IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF IOWA
No. 24-0778 Filed July 2, 2025
BRIAN HAGER, Plaintiff-Appellant,
vs.
M & W WELDING, INC., COLTON BEALS, JACOB RHOADES and BENJAMIN ANDREW GUY ST. LAWRENCE, Defendants-Appellees. ________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Monroe County, Crystal S. Cronk,
Judge.
Brian Hager appeals several district court rulings that improperly denied him
the opportunity to present a hostile work environment claim to a jury. REVERSED
AND REMANDED.
Clinton Luth (argued) and Benjamin Bergmann of Parrish Kruidenier L.L.P,
Des Moines, for appellant.
Alison F. Kanne (argued) of Wandro, Kanne & Lalor, P.C., Des Moines, for
appellees.
Heard at oral argument by Schumacher, P.J., and Buller and Sandy, JJ. 2
SANDY, Judge.
Was a hostile work environment claim pled? The answer to this question
leads to the resolution of this appeal. Brian Hager appeals two rulings of the district
court that effectively deprived him of the opportunity to present a hostile work
environment claim to a jury. He contends he sufficiently pled a hostile work
environment claim in his petition. Thus, he argues the district court erred by
denying his request for jury instructions on that claim. Alternatively, he asserts the
district court abused its discretion in denying his pretrial motion to amend his
petition and motion to conform to proof to “add” a hostile work environment claim.
Because we conclude Hager’s petition sufficiently pled a hostile work
environment claim, we conclude the district court’s ruling on his pretrial motion to
amend improperly denied him the opportunity to move forward to trial with such a
claim. Accordingly, we find Hager is entitled to a new trial on a hostile work
environment claim. And because we find this issue to be dispositive, we do not
reach Hager’s alternative arguments.
I. Background Facts and Proceedings
In March 2021, Hager was hired as a painter at M&W Welding,
Inc. (M&W)—a small welding shop in Moravia that specializes in building hay
trailers. Colton Beals is the owner and primary operator of M&W. When he was
initially hired, Beals and his coworkers were unaware that Hager identifies as a
black man. Hager is biracial, testifying at trial that he is “black and white.”
According to Hager, upon discovering his race, Beals and two of his
coworkers began engaging in a consistent and pervasive pattern of harassment.
Shortly after discovering his race, Beals allegedly told Hager that his lips were big 3
because he “was sucking on [his] mother’s gorilla nipples.” Not long after making
this remark, Beals purportedly began referring to Hager’s children as “[f]ucking
n***lets.” Hager also alleged that Beals once pointed a firearm at him and said,
“[h]ow about you get back to work, you fucking n****r.”
According to Hager, two of his coworkers gradually began to join in on the
harassment. One of his coworkers—Jacob “Tanner” Rhoades—allegedly
frequently referred to Hager as a “fucking n****r” and called his children “half-
breeds.” Another co-worker—Benjamin St. Lawrence—allegedly frequently
referred to Hager as a “n****r.” As Hager explained at trial, “It’s like they were
comfortable with it—like, comfortable throwing that word out freely.” He also
claimed that Beals and his coworkers made sexually explicit and racially
insensitive comments about his wife, who is white. Hager claimed that he reported
his discomfort with the alleged harassment “multiple times” to Beals, but his
complaints fell on deaf ears. In fact, he alleged that Beals defended his, Rhoades,
and St. Lawrence’s use of racial slurs and epithets, referring to this language as
“shoptalk” or “guy talk.”
But the alleged harassment went beyond just the use of racial slurs,
epithets, and derogatory remarks targeted at Hager, his wife, and children. Hager
purported that his coworkers would frequently throw things at him while he was
working. Additionally, his coworkers allegedly destroyed his workstation and
protective equipment numerous times while he was employed with M&W. One
day, when Hager left his workstation to go to the bathroom, he allegedly returned
to find a swastika painted on his workstation. Further, he claimed Beals once made
him paint the symbol of the Schutzstaffel—the infamous Nazi paramilitary group— 4
on a customer’s trailer. When the customer picked up the trailer, Hager asserted
that Beals told the customer he had “the n****r paint it.”
