An applicant for a firefighter position is rejected after the employer’s consulting physician concludes the applicant is medically unqualified without disclosing the reason: The applicant had recently had symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). Did the employer violate the disability discrimination provision of the Iowa Civil…
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments on Nov. 13 in an appeal brought by a former state administrative law judge who contends she was fired for blowing the whistle on her boss for improperly influencing unemployment insurance appeals. Susan Ackerman, an administrative law judge…
By Amanda Atherton Last week, the Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s judgment in favor of the state in Pippen v. State of Iowa et al, a class-action employment-discrimination case brought under Title VII and the Iowa Civil Rights Act. The class of over…
By Ryan Koopmans The Iowa Supreme Court agreed on Monday to withdraw its December 2012 decision in Nelson v. James H. Knight DDS, P.C. and reconsider the case. That’s an extraordinary move, which comes six months after the court received national attention for ruling that…
[The following summary was written by Nyemaster Goode attorneys Amanda Atherton and Deb Hulett] Today, the Iowa Supreme Court reaffirmed that an unfair termination decision does not violate the Iowa Civil Rights Act so long as the employer does not discriminate “based upon the employee’s…
The developer of a wind energy project planned in Worth County did not have a “vested right” to continue with the project after the Worth County Board of Supervisors enacted an ordinance the developer claimed doomed the project, a divided Iowa Supreme Court held in an April 24 decision.
The Iowa Supreme Court issued opinions in eleven cases in February 2026. At the links immediately below, you can read On Brief’s analysis of the following opinions:
The State Auditor has broad access under Iowa law to state and local records in conducting audits, including otherwise confidential information, but the Auditor’s access does not extend to records shielded by attorney-client privilege, the Iowa Supreme Court held in an April 17 decision.
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed a $20.5 million Polk County jury verdict against homebuilder D.R. Horton for negligence arising from a subcontractor’s employee being briefly buried under several feet of dirt while working in a trench.
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.
