Alan D. Pierce v. Laura B. Staley

Personal Injuries - Assault - Plaintiff is a brother of Ronald Portis who lived next door to defendant, Laura Staley, in Mason City. During the time that Ron and his wife, Karen, lived there, they were exposed to multiple incidents of bad behavior by Staley's son, Richard, and his friends. Richard and his friends would harass Portises' children, throw garbage and fireworks on the Portises' property, and on one occasion had thrown Ron Portis to the ground and kicked him. Other assaultive conduct had occurred on Staley's property involving Richard's friends acting among themselves. On at least one occasion, a firearm was discharged on her premises.

On July 2, 1995, the Portises left their home early in the afternoon. They were concerned about a "ruckus" that had been going on at Staley's home. They asked Pierce to stop by and check their house with an eye towards avoiding vandalism. Pierce made one visit around 4:30 p.m. and noticed no one at or around the Staley residence. He knocked on Staley's door and received no response. He then left.

Pierce made a second visit to the Portis home at approximately 6 p.m. At that time, four individuals located in the vicinity of Staley's front steps spoke to Pierce and beckoned him onto the Staley property. After Pierce had crossed the parking in front of the house and stepped onto Staley's front lawn, one of Richard's friends engaged Pierce in a bear hug. Richard and his other friends congregated around Pierce near the curb in front of the house. At this time, some of the assailants retrieved baseball bats that were leaning against a car parked in the street. They used these bats to severely beat Pierce.

During both of the times that Pierce had visited the vicinity of the Portis house, Staley was assisting her boyfriend in performing some yard work in Garner, approximately twenty miles from Mason City. At around 4 p.m. that after noon, Staley received a phone call from her son. He told her about an incident that had occurred involving three men coming to the door with baseball bats. Staley acknowledged some urgency to return home upon receiving that news. She did not actually return home, however, until approximately 6:30 p.m., which was fifteen minutes after the attack on Pierce.

Plaintiff’s verdict for an unknown amount.

Unknown

Unknown

Reversed by the Supreme Court of Iowa. See: 587 N.W.2d 484 (Iowa 1998). Note: The above date reflects the appellate court decision date, not the original trial date. Reported by dss.