Susan Christensen, the new Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, will be first to serve a shortened term
Iowa Supreme Court Justice Susan Christensen, who was selected by her colleagues on the Court to become Chief Justice, will be the first chief justice to serve just a two-year term under a new statute enacted by the Iowa General Assembly in 2019.
Prior to the passage of Senate File 638 in April 2019 (codified as Chapter …
read moreResidential contractors must be licensed to represent homeowners with insurers
Homesteads exempt from mechanic’s lien foreclosure to collect legal fees, Iowa Supreme Court rules
Homeowners may have to pay a contractor for labor and materials in a mechanic’s lien foreclosure, but they cannot be forced to forfeit their homestead to cover the contractor’s legal fees, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled. That is, however, unless the homesteader waits too long to make that claim.
That was the good-news, …
read moreIowa Supreme Court to hear arguments Feb. 10 in a case of an emotional support dog versus a neighbor with allergies
Two tenants on the same floor of an Iowa City apartment building assert conflicting rights that seem irreconcilable — one needs a dog for emotional support and the other is allergic to dogs — and they are asking the Iowa Supreme Court to decide which party should prevail.
The case, read more
Transformation of Iowa Supreme Court continues with Dana Oxley’s appointment
With the appointment of Cedar Rapids attorney Dana Oxley, the Supreme Court is one step closer to a historic transformation.
On Jan 28, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the appointment of Oxley to replace the late Chief Justice Mark Cady. Oxley, 52, has practiced law at Shuttleworth & Ingersoll in Cedar Rapids since 2011, …
read moreIowa Supreme Court says its ruling on racial composition of juries does not apply retroactively
Two years ago the Iowa Supreme Court overruled a quarter-century-old precedent that established an exclusive test for determining whether a criminal jury reflects a fair cross section of the community. In its decision in Thongvanh v. State ha …
read moreIowa Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in eight appeals Jan. 22 and 23
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in eight cases Jan. 22 and 23, and three appeals will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the cases. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read briefs submitte …
read moreActing Chief Justice Wiggins to deliver State of the Judiciary speech to the Legislature Jan. 15
Acting Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court David Wiggins will deliver the 2020 State of the Judiciary address to the Iowa General Assembly Jan. 15. The speech will be given to a joint session of both houses of the Legislature in the Iowa House chamber beginning at 10 a.m.
A public reception will follow in the Iowa Su …
read moreStatutory enforcement of workplace drug test violations the exclusive remedy, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A person cannot bring a common-law claim for wrongful discharge for a violation of a state statute that governs employer drug and alcohol testing procedures because the statute provides a civil remedy for violations of the statute, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously in a read more
Iowa Supreme Court set to begin three days of oral arguments Dec. 16.
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in 13 appeals Dec. 16, 17 and 18, and another four cases will be submitted without oral argument. The Court scheduled the unusually large number of arguments over three days to hear five cases that were postponed from the November calendar following the Nov. 15 death of Chief …
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Former state employee may pursue claim she was fired for complying with Iowa Open Records Act, Iowa Supreme Court holds
A former public employee may bring a claim of being wrongfully fired for performing the assigned duty of releasing government records to the public under the Iowa Open Records Act, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down June 2 …
Iowa Supreme Court splits over causation requirement for a toxic tort claim
In an opinion filed June 23, 2023, the Iowa Supreme Court held a plaintiff suing her employer’s landlord for exposure to toxic chemicals at work did not present sufficient evidence to create a material dispute of fact concerning whether th …
Former employee’s common law negligence claims were preempted by the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Act, the Iowa Supreme Court rules
In 2017, Jena McCoy was hired as a sales representative for Thomas L Cardella & Associates’ call center in Ottumwa, Iowa. She alleged that within her first few weeks on the job, her supervisor, John Thompson, “began sitting next to her in her cubicle, touching her inappropriately and making sexually charged comments …
Iowa Supreme Court deadlocks on constitutional ‘takings’ question in Madison County power line case
Six justices of the Iowa Supreme Court were deadlocked on a constitutional “takings” question in a case involving a plan by MidAmerican Energy to construct a power transmission line along a highway right-of-way that crosses a Madison County resident’s property.
MidAmerican applied for a franchise from the Iowa Util …
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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.