The Iowa Supreme Court is expected to release opinions in two cases Friday, February 5, 2021. Below are On Brief’s previously published summaries of these cases. Go to On Brief’s Cases in the Pipeline page to read briefs filed with the Court in these appeals.
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Man deserves day in court to avoid losing his home over $220 delinquent tax bill, Iowa Supreme Court rules
A Jan. 22 ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court means a Waterloo man may not lose his home for failure to pay a $220 property tax bill.
Cornell Hoosman’s home was sold at tax sale for failure to pay $220 in property taxes to Black Hawk County, and he was served with a removal order after a district judge entered a default j …
Iowa Supreme Court: Tort Claims Act governs excessive-force claims under the state Constitution
A plaintiff with a claim under the Iowa Constitution for damages against the State or its employee must follow the procedures prescribed by the Iowa Tort Claims Act, including the Act’s exclusion of punitive damages, the Iowa Supreme Court said in a ruling handed down Dec. 31.
The decision in read more
Deeply divided Supreme Court upholds new law on absentee ballot request forms
Two starkly different perspectives were articulated by members of the Iowa Supreme Court in majority and dissenting opinions on the constitutionality of a new state statute requiring county auditors to contact voters who omit personal identification information, including their voter ID numbers, from absentee ballot request …
Iowa Supreme Court sides with first-in-time tenant in conflict between pet allergy and emotional support animal
The Iowa Supreme Court held that a tenant with a dog allergy may maintain civil claims for damages against their landlord arising from the landlord’s waiver of their no-pets policy for a neighboring tenant’s emotional support animal. In doing so, the Court emphasized the narrowness of its holding, characterizing its analy …
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Pipeline statute giving surveyors access to private property is constitutional, Iowa Supreme Court holds
Iowa’s statute governing hazardous underground pipelines that allows pipeline developers to enter private property to conduct surveys against a landowner’s will is not an unconstitutional taking, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a Nov. 22 decision.
Divided Iowa Supreme Court upholds state law governing restoration of firearms rights
In its first decision addressing a 2022 constitutional amendment that for the first time recognizes a “fundamental” right to bear arms in the Iowa Constitution, a divided Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the Pottawattamie District Court’s ruling denying an Iowa man’s bid to have his firearms rights restored after those rights had been revoked.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in one case in Marshalltown Nov. 19
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Nov. 19 in an evening session in Marshalltown in a case that involves the legality of a home search under the Iowa Constitution.
The Nov. 19 argument in Marshalltown is one in a series of court sessions held outside of the Judicial Branch Building in Des Moines to give Iowa …
Malpractice case resulting in $97 million verdict sent back for a new trial by Iowa Supreme Court
A manufacturer’s written package insert regarding the use of an obstetrical vacuum used to deliver a baby born with brain damage contained hearsay that should not have been allowed into evidence in a medical malpractice trial that resulted in a $97 million jury verdict, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a unanimous ruling issued Nov. 8.
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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.