Following a four day jury trial in Woodbury County, Clark Mitchell and Sean Corpstein obtained a defense verdict on behalf of their client, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company. Plaintiffs’ breach of contract claim followed a fire at Plaintiffs’ farm/ranch in 2013 and State Farm voiding the insurance Policy as a result of Plaintiffs’ conduct. […]
A mother whose son developed disabling injuries from bacterial meningitis brought an action for medical negligence against the physicians, and their employers, who treated her son. Various Defendants entered settlement agreements with the mother. Two physicians and an employer of one physician went to trial. The jury issued a verdict in their favor, finding the […]
Plaintiff Mengwasser’s sued Joseph Comito and Capital City Fruit Company following a 2015 car accident. The jury awarded damages for past pain and suffering and past loss of function, but awarded no damages for future medical expenses, future pain and suffering, future loss of function or future loss of earning capacity. The district court limited […]
Plaintiff was a passenger in a golf cart driven by his son when they struck a bridge and the impact ejected Plaintiff, causing severe injuries. After settling his claims with the driver with a signed release that expressly reserved his claims against the golf course, the owner of the golf cart, Plaintiff sued the golf […]
Plaintiff fell while walking along a City sidewalk and broke her arm and wrist. She alleged her fall was caused by the defective sidewalk. Plaintiff sued the City for negligence, alleging that the City failed to properly maintain, repair, and warn about the dangerous, defective, and uneven sidewalk. The City filed a motion to dismiss […]
The Iowa workers’ compensation commissioner ordered an employer and its workers’ compensation insurance carrier to pay a $39,000 penalty for failing to pay an injured worker approximately $80,000 in healing period benefits. The commissioner found the employer and insurance carrier terminated benefits without a reasonable cause and awarded a 50 percent penalty in accordance with […]
A 2017 county tax assessment valued a Lowe’s store at $11.8 million. Lowe’s challenged the assessment on grounds that it was excessive. After the county review board sided with the county’s assessment, Lowe’s appealed to the Iowa Property Assessment Appeal Board (PAAB). The PAAB held a hearing on Lowe’s appeal in 2018. At the hearing, […]
Plaintiff, Krystal Wagner, individually and as the administrator of her son’s estate, filed suit against the State of Iowa and a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) officer. Wagner’s son, who was nineteen years old and suicidal, was shot and killed by a DNR officer during an armed standoff. Wagner filed suit in federal court, asserting […]
Iowa courts resumed jury trials on February 1, 2021, with social distance, face covering, and other safety precautions in place to keep jurors, judges, attorneys, and other trial participants socially distant and compliant with state and federal guidelines. Jury trials were postponed when the Iowa Supreme Court issued an Order on November 10, 2020, suspending […]
In June 2018, Plaintiff Jeffrey Simmermaker filed an action pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1983, against Jeffrey Renander individually and in his official capacity as the Cedar County Attorney, asserting malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, defamation of character, and violations of Simmermaker’s constitutional rights. In short, Plaintiff claimed that Renander had violated his constitutional rights “by […]
