MANSFIELD, Justice. Can a male employer terminate a female employee because the employer's wife, due to no fault of the employee, is concerned about the nature of the relationship between the employer and the employee This is the question we are required to answer today. For the reasons stated herein, we ultimately conclude the conduct does not amount to unlawful sex discrimination in violation of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. I. Facts and Procedural Background. Because this case was decided...
WIGGINS, Justice. This case involves the denial of coverage under a fire insurance policy. The policy included an intentional loss exclusion, voiding coverage when any insured intentionally causes a loss or damage. The district court denied coverage. In this appeal, we find that a coinsured who sets fire to the insured dwelling in order to commit suicide has the requisite intent to "cause a loss" under the policy. We further find that under the language of the policy, the innocent coinsured...
MANSFIELD, Justice. This case is part of the fallout from the June 2008 flooding that caused so much destruction in our state. In 2001, the Bagelmanns purchased a home in Waverly along the Cedar River. At the time, they were told, incorrectly, that the property was not in a special flood hazard area and that flood insurance would not be required as a condition of their loan. The Bagelmanns received the same erroneous information again in 2003 when they refinanced their loan to pay for...
ZAGER, Justice. In this case we are called on to decide whether a trial court's entry of a default judgment under Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.971(3) is justified when a party fails to appear personally for trial but the party's attorney is present and able to proceed in the client's absence. The court of appeals affirmed the district court's entry of a default judgment due to the plaintiff's failure to appear personally at the time of his scheduled trial. We granted further review. We now...
WATERMAN, Justice. The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board brought a complaint against Dean A. Stowers, alleging he violated four rules of professional conduct by sending threatening emails to several individuals after the multimillion dollar settlement of a lawsuit that his wife, Jan Reis, filed against her former employer, Care Initiatives. In Reis v. Iowa District Court, 787 N.W.2d 61 , 69-70 (Iowa 2010), we affirmed the district court's ruling that Stowers's emails...
APPEL, Justice. This matter comes before us on the report of a division of the Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa. See Iowa Ct. R. 35.11. 1 The Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board (Board) alleges the respondent, attorney Sara Kersenbrock, engaged in multiple instances of misconduct in violation of several rules of professional conduct. The Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa (commission) recommends a public reprimand. Upon our de novo review, we...
WIGGINS, Justice. A party requested information pursuant to Iowa Code chapter 22 (2009), Iowa's Open Records Act (Act), concerning the discipline of two school district employees after the school district disciplined them for performing a strip search of five students. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of the school district. The requestor appealed. On appeal, we hold that the disciplinary information sought is exempt from disclosure under Iowa Code section 22.7(11)....
WATERMAN, Justice. In this complex interlocutory appeal from a putative class action, we must decide whether the district court correctly granted several dispositive motions. Plaintiffs are doctors of chiropractic who allege they have been victimized by the discriminatory practices of Iowa's largest health insurer, Wellmark, Inc. 1 The plaintiffs claim Wellmark wrongfully imposes restrictions and pays lower rates for chiropractic services than for equivalent services offered by medical...
HECHT, Justice. In this case, we are asked to review a summary judgment ruling dismissing a wrongful death action because it was commenced later than is allowed under Iowa Code section 614.1(9) (2011), a statute of repose limiting the time allowed for commencing medical negligence cases. The plaintiffs contend their case should not have been dismissed because the defendants fraudulently concealed the fact that a tissue specimen harvested from the plaintiffs' decedent more than six years before...
ZAGER, Justice. In this breach of contract case, we consider whether the district court erred in denying the defendant's motion for a new trial based on several rulings by the district court that the defendant claims materially affected his rights and denied him a fair trial. The district court refused the defendant's request to exclude exhibits disclosed by the plaintiff the day before trial in violation of the district court's pretrial scheduling order. Additionally, the district court...
