Grefe & Sidney would like to extend a hearty congratulations to our new associates who recently passed the Iowa Bar Exam! Emma Bradbury Dariann Garrison-Nickerson Zachary Hufferd Emma, Dariann, and Zach have already started working at Grefe & Sidney and were sworn in as full-fledged attorneys in September of 2023. All three are 2023 graduates […]

Stella Maris Strohman obtained a pre-answer dismissal for her client, an excavation company, sued for alleged damage to a gas main. Plaintiff filed suit on August 29, 2022, alleging Defendant struck and damaged a gas main on October 17, 2017. Plaintiff’s petition alleged that Defendant violated Iowa Code Chapter 480.4 by failing to give its […]

Davina Valdez, a teacher’s associate at the West Des Moines Community Schools, brought suit against the school district and one of its teachers, Desira Johnson, alleging Johnson engaged in racial discrimination which led Valdez to resign. Valdez argued Johnson should be subject to individual liability for creating a hostile working environment under the Iowa Civil […]

The “aided-by-agency theory” is an exception to the usual rule that an employer may be vicariously liable only when an employee’s tort occurs within the scope of employment. Moreover, an employer may be vicariously liable for an employee’s tortious conduct if the employee “was aided in accomplishing the tort by the existence of the agency […]

Jena McCoy worked three months at the Thomas L. Cardella & Associates call center in Ottumwa before resigning after ongoing sexual advances from a team leader. She later sued Cardella, asserting a claim for common law negligent supervision or retention. Cardella’s pretrial legal challenges included that the common law claim was preempted by the Iowa […]