William M. Domino v. American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin

── William M. Domino v. American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin ── Court: Court of Appeals of Iowa Date: April 29, 2026 Category: General IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA _______________ No. 25-0571 Filed April 29, 2026 _______________ William M. Domino, Plaintiff–Appellee, v. American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin, Defendant–Appellant. _______________ Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, The Honorable Michael D. Huppert, Judge. _______________ AFFIRMED _______________ Brenda K. Wallrichs of Lederer Weston Craig PLC, Cedar Rapids, and Jessica Ann Eglseder, Madison, Wisconsin, attorneys for appellant. Shawn Shearer of The Shearer Law Office, P.C., University Heights, attorney for appellee. _______________ Considered without oral argument by Ahlers, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ. Opinion by Buller, J. 1 BULLER, Judge. William Domino was involved in a motorcycle-and-automobile collision in 2020. He carried an insurance policy with uninsured motorist benefits, issued by American Standard Insurance Company of Wisconsin. And the policy included three provisions relevant here (emphasis in original): We may not be sued unless all terms of this policy are complied with. . . . .... Under the Uninsured Motorist and Underinsured Motorist coverages, any suit against us will be barred unless commenced within two years from the date of the accident. .... We will pay under [the underinsured motorist] coverage only after the limits of liability under any bodily injury bonds or policies have been exhausted by payment of judgments or settlements. In 2021, Domino sent a demand letter for the policy limit of his underinsured motorist coverage. But Domino didn’t file this lawsuit until 2024—outside the policy’s two-year limitations period. So American Standard moved for summary judgment, asserting the claim was time-barred. Domino resisted, citing supreme court precedent and urging the limitations period was unreasonable and unenforceable due to the exhaustion and compliance provisions. The district court denied summary judgment by written ruling, finding no disputed facts and that the policy’s limitations period was unenforceable under Nicodemus v. Milwaukee Mutual Insurance Co., 612 N.W.2d 785 (Iowa 2000). American Standard sought interlocutory review, which our supreme court granted before transferring the case to us for disposition. We review for 2 correction of errors at law. Robinson v. Allied Prop. & Cas. Ins., 816 N.W.2d 398, 401 (Iowa 2012). In its brief,1 American Standard criticizes both the district court (for applying Nicodemus) and the supreme court (for allegedly conflating concepts in its case law). We understand the fight to be over which of two cases applies: Nicodemus, 612 N.W.2d at 788–89 (which invalidated a two-year limitation period in light of an accompanying exhaustion clause), or Robinson, 816 N.W.2d at 402–03 (which upheld a two-year limitation period when there was not a comparable exhaustion clause). Notably, Robinson did not overrule Nicodemus. See 816 N.W.2d at 403–04. We, like the district court, conclude Nicodemus controls. As in that case, the policy here contained an exhaustion clause that essentially required prior litigation to conclude before the carrier had to pay—“We will pay under [the underinsured motorist] coverage only after the limits of liability under any bodily injury bonds or policies have been exhausted by payment of judgments or settlement.” Cf. Nicodemus, 612 N.W.2d at 786 (“We are not obligated