MANSFIELD, Justice. This case requires us to decide where disclosure ends and where confidentiality begins under the Iowa Open Records Act and the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). See 20 U.S.C. 1232g (2006 and Supp.2010); Iowa Code 22.2, .7, .9 (2007). In October 2007, two University of Iowa football players were accused of sexually assaulting another student in a campus dorm room. This incident led to a criminal investigation, criminal charges, and the conviction of...
ZAGER, Justice. Hawkeye Foodservice Distribution, Inc. (Hawkeye) filed a petition for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Iowa Educators Corporation (IEC) and ten Area Education Agencies (AEAs). Hawkeye asked the court to declare the establishment, existence, and operation of IEC was unauthorized and in violation of chapters 273 and 28E of the Iowa Code. It also asked the court to enjoin the AEAs and IEC from further operation in violation of Iowa law. Hawkeye also sought injunctive...
ZAGER, Justice. This case requires us to determine whether a life insurance agent owes a duty of care to the intended beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Additionally, we must decide whether a life insurance agent can be liable for negligent misrepresentation when he provides information to the insured and the intended beneficiary regarding the beneficiary designation listed on the life insurance policy. If we determine that an intended beneficiary is owed a duty of care and that a life...
WATERMAN, Justice. In this appeal, we must decide whether to judicially invalidate an insurance contract requirement that the insured file her lawsuit for underinsured motorist coverage (UIM) within two years of her auto accident. Plaintiff Karen Robinson argues the deadline is unenforceable because, although she was still experiencing pain two years after the accident, only later did she discover the full extent of her injuries and realize her claim exceeded the other driver's liability...
APPEL, Justice. In this case, the plaintiff L.F. Noll filed an action against defendant Dope Eviglo, a resident of Nebraska, for damages related to the termination of an apartment lease in Sioux City, Iowa where Eviglo formerly resided. L.F. Noll attempted to serve notice under Iowa's long-arm statute, Iowa Code section 617.3 (2007), by certified mail at a forwarding address provided by Eviglo upon the termination of his tenancy in the apartment. The notice, however, was returned by postal...
WIGGINS, Justice. Parties seek further review of a court of appeals decision affirming a district court order awarding $1000 in sanctions against plaintiff's counsel and making the sanctions payable to the Crawford County Jury and Witness Fund. We conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in fixing the amount of the sanction. We also conclude, however, the court abused its discretion in making the sanction payable to the jury and witness fund. Given the preference in our rule...
WIGGINS, Justice. The State filed a child in need of assistance (CINA) petition. The juvenile court issued a temporary removal order, removing the child from her mother's custody and placing her in foster care. After the CINA proceeding was dismissed, the mother sued the State of Iowa and two employees of the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS), under 42 U.S.C. 1983 (2000) and Iowa Code chapter 669 (2005), the Iowa Tort Claims Act (ITCA), alleging the DHS social workers wrongfully...
WIGGINS, Justice. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, appeals the Iowa Utility Board's decision to grant advance ratemaking principles to MidAmerican Energy Company for the Wind VII Iowa Project, a proposed wind generation facility. NextEra raises issues pertaining to the Board's interpretation of Iowa Code section 476.53 (2009), whether substantial evidence supported the Board's findings, the applicability of section 476.43 to the ratemaking proceeding, and section 476.53's constitutionality as...
MANSFIELD, Justice. This case presents the question whether a subcontractor that properly performs electrical work on a jobsite, then locks up the work and transfers control to the property owner, owes a duty of care to an employee of the owner electrocuted six days later when the owner fails to deenergize the work site in contravention of various warnings and regulations. We conclude that no such duty is owed under the circumstances. Accordingly, we affirm the summary judgment granted by the...
WATERMAN, Justice. In this interlocutory appeal, we review the district court's ruling consolidating condemnation appeals from proceedings by two separate condemning authorities taking property four months apart from the same parent tract of farmland. The landowner, Johnson Farms, 1 moved to consolidate its appeals pursuant to Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.913, contending they present common questions of law or fact and that consolidation would promote judicial economy and protect against...