Due to the alleged daily harassment he was subjected to at M&W, Hager
would often leave work early and search for reasons to call in sick. He also claimed
to experience anxiety attacks at work that were attributable to the harassment. In
December 2021, Hager began exploring the possibility of filing a legal complaint
against M&W with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission.1 On December 16, he met
with Beals and discussed his displeasure with the working environment at M&W.
A few days later, on December 20, he was terminated by Beals via voicemail.
Beals claimed at trial that he terminated Hager because he discovered Hager had
attempted to allegedly bribe several employees to testify for him and against the
company in a legal action.
On October 3, 2022, Hager filed a civil petition naming M&W, Beals,
Rhoades, and St. Lawrence as individual defendants. Of importance, many of the
factual allegations discussed above were contained in the petition. Against each
defendant, he asserted explicit2 claims of race discrimination, disability
discrimination, and retaliation under Iowa Code chapter 216, as well as a claim for
defamation. Against M&W and Beals, he asserted a common law retaliatory
discharge claim. Against Beals, he asserted an assault claim. And finally, against
Rhoades and St. Lawrence, Hager asserted a claim for aiding and abetting a
1 One of the discriminatory actions alleged in the complaint Hager filed with the
Iowa Civil Rights Commission was “harassment.” 2 By explicit, we mean these claims were pled as a separate counts under separate
headings. 5
violation of chapter 216. Of relevance to this appeal, Hager’s petition did not
include a separate explicit count for a hostile work environment claim.
In June, the district court entered an order setting trial for April 9, 2024. On
March 29, eleven days before trial, Hager filed a set of proposed jury instructions.
In his proposed jury instructions, Hager included four instructions that related to a
hostile work environment claim. On April 2, the defendants filed a response to
Hager’s proposed jury instructions, arguing that his proposed instructions relating
to a hostile work environment claim should be struck and omitted because he
“chose not to plead causes of action for workplace harassment/hostile work
environment either by a co-worker or by a supervisor.”
In response, Hager filed a pretrial motion to amend his petition to add a
hostile work environment claim on April 7. The defendants filed a resistance to
this motion, again arguing that Hager never pled a hostile work environment claim.
Prior to trial commencing, the district court addressed the issue of Hager’s pretrial
motion to amend.3 In advocating for granting the motion to amend the petition,
Hager’s counsel argued:
Your Honor, I believe that our motion and our resistance speak for themselves. However, there are a few points that I do want to address. First of all, it is our contention, and it is according to Iowa’s rule of pleading the case, that a hostile work environment claim has always been part of Mr. Hager’s claims against Beals and the other defendants. As noted in our resistance, in order to state a claim clear enough for an opponent, all that’s required is to identify all the prima facie elements. As noted, paragraphs 16 through 21 of our initial petition served in October 2022 lay out the framework of an objectively
3 During a discussion on his motion to amend, Hager agreed to voluntarily dismiss
his claims of disability discrimination and defamation against all defendants. 6
severe, pervasive, and hostile work environment. Paragraph 22 identifies that our client complained of this on a weekly basis therefore providing notice of the hostile work environment, and the remaining paragraphs noted in our resistance lay out the other elements of a hostile work environment claim. This is all that is required to raise the issue and make it part of the packet of claims that Mr. Hager has advanced against the defendants in this case. It was only on April 2nd, during preparation of jury instructions, that Defendants first raised the legal theory that a hostile work environment claim had never been [pled]. This came about when they objected to the jury instructions that we submitted on March 29, including a hostile work environment instruction. Based on that late-coming theory of defense, we were sort of put on the horns of a decision. Either we can go ahead and file a Motion to Amend and allow the defendants an opportunity pretrial to attempt to resolve the issue, or we can—and still can—amend our petition at the end of evidence to conform with the proof submitted.
