Clark Mitchell and Aaron Lindebak obtained a defense verdict in favor of the president of a townhome owners association in an appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court. The appellants, a former townhome association president and his wife, appealed the district court’s granting of summary judgment on his defamation claim and his malicious prosecution claim. Mitchell and Lindebak represented one of three appellees in the suit. The appellant alleged that the appellees made defamatory statements to the police which caused the appellant to be charged with the crime of theft. The appellants argued the discovery rule, which extends the statute of limitations, should apply to defamation claims. The appellants argued our client instigated or procured his criminal prosecution. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s rulings. The Supreme Court did not address the statute limitations question finding the defamation claim could not be retried as the jury was presented all the same evidence on his wife’s claim and the jury found no defamation occurred. On the malicious prosecution claim, the Supreme Court found there was no genuine issue of material that our client instigated or procured the criminal prosecution.
Linn v. Montgomery, No. 16-1136 (Iowa 2017)