UPDATES & ANALYSIS
State worker failed to prove boss created a hostile work environment, Iowa Supreme Court holds
The Iowa Supreme Court remanded a $790,000 jury award for a state employee’s hostile-work environment claim to Polk County District Court for entry of a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, which erases the damage award. The Court held that the plaintiff failed to prove her hostile work environment claim based on what she herself experienced.
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments April 11 on constitutionality of Iowa’s fetal cardiac activity abortion statute
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear its final oral argument of the 2023-24 term Thursday. The Court saved the term’s most-watched case for last: an appeal addressing whether Iowa’s law banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy may be enforced.
The oral argument in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, et al …
Iowa Supreme Court to hear arguments in eight cases Apr. 10-11
The Iowa Supreme Court will hear arguments in eight cases April 10 and 11. Four other cases will be submitted to the Court without oral argument. Following are brief summaries of the April arguments.
February 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in eighteen cases during February 2024. You can read Rox Laird’s analysis of Singh v. McDermott, Selden v. DMACC, and Senator Roby Smith et al. v. Iowa District Court for Polk County. The remaining opinions from February are summarized here.
Iowa Court of Appeals divided on trial court’s vacatur of arbitration award
A two-judge majority of an Iowa Court of Appeals panel affirmed a Polk County District Court ruling vacating an arbitration award in a case involving financial regulation. The third member of the panel dissented, saying the majority and the trial court erred in substituting their conclusions …
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March 2024 Opinion Roundup
The Iowa Supreme Court entered opinions in ten cases during March 2024. These opinions are summarized below.
Iowa Supreme Court partially affirms trial court in mixed Cedar Rapids public records decision
Cedar Rapids resident Robert Teig asked Cedar Rapids city officials for records related to the hiring of a new city clerk and city attorney. When they mostly denied Teig’s requests, he filed suit naming six Cedar Rapids officials as defendants, which the Linn County District Court dismissed on summary judgment.
Teig ma …
Iowa Supreme Court sends ‘stand your ground’ case back for new trial
Lasondra Johnson was tried for first-degree murder for the shooting death of Jada Young-Mills outside a Waterloo residence. Johnson argued she acted in self defense and the shooting was justified under Iowa’s “stand your ground” law that says a person is justified in the use of reasonable force in the belief that such …
State statute requiring a signature under oath means what it says, Iowa Supreme Court holds
The Iowa Code requires that a plaintiff who brings medical malpractice claims in state court serve the defendant with an affidavit signed by an expert witness regarding the merits of the claim that the medical provider was negligent. The statute requires that the affidavit be signed under oath obligating the witness to be t …
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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.