The last four Iowa Supreme Court terms—from the 2022-2023 term to the recently concluded 2025-2026 term—have seen a stylistic shift in how the Court articulates its rulings.
IOWA SUPREME COURT CASES IN THE PIPELINE
2026-2027 TERM
Case Number: 25-1810
Case Name: Matthew D. Kern v. Maureen C. Cosgrove
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-1708
Case Name: Estate of Jessa T. Thorne, Rhonda Johnson, Co-Executor of the Estate of Jessica T. Thorne, and Angela Thorne, Co-Executor of the Estate of Jessica T. Thorne v. Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, Corp. (d/b/a MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center), Des Moines River Physicians, LLC, Kevin Pothoven, M.D., and Heather Poskevich, D.O.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-1429
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Tiffany S. Rankins
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 24-1998
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Marique Ruth
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 26-0218
Case Name: Donald Heckman v. Fives, Inc., QBE/General Casualty of Wisconsin, and Second Injury Fund of Iowa
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-1049
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Malik Jabbar Obey Muhammad
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-1079
Case Name: AFSCME Iowa Council 61, Zachary Helmrichs, and Mason Gallup v. State of Iowa (Iowa Department of Transportation) (Department of Administrative Services)
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-2147
Case Name: Rhonda Boelkes as the Administrator of the Estate of Madison Jade Boelkes; and David Grooters, Esq. as Guardian Ad Litem for minor child RLD v. Franklin County Agriculture and Fair Association
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0810
Case Name: Nathan Olsen v. State of Iowa
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0514
Case Name: Braunecker Family Partnership, L.P., James L. Braunecker Revocable Trust and Kriste A. Braunecker Revocable Trust v. Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, Inc.
Appellant:
Appellee:
Case Number: 25-0437
Case Name: Randy Reiter v. State of Iowa and Iowa Department of Education
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1501
Case Name: Robert A. Cornell v. State of Iowa
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1260
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Ryan H. Melcher
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 25-0609
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Andrew Michael Popp
Appellant:
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1964
Case Name: Walmart, Inc. and Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust v. Marshall County Board of Review
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1108
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Duval Tremont Walker, Jr.
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 23-2025
Case Name: Ellie T. Shimp, Zach Shimp and Kerri Shimp v. Timothy A. Gibbons, MD., Chad H. Boyer, P.A.-C, Jared A. Knowles, P.A.-C, Mason City Clinic, PC, Mercy Health Services-Iowa, Corp. d/b/a MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center North Iowa, Trinity Health Corporation, Catholic Health Initiatives-Iowa, Corp., Mercy Health Network, Inc. and Mercy Health Network ACO, LLC
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1568
Case Name: In the Matter of the Estate of Lorraine S. Schultz
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 24-1824
Case Name: Rosemary Loper v. Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center, Inc.
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Case Number: 25-0096
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Richard Eugene Noll
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-1222
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Colton Austin Patterson
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-1889
Case Name: Robert Teig v. Iowa Judicial Branch, Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board, Iowa Office of Professional Regulation, Tara van Brederode, Nicholas (Trè) Critelli, Molly Weber, and Robert Gast
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 24-1563
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Max Amyda
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 25-1183
Case Name: Joshua Davenport v. Nathanel K. Fuller, PA-C
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 25-1237
Case Name: In Re: The Detention of Joshua Andrew Harlow
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-1828
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Jerell Theodore McKnight
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Thursday, September 10, 2026
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-1639
Case Name: In the Matter of $11,500.00 Seized from Bitcoin Depot Operating, LLC
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 24-1845
Case Name: State of Iowa v. John Robert West
Appellee:
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Time: 9:00am
Case Number: 25-1385
Case Name: In Re: E.S.
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 25-1717
Case Name: Swan Lake Road Farms, LLC v. Iowa Utilities Commission
Appellant:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 25-2197
Case Name: State of Iowa v. Scott Belt
Appellant:
Appellee:
Time: 1:30pm
Case Number: 24-1984
Case Name: NewRez LLC, d/b/a Shellpoint Mortgage Servicing v. Lynae D. McMillan Dickey Tesdall
Court of Appeals Outcome:
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
Time: 7:00pm
Case Number: 25-1608
Case Name: Andrew Perry v. Dordt University
Appellant:
Appellee:
FEATURED POSTS
Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Immunity in Horse-Drawn Mower Injury Case
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of a personal injury claim arising from an accident involving a horse-drawn sickle mower in a unanimous decision filed on June 12, 2026. In Shafer v. Santana, the Court held that a farmer operating a horse drawn sickle mower was engaged in the “domesticated animal activity” of driving under Iowa’s Domesticated Animal Activities Act, despite the fact that the horses were briefly stopped when the injury occurred.
July 2026 Iowa Court of Appeals Published Opinions Roundup
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In July, the Court of Appeals selected two opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
Iowa Supreme Court Limits Human Trafficking Liability Under 2024 Statute, Requiring an Actual Victim
The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of a human trafficking charge and clarified that, under the 2024 statute, a defendant cannot commit human trafficking by attempting to buy sex from a victim who does not exist.
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