Iowa Supreme Court · No. 24-1017

Bert Miller and Nancy Duffner v. State of Iowa

Decided March 14, 2025 · appeal from Johnson County · Criminal

What the court decided

AI summary Two siblings sued the state, arguing that a specific law regarding assisted reproduction should apply to past events as well as future ones. The court upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss the lawsuit. This means the legal claims brought by the siblings could not proceed.¹

Result: Affirmed

The court’s own summary

Siblings Bert Jay Miller and Nancy Duffner, who brought claims under Iowa’s Fraud in Assisted Reproduction Act, appeal the district court’s order granting the State’s motion to dismiss. The plaintiffs argue that the legislative intent of Iowa chapter 714I was for the retrospective and prospective application of the law.

Holding: Plaintiffs appeal the dismissal of their action under the Fraud in Assisted Reproduction Act. Affirmed.

Read the opinion (PDF) · Case page on iowacourts.gov

Judges

Written by Justice Thomas D. Waterman
Trial judge: Kevin McKeever, Johnson County

Iowa Code it cites

§147.137 §4.4 §4.5 §614.1 §614.8 §614.8A §669.14A §670.4A §709.4A §714I.1 §714I.3 §714I.4 §80.6A §814.6 §814.7

Each links to the bills that change that chapter.