In response, counsel for the defendants argued:
First of all, I would say this is not a late-coming theory of defense. We have always been aware that’s there never been a claim for a hostile work environment, and that is how we prepared our defense. Using the words in the petition does not mean that they asserted a claim for a hostile work environment. There are different defenses that we would make. There are different avenues that we would have explored in discovery, and the elements that they’re required to prove are different. It requires pervasiveness. It requires Mr. Beals to have known about it and not to have done anything about it. Just because some of the facts are similar between these two different claims does not mean that they alleged a claim for a hostile work environment. This is not a late-coming theory of defense. In fact, this came up when—I was surprised when I saw the plaintiff’s proposed jury instructions for a hostile work environment, and I said, “You don’t have a claim for hostile work environment.” That appears to be the first time the plaintiff actually realized that they didn’t have a claim for a hostile work environment. The law is clear, Your honor. In the reply that I filed this morning, the Iowa Supreme Court has conclusively ruled that racial discrimination and a hostile work environment are quote, “fundamentally different claims.” And because they are fundamentally different claims, they cannot shoehorn this claim in on the eve of trial and try to say, “Well, they’ve known about it.” Well, we haven’t, and we would have done different things in our defense 7
had we known that they were actually intending to bring a claim for a hostile work environment.
Ultimately, the district court sided with the defendants, ruling that the motion to
amend was untimely and would cause prejudice to the defendants because claims
of race discrimination and a hostile work environment are “fundamentally different.”
The rest of Hager’s recognized claims proceeded to trial. During trial, the district
court heard extensive testimony from Hager, Beals, Rhoades, St. Lawerence, and
several other coworkers of Hager during his employment at M&W.
At the close of evidence, Hager again moved to amend his petition to
conform to the proof to add a hostile work environment claim. In advocating that
this motion be granted, counsel for Hager asserted:
We have, through the testimony of Mr. Hager and through the testimony of Mr. Beals, demonstrated all the elements of [a] hostile work environment claim. In fact, I copied them from Defendants’ brief. The elements were: was the defendant subjected to offensive conduct, the conduct was unwelcome, the conduct was based on the plaintiff’s race or color, the conduct was sufficiently severe or pervasive that a reasonable person in the plaintiff’s position would find his work environment to be hostile or abusive, at the time the conduct occurred and as a result of such conduct, Mr. Hager believed his work environment was hostile or abusive; Mr. Beals knew or should have known the conduct; and that he failed to take steps to correct the situation and/or prevent the offensive conduct from occurring. This has been proven up through Mr. Hager’s testimony and almost all of the elements through Mr. Beals testimony. We move to amend to conform with the evidence.
The district court denied Hager’s motion to amend his petition to conform to the
proof, stating, “I’m not going to allow that amendment. Those are different claims
with different elements, and it would be prejudicial to the defense to allow that
amendment at this time.” Consequently, a marshalling instruction for a hostile
work environment claim was never presented to the jury. Ultimately, Hager’s 8
claims of race discrimination and retaliation against each defendant, aiding and
abetting against Rhoades and St. Lawrence, common law retaliatory discharge
against M&W and Beals, and assault against Beals were submitted to the jury.
The jury returned not guilty verdicts on each claim.
This appeal followed.
II. Standard of Review
Our standard of review for refusal to give a requested jury instruction is for
“correction of errors at law.” Alcala v. Marriott Int’l, Inc., 880 N.W.2d 699, 707
(Iowa 2016). We review the district court’s denial of a party’s motion to amend,
including a motion to amend to conform to the proof, for an abuse of discretion. In
re Est. of Workman, 903 N.W.2d 170, 175 (Iowa 2017); Holliday v. Rain & Hail
L.L.C., 690 N.W.2d 59, 63 (Iowa 2004).
III. Analysis
A. Error Preservation
Before reaching the merits of Hager’s contention that the district court erred
in denying his request for a jury instruction for a hostile work environment claim,
we pause to consider whether he preserved error on this issue. The defendants
claim that he did not. Although they acknowledge Hager submitted proposed jury
instructions covering a hostile work environment claim, they note he never
objected to the instructions given to the jury at trial. Consequently, they believe
Hager failed to preserve error. See Olson v. Sumpter, 728 N.W.2d 844, 848 (Iowa
2007) (“[E]rror in jury instructions is waived if not raised before closing arguments
are made to the jury.”). 9
Hager believes he did preserve error on this issue. He claims the district
court ruled on his proposed instructions, and “likewise made any further objection
futile by refusing to allow [him] to even make a claim for a Hostile Work
Environment.” He claims this is so because “the District Court ruled—incorrectly—
that [he] had not pled a hostile work environment claim.” In his view, this effectively
constituted a ruling that he was not entitled to hostile work environment jury
instructions. Thus, he contends “it would have been futile to repeatedly request
jury instructions on a hostile work environment” when the district court “made it
clear” he would not be entitled to such instructions. In such situations, he asserts
no additional action is required to preserve error. We find Hager’s argument more
persuasive, although for slightly different reasons.
