Legal Memorandum: Denial of a Motion for New Trial in IA

Issue: Under Iowa law, what is the standard of review applied by an appellate court when reviewing the denial of a motion for new trial based on jury conduct?

A party may move for a new trial pursuant to Rule 1.1004 of the Iowa Rules of Civil Procedure. An inquiry into jury deliberations is a legal question, reviewed for corrections of error at law.  Iowa R. App. P. 6.907 TA l "Iowa R. App. P. 6.907" s "6.907" c 2 ; State v. Mason, 2006 Iowa App. LEXIS 1811 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 30, 2006)  TA s "State v. Mason, 2006 Iowa App. LEXIS 1811 (Iowa Ct. App. Nov. 30, 2006)" (“Because the appropriateness of an inquiry into jury deliberations is a legal question, we review the district court’s ruling regarding the jury members’ affidavits for errors at law.”); Weatherwax TA s "Weatherwax"  v. Koontz, 545 N.W.2d 522, 524 (Iowa 1996) TA l "Weatherwax v. Koontz, 545 N.W.2d 522, 524 (Iowa 1996)" s "Weatherwax v. Koontz, 545 N.W.2d 522, 524 (Iowa 1996)" c 1  (The appropriateness of any inquiry into jury deliberations is a legal question which we review on error.); Lund v. McEnerney, 495 N.W.2d 730, 732 (Iowa 1993) (” TA l "Lund v. McEnerney, 495 N.W.2d 730, 732 (Iowa 1993)(“" s "Lund" c 1 The scope of review for determining the substance of the verdict is for correction of errors at law.”)

As to the core of the appeal, the standard of review for a motion for a new trial is dependent upon the ground asserted.  Weyerhaeuser Co. v. Thermogas Co., 620 N.W.2d 819, 823 (Iowa 2000). TA l "Weyerhaeuser Co. […]