Area residents brought action against former city police officer and city police chief, individually and in their official capacities, as well as city and surety, asserting statutory and common law claims based on allegations that officer improperly accessed and disseminated their confidential criminal history and intelligence data.
The District Court denied defendants’ motion to dismiss on limitations grounds. Defendants applied for interlocutory appeal. On transfer from Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded. Residents sought further review.
The Supreme Court held that:
- Two-year statute of limitations under Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act (IMTCA) applied to residents’ claims, and
- Statute began to run no later than date of officer’s resignation from employment.
Iowa Municipal Tort Claims Act’s (IMTCA) statute of limitations, requiring damage action against municipality or municipal employee to be brought within two years after alleged injury, was not contrary to damages liability authorized by statute creating private cause of action for improper access or dissemination of criminal history or intelligence data, and thus it, rather than five-year general statute of limitations and associated discovery rule, applied to residents’ claims under statute, and under common law for invasion of privacy and conspiracy, in action against city and former officer and chief of its police department alleging that officer improperly accessed confidential law enforcement databases to obtain information about residents for his own personal purposes or harassment.