Regina Strable injured her ankle at work, which resulted in a permanent partial disability to her lower leg. This injury caused additional injuries, known as sequela injuries, to her hip, lower back, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety. Strable entered into a commutation agreement with her employer for her ankle injury and a compromise settlement for […]
Iowa Code chapter 573 (2022) regulates contracts for the construction of public improvements. Chapter 573 provides requirements to ensure that public construction gets completed and that contractors and subcontractors are compensated. One of the requirements is “retainage,” which is money that the public entity collects by withholding a small portion (no more than 5%) of […]
The Iowa Supreme Court reviewed whether the Iowa Court of Appeals correctly applied Iowa Code Section 85.39, as amended in 2017, to limit an employee’s reimbursement for an independent medical examination (IME). The workers’ compensation commissioner awarded the entire $2,020 charged by the physician. The district court affirmed, and the Iowa Supreme Court transferred the […]
A Des Moines landowner fought to clear an easement on the landowner’s parcel of land. An easement for a billboard was granted by a prior owner of the parcel. The landowner claims that the easement was void because it was granted after the prior owner had already sold the parcel to the landowner. The holder […]
In 2017, the Iowa legislature amended several provisions of the Iowa Code related to medical malpractice, including §147.139, which now requires expert witnesses in a medical malpractice case to meet more stringent qualifications to be able to testify. One of those requirements is that the proposed expert “is licensed to practice” medicine. Since amendment, the […]
Samuel Langholz has been appointed as a judge to the Iowa Court of Appeals. On August 9, 2023, Governor Kim Reynolds selected Langholz from a list of five nominees sent to her by the Judicial Nominating Commission. Langholz served as the Chief Deputy Attorney General in the Iowa Attorney General’s Office under Brenna Bird. He […]
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 […]
In 2021, the Iowa legislature codified qualified immunity in the Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act for the first time. 2021 Iowa Acts ch. 183, section 14 (codified at Iowa Code Section 6704.A (2022)). The legislation codified a qualified immunity protection and also established a heightened pleading requirement for plaintiffs bringing tort claims against municipalities or […]