To begin, we disagree with Hager that the district court explicitly ruled on
his proposed jury instructions relating to a hostile work environment claim. We find
no support for this contention in the record. But more importantly, while Hager
frames this issue as an inappropriate refusal to give requested jury instructions by
the district court, we believe the thrust of his argument is that the district court
effectively determined that he had never pled a hostile work environment claim. In
other words, the issue is not that Hager did not receive jury instructions for a hostile
work environment, it is that his hostile work environment claim was effectively
dismissed by not allowing the claim to move forward. For this reason, defendants
rule 1.9244 error preservation argument is inapplicable. During arguments at the
4 Iowa Rule of Civil Procedure 1.924 provides that, “before arguments to the jury
. . . , all objections to giving or failing to give any instruction must be made in writing or dictated into the record, out of the jury’s presence, specifying the matter 10
beginning of trial on his motion to amend his petition, Hager expressly argued that
he had properly pled a hostile work environment claim.
By denying Hager’s pretrial motion to amend his petition, the district court
effectively ruled that he had never pled a hostile work environment claim. In ruling
on Hager’s pretrial motion to amend his petition, the district court noted the
“fundamentally different” elements of a racial discrimination claim and a hostile
work environment claim. The court also stated that it would be prejudicial to the
defendants to allow him to amend his petition to add a hostile work environment
claim.
The import of these statements is that they indicate the district court
believed a hostile work environment claim had never been pled by Hager. 5
Consequently, we conclude the district essentially ruled that a hostile work
environment claim had never been pled when it ruled on Hager’s motion to amend.
See Lamasters v. State, 821 N.W.2d 856, 864 (Iowa 2012) (“If the court’s ruling
indicates that the court considered the issue and necessarily ruled on it, even if the
reasoning is ‘incomplete or sparse,’ the issue has been preserved.” (citation
omitted)). Thus, because we believe Hager is arguing the district court improperly
determined that he never pled a hostile work environment claim, we believe he
preserved error on this issue.6
objected to and on what grounds.” After that, such objections may not be “asserted . . . or considered on appeal.” Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.924. 5 The district court made similar statements when it ruled on Hager’s motion to
conform to the proof. 6 Even if we considered Hager’s argument on this issue to truly be a jury instruction
argument, we would still conclude that he preserved error. By denying his pretrial motion amend, the district court effectively ruled that a hostile work environment claim had never been pled. In order to receive a jury instruction, the jury instruction 11
B. Merits
As discussed above, we interpret Hager’s jury instruction argument to really
be an argument that the district court erred in determining that he never pled a
hostile work environment claim. Hager contends “Iowa Courts do not require a
particular form or format for civil actions.” He argues all that is required is a “short
and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief and a
demand for the judgment for the type of relief sought.” Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.403(1).
He contends Count I of his petition (“Race Discrimination”) set forth all of “his
claims based on his race.” He argues paragraphs sixteen through forty-eight of
his petition, which were incorporated under Count I, clearly set forth the basic
elements of a hostile work environment claim. Thus, he claims he “expressly pled
a hostile work environment claim by any measure of Iowa’s pleadings rules.”
The defendants counter that Hager only included a race discrimination claim
in his petition. The defendants repeatedly note throughout their briefing that a
hostile work environment claim is fundamentally different than a race
discrimination claim. They note that the two claims require a plaintiff to prove
different elements. Piggybacking off this last point, they also assert the defenses
for a race discrimination claim are much different than the defenses applicable to
a hostile work environment claim. Defendants contend that allowing Hager to
must provide the applicable law. See Sonnek v. Warren, 522 N.W.2d 45, 47 (Iowa 1994) (noting jury instructions must state the law applicable to the case). If a court determines that a claim has never been pled, such a claim would not be the law applicable to the case. Thus, it would be futile for a party to request a jury instruction on such a claim. In situations such as this, where the district court determines a claim was never pled at the outset of trial, we cannot fault a party for not requesting a jury instruction before the case is submitted to the jury. 12
inject a last-minute hostile work environment claim would have prejudiced them
because they would have defended the case differently had they known such a
claim had been asserted since the inception of the case. We disagree.
