MANSFIELD , Justice . This case presents the question whether Iowa workers' compensation law prohibits an employee from collecting both permanent partial disability benefits and permanent total disability benefits at the same time when the employee suffers successive injuries at the same workplace. We find that the general assembly removed the legal barrier to this outcome in 2004. Accordingly, we uphold the commissioner's award, affirm the district court judgment, and affirm the decision...
ZAGER , Justice . We are asked to determine whether the district court properly granted summary judgment on the plaintiff's petition for declaratory relief and properly denied the defendant's motion for summary judgment. Iowa Arboretum, Inc. (Arboretum) and Iowa 4-H Foundation (4-H Foundation) entered into an agreement to develop an arboretum on 300 acres of land owned by the 4-H Foundation and located in Boone County, Iowa. Later, the parties entered into a ninety-nine-year lease...
WATERMAN , Justice . This attorney disciplinary case arises from a lawyer's missteps that resulted in the dismissal of an appeal. His clients disputed the amounts their business owed to the plaintiffs in a mechanic's lien action and went to trial against his advice. The clients were disappointed in the trial outcome and chose to appeal but fell behind in paying his legal fees. The court reporter insisted on an advance payment of $1400 to prepare the trial transcript required for the appeal,...
PER CURIAM . The defendants Iowa State University and the State of Iowa (collectively ISU) appeal the district court's decision awarding the plaintiff Dennis Smith all of his requested attorney fees. For the reasons set forth herein, we conclude that Smith is not entitled to all fees as awarded by the district court, and we therefore reverse and remand this case for further proceedings. However, we do not agree with the court of appeals concerning what must occur on remand. It is not...
CADY , Chief Justice . This appeal requires us to decide if the crime of delivery of a controlled substance is an "infamous crime" under the voter disqualification provision of the Iowa Constitution. The district court held the crime is an infamous crime, and a conviction thereof disqualifies persons from voting in Iowa. Following the analysis we have used in the past to interpret provisions of our constitution, we agree and affirm the judgment of the district court. The term "infamous...
APPEL , Justice . In this case, we consider whether the State violated Justin Marshall's right to counsel through the acquisition of evidence from jailhouse informants. The district court rejected the claim, and a jury convicted Marshall of first-degree murder. The court of appeals reversed, holding the State had violated Marshall's Sixth Amendment right to counsel by using a jailhouse informant to obtain incriminating information when Marshall was represented by counsel. Finding the error...
WATERMAN , Justice . This wrongful-death action arises from a fatal fall from an apartment balcony and presents several issues on the applicability of the doctrine of negligence per se to an alleged municipal housing code violation. The thirty-two-inch high balcony railing complied with the local housing code when the apartment complex was constructed in 1968, but unless exempted under a grandfather provision, it is ten inches shorter than the current housing code allows. Before the...
WATERMAN , Justice . This appeal presents several questions of law on the liability of the State of Iowa for a fatal boating accident on Storm Lake. A ten-year-old boy riding in a speedboat died when his mother's boyfriend drove the watercraft at thirty miles per hour between two danger buoys and struck a submerged dredge pipe. The mother filed several tort actions and settled claims against the entities that operated and marked the dredge, the boat manufacturer, and her boyfriend. Her...
APPEL , Justice . In this case, we consider whether a plaintiff may bring a claim against an internet retailer for unlawfully charging Iowa sales tax on shipping and handling charges when the retailer forwarded the tax to the Iowa Department of Revenue (IDOR) pursuant to the Iowa version of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Act (SSUTA). The plaintiff claims the SSUTA establishes a statutory cause of action against the retailer. In the alternative, the plaintiff asserts that the retailer...
WIGGINS , Justice . An insurer sought a declaratory judgment stating it was not liable to the assignee of an excess commercial general liability (CGL) insurance policy for damages awarded to the assignee in federal district court. The assignee brought a counterclaim against the insurer for breach of contract. A jury concluded the insurer was liable to the assignee for the damages under the excess CGL policy. On appeal, the court of appeals affirmed the verdict against the insurer but...
