A trial court’s sanction for frivolous litigation in a protracted legal battle over a Johnson County land development was reduced by the Iowa Supreme Court. The sanction was levied against the party pressing the litigation, not his lawyer. And the bill for tying up the…
The Iowa Economic Development Authority had the authority to claw back tax credits approved for a documentary film about Iowa’s mystical Field of Dreams baseball story, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a ruling handed down Jan. 19. The Economic Development Authority revoked economic-development tax…
Danielle Brown was one of five people in the bedroom of a house when a Des Moines police SWAT team swarmed in to execute a warrant naming a male occupant of the house to be searched for drugs and weapons. Brown was not named in…
A case before the Iowa Supreme Court this term poses profound questions of law, biology, genetics and human rights: Who are the legal parents of a child produced from donated genetic material and born of a surrogate mother? The parties characterize the case as a…
A trial judge committed error when he ruled against dismissing a potential juror who objected to the defendant’s sexual orientation, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 1. The judge’s “abuse of discretion” did not result in a reversal of the jury’s verdict that the…
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.
The Iowa Court of Appeals selects certain opinions for publication in the Northwestern Reporter. In February, the Court of Appeals selected six opinions for publication. Following are summaries of those opinions.
Christopher Hidlebaugh accepted a financial challenge in a plea deal with the State: purchase a home to avoid going to prison on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender. The deal fell apart, however, when Hidlebaugh was unable to qualify for financing to purchase a home, and he was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Dallas County District Court.
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.
