In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an order temporarily extending the two-year statute of limitations in civil cases by 76 days.
Scott County officials violated the Iowa Open Records Act when they made an appointment to fill a mid-term vacancy on the Board of Supervisors without publicly revealing the identities of any of the applicants, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a 4-3 decision handed down Feb. 14.
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in nine cases Feb. 17, 18, and 19. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the February cases, not including an attorney disciplinary case.
Bert and Donna Millers’ desire to conceive children in the 1950s was realized with the assistance of Dr. John Randall, a physician and head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa Hospitals, and Donna gave birth to two children via artificial insemination.
A roofing contractor who granted its customer a 30-day grace period to pay for a roofing job along with 1.5% a month in interest for tardy payment did not grant credit and is not subject to the Iowa Consumer Credit Code, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a unanimous Jan. 24 decision.
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eleven cases in November 2025. On Brief’s analysis of In re Davenport Hotel Building Collapse, No. 24-0727, concerning whether statutory qualified immunity protections apply to the City of Davenport and city employees in the context of common law negligence claims brought by families of residents who died in a 2023 apartment building collapse, is posted separately on this blog. The remaining opinions from November are summarized below.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has informed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit that the State of Iowa will be seeking review by the U.S. Supreme Court of the Eight Circuit’s October 2025 ruling affirming the district court’s preliminary injunction barring enforcement of Iowa’s statute that makes it a state crime for a noncitizen previously deported to reenter the state.
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.
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.
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.