WATERMAN , Justice . We must decide whether a new trial is required in this premises liability action. Brenda Alcala, a business guest at the Courtyard by Marriott 1 in Bettendorf, slipped and fell on its icy sidewalk, breaking her ankle. The jury found Marriott ninety-eight percent at fault and Alcala two percent at fault and awarded her damages of $1.2 million. The court of appeals concluded the district court's jury instructions were erroneous and ordered a new trial. The court of...
CADY , Chief Justice . In this appeal, an aviation company challenges the application of a statutory immunity provision to its claim of a breach of the implied warranty of merchantability found in the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) arising from an alleged defect in product design or manufacturing. On our review, we must determine whether the immunity provision only applies in tort cases or if it also applies to contracts. We hold the statutory immunity only applies in products liability...
HECHT , Justice . Crooked Creek Corporation operated a farrow-to-finish hog facility where it bred gilts and sows and raised their litters for slaughter. See Ballard v. Amana Soc'y, Inc., 526 N.W.2d 558 , 559 (Iowa 1995) (per curiam) (explaining the term "farrow-to-finish hog operation"); see also Iowa Code 459.102(46) (2009) (defining "swine farrow-to-finish operation" for animal agriculture compliance purposes). After the company filed for bankruptcy, the hogs were sold, but the...
WIGGINS , Justice . The Iowa Commission on Judicial Qualifications filed an application for discipline of a judicial officer recommending this court publicly reprimand a district court judge. See Iowa Code 602.2106 (2015). Because we conclude the judge violated the Iowa Code of Judicial Conduct, we grant the application for judicial discipline. Rather than publicly reprimand the judge, however, we publicly admonish the judge. I. Scope of Review. When the Iowa Commission on Judicial...
APPEL , Justice . A jury convicted Glendale More Jr. of first-degree murder in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Wauneita Townsend. In the present action for postconviction relief, More asserts that he is entitled to a new trial because at his trial the State introduced expert witness testimony on Compositional Bullet Lead Analysis (CBLA). More asserts that recent scientific developments have discredited CBLA and that as a result of these new developments, he is entitled to a...
ZAGER , Justice . In this disciplinary case, the Iowa Supreme Court Attorney Disciplinary Board (Board) charged an attorney with violations of several of our ethical rules arising out of two separate matters. After a hearing, the Grievance Commission of the Supreme Court of Iowa found that in the first matter, the attorney violated the rules regarding conflicts of interest and conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation. The commission also found violations of the...
HECHT , Justice . In this wrongful-death case, Paul Gray's surviving spouse and daughter allege Dr. Daniel Baldi and several Iowa healthcare providers negligently treated Paul during his struggle with substance abuse. The district court concluded the plaintiffs brought suit after the applicable statutes of limitations expired and granted summary judgment in favor of the defendants. On appeal, we conclude the district court's ruling was partially erroneous. We hold a child conceived but...
MANSFIELD , Justice . This case presents important issues relating to the use of tax increment financing (TIF) for economic development purposes. A citizens group and a school district have challenged a city's urban renewal plan. They claim the plan violates Iowa law because it (1) unlawfully extends the duration of a TIF area, (2) unlawfully uses revenue from that TIF area to support development in other parts of the city, and (3) fails to conform to the terms of the city's general plan....
WATERMAN , Justice . Can criminal defendants avoid prosecution in Iowa if they were unaware that their scheme was being perpetrated, in part, on persons located in Iowa This appeal presents questions of first impression regarding the State of Iowa's territorial jurisdiction to prosecute multistate insurance fraud. The defendants, who live in Wisconsin and Illinois and had never set foot in Iowa before their extradition here, allegedly staged an auto accident in Chicago to collect on false...
WIGGINS , Justice . Patients who requested medical records and billing statements from their healthcare providers filed a class action lawsuit claiming the company that fulfilled their records requests charged excessive fees in violation of Iowa Code section 622.10(6) (2013). The company moved to dismiss the petition, alleging section 622.10(6) did not apply to it because it was not a provider as defined by the statute. The district court denied the motion. We granted the company's...