To begin our analysis, it is helpful to discuss the distinction between race
discrimination claims and hostile work environment claims brought under the Iowa
Civil Rights Act (ICRA). The ICRA prohibits employers “to discharge any
employee, or to otherwise discriminate in employment against any applicant for
employment or any employee because of the age, race, creed, color, sex, sexual
orientation, national origin, religion, or disability of such applicant or employee.”
Iowa Code § 216.6(1)(a) (Supp. 2025). To establish a prima facie case of race
discrimination under the ICRA, Hager must show “(1) he was a member of a
protected group; (2) he was qualified to perform the job and was performing
satisfactorily; (3) he suffered an adverse employment action; and
(4) circumstances permit an inference of discrimination.” Gordon v. Wells Fargo
Bank-Nat’l Ass’n, No. 20-0447, 2021 WL 2135187, at *1 (Iowa Ct. App. May 26,
2021). “Each discrete discriminatory act or event is separately actionable.”
Farmland Foods, Inc., v. Dubuque Hum. Rights Comm’n, 672 N.W.2d 733, 741
(Iowa 2003).
However, our supreme court stated over twenty years ago that “claims of
hostile work environment are fundamentally different.” Id. “Unlike discrete acts of
discrimination, they involve repeated conduct and are based on the cumulative
impact of separate acts.” Id. To establish a hostile work environment claim under
the ICRA, “the plaintiff must show: (1) he or she belongs to a protected group;
(2) he or she was subjected to unwelcome harassment; (3) the harassment was 13
based on a protected characteristic; and (4) the harassment affected a term,
condition, or privilege of employment.” Boyle v. Alum-Line, Inc., 710 N.W.2d 741,
746 (Iowa 2006) (citation omitted). “Additionally, if the harassment is perpetrated
by a nonsupervisory employee, the plaintiff must show the employer ‘knew or
should have known of the harassment and failed to take proper remedial action.’”
Farmland Foods, 672 N.W.2d at 744 (quoting Stuart v. Gen. Motors Corp., 217
F.3d 621, 631 (8th Cir. 2000)). The harassment alleged must be sufficiently
“severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of employment and create an
abusive working environment.” Rheeder v. Gray,___ N.W.3d. ___, ___, 2025 WL
1599759, at *7 (Iowa 2025) (citation omitted).
As there is no dispute that Hager pled a racial discrimination claim under
the ICRA, we turn to the question of whether he also sufficiently pled a hostile work
environment claim. To aid in our analysis, we briefly recount some general
principles regarding Iowa’s pleading standards. “Iowa is a notice pleading state.”
Terrace Hill Soc’y Found. v. Terrace Hill Comm’n, 6 N.W.3d 290, 296 (Iowa 2024)
(citation omitted). Under the notice pleading standard, the “petition need not allege
ultimate facts that support each element of the cause of action.” Id. (citation
omitted). A plaintiff is also not required to identify a specific legal theory in their
petition. Id.; see also Stessman v. Am. Black Hawk Broad. Co., 416 N.W.2d 685,
686 (Iowa 1987). “However, a petition must contain factual allegations that give
the defendant fair notice of the claim asserted so the defendant can adequately
respond to the petition.” U.S. Bank v. Barbour, 770 N.W.2d 350, 354 (Iowa 2009)
(cleaned up). “The ‘fair notice’ requirement is met if a petition informs the 14
defendant of the incident giving rise to the claim and of the claim’s general nature.”
Id. (citation omitted).
Applying these principles, we conclude that Hager sufficiently pled a hostile
work environment claim. While it is not a model of clarity, when his petition is read
in its entirety, it is evident that he is attempting to assert a hostile work environment
claim against the named defendants. Hager’s petition has detailed factual
allegations covering the basic elements of a hostile work environment claim. His
petition indicates that he is a black man, that he was subjected to unwelcomed
harassment by the defendants, that the harassment was motivated by his race,
and that he was denied “pay raises and promotions” based on the racial
harassment he allegedly experