Justia Iowa Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Two corporations organized as multiple housing cooperatives appealed the classification of their real estate as commercial for property tax purposes to the Jasper County Board of Review. The board did not alter the classification of the properties, and the cooperatives appealed. The district court affirmed the board's determination, concluding that the cooperative was actually operating as a standard rental property. After granting the cooperatives' combined motion for amendment and enlargement of findings and for a new trial, the district court concluded the cooperatives had followed all proper corporate formalities and were set up exactly as prescribed by Iowa law. Accordingly, the court reversed its prior ruling and concluded the real estate should properly be classified as residential. The court of appeals affirmed. On review, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Iowa law requires property owned by residential cooperatives, properly organized under chapter Iowa Code chapter 499A, to be classified as residential and taxed at residential property rates; and (2) because the cooperatives were operating on a nonprofit basis, there was no basis for penetrating the corporate veil. View "Krupp Place 1 Co-op, Inc. v. Jasper County Board of Review" on Justia Law

After the district court dismissed criminal charges against J.W., J.W. filed a motion to expunge any information pertaining to the dismissed charges pursuant to Iowa Code 692.17, specifically requesting that the information be removed from the Iowa Court Information System (ICIS), including the website Iowa Courts Online, and the computer data storage systems for the county sheriff, city police, state division of criminal investigation, and the FBI. The district court granted J.W.'s request. The attorney general petitioned for a writ of certiorari, which the Supreme Court granted. The Court sustained the writ, holding that (1) Section 692.17(1) does not require criminal cases that ended in dismissal or acquittal to be removed from ICIS or the website Iowa Court Online; and (2) making dismissed criminal case information available to the public, while withholding public access to deferred judgments, does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Iowa Constitution. View "Judicial Branch v. Dist. Court for Linn County" on Justia Law

After the district court dismissed a criminal charge against C.R., C.R. filed an application to expunge the dismissed charge pursuant to Iowa Code 692.17. The district court granted the request and held (1) judicial review from the administrative process afforded by Section 692.5 was not the exclusive remedy for a person seeking deletion of records from the Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Investigation (DPS) computer system, and (2) electronic docket entries on the Iowa Courts Information System (ICIS) and the website Iowa Courts Online relating to C.R.'s dismissed case were covered by the statute. The Supreme Court granted the attorney general's petition for writ of certiorari. The Court sustained the writ and vacated the district court's order, finding that the district court acted without jurisdiction in reviving a dismissed criminal case for the purpose of ordering a nonparty such as DPS to delete records. The Court concluded that Section 692.5 provides the exclusive administrative remedy for a person such as C.R. seeking removal of criminal history data from DPS files, and it is not appropriate to bring a direct civil action or to use a prior criminal case for that purpose. View "Dep't of Pub. Safety v. Dist. Court for Polk County" on Justia Law