC, d/b/a KMB Property Management and Ruby Investments LLC
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0769
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Lynn Melvin Lindaman
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 25-0607
Case Name: Harley Kelchner, an Individual, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated v. CRST Expedited, Inc., CRST Specialized Transportation, Inc., CRST Lincoln Sales, Inc. and John Smith, an Individual
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0509
Case Name: Iowa Northern Railway Company v. Floyd County Board of Supervisors and Cerro Gordo County Board of Supervisors, acting as Trustees for Joint Drainage District Nos. 6 and 56
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-2069
Case Name: In re: the Marriage of Matthew Kraus and Molly Kraus
Appellant:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0830
Case Name: In Re: the Marriage of Jason C. Owen and Alison A. Brinker
Appellant:
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0029
Case Name: Robert Teig v. Patrick Loeffler, Ashley Vanorney, Dale Todd, Brad Hart, Ann Poe, Tyler Olson and Scott Olson
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1053
Case Name: In the Matter of the Estate of Rex L. Felten, Deceased, Kathy Felten v. Karen Hoffman, Individually and as Executor of the Estate of Rex Felten
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1351
Case Name: Benjamin Fogle and Amanda Fogle, on behalf of minor child P.F. v. Clay Elementary School-Southeast Polk Community School District, Dirk Halupnik, Andrea Burns and Carla Rivas, individually and in their official capacities with Southeast Community School District
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1352
Case Name: Ashley Hall and Ryan Hall, on behalf of minor child A.H. v. Southeast Polk Junior High School-Southeast Polk Community School District, Dirk Halupnik, Joseph Horton, Michael Dailey, Jacob Bartels, and Georgia Casner, individually and in their capacities with Southeast Polk Community School District
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0828
Case Name: Sandra K. Mormann, Individually and as Administrator of The Estate of Augustin G. Mormann, and Daniel J. Mormann, Individually v. City of Manchester, Iowa and James Louis Wessels
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-2060
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Pat Grant Kepner
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0548
Case Name: The Law Office of Shawn Shearer, P.C., Shawn Shearer and Theodore F. Sporer v. Iowa District Court for Fremont County
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0453
Case Name: J. Doe v. Iowa District Court for Polk County
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1145
Case Name: Michael William Stoltze v. Grace Maher n/k/a Grace Stokes and Macauley Stokes
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0834
Case Name: Iowa Department of Health and Human Services v. District Court (GAL)
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-0727
Case Name: In Re: Davenport Building Collapse
Appellant:
Appellee:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1402
Case Name: Den Hartog Industries and West Bend Mutual Insurance Company v. Tyler Dungan
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1457
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Matthew James Meisheid
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-0990
Case Name: Oscar Recio and Maria Recio v. Frederick M. Fridley, D.LO. Peterson Trust, Securitas Security Services USA, Inc., and Doe Corporation
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1160
Case Name: City of Davenport v. Iowa Auditor of State
Appellant:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1468
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Frederick Lee Hawkins III
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
Case Number: 23-1390
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Terence Edward Manning Jr.
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Supreme Court Outcome:
FEATURED POSTS
Iowa Supreme Court: TikTok must face the State’s consumer fraud suit in Iowa court
Online video provider TikTok does business with millions of American users in all 50 states, including Iowans who have downloaded the company’s app hundreds of thousands of times and who agree to its terms of service. Still, the company argues, it should not have to defend itself against a lawsuit filed in state court by the Iowa Attorney General claiming the company misrepresents the nature of its content available to Iowa children.
Former Federal Home Loan Bank executive waited too long to file defamation suit, Iowa Supreme Court holds
A plaintiff suing former coworkers at the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines for defamation waited too long to file suit in Polk County District Court because she failed to act on information she knew or should have known that could have formed the basis for a defamation claim before the statute of limitations expired, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a Jan. 9 decision.
Iowa Supreme Court: Iowa courts lack jurisdiction to hear suit against Indiana trucking company
Does a foreign corporation consent to the jurisdiction of Iowa’s courts when it registers with the Secretary of State to do business in this state, appoints an agent in Iowa for service of process, and is served with notice of a lawsuit through its Iowa…
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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.