In an opinion filed May 5, 2023 in Burnett v. Smith and State of Iowa the Iowa Supreme Court overruled its 2017 opinion in Godfrey v. State, which recognized a private right of action for damages against State officials f …
When Wapello County set out to remove what it considered “derelict” vehicles from a residential property, the owners sued. The suit was dropped after the owners and the County reached a settlement in which the owners agreed to do the removal themselves to the County’s “satisfaction.”
The word “satisfaction” …
Few law school courses inspire more fear and frustration from students than Federal Courts. A standard elective at most law schools, the course’s prosaic name belies a devilishly complex body of law regarding who can sue whom in federal court, and for what. One Federal Courts professor asked rhetorically in a 2001
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
Municipal ordinances created to protect residents’ civil rights are not enforceable in state court, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled June 30.
The Iowa Civil Rights Act authorizes the state Civil Rights Commission to issue “right to sue” letters to complainants, who are then able to file a civil suit in state district c …
A law enforcement officer making a roadside stop is legally allowed to search a vehicle without a warrant under an “automobile exception” to the protection against unreasonable searches and seizures granted by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and separately under the Iowa Constitution. That exception, recog …
The Union Pacific Railroad Co. is not liable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for the death of an employee who took his own life from emotional distress caused by his supervisor’ harassment, the Iowa Supreme Court held in a decision handed down April 25.
Kera Morgan, as administrator of her late husb …
The Iowa Supreme Court removed a part-time judicial magistrate from the bench in a unanimous decision issued April 18 for violations of the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct in making a racially derogatory statement in an open court proceeding and by making a “demeaning and sophomoric” justification in a written order denying an arrest warrant.
Five individual plaintiffs living near a non-profit group’s proposed office and event center have standing to pursue claims alleging they would be injured by development in what is now an area zoned for agricultural use. The Iowa Supreme Court reached this conclusion in a decision handed down April 4.
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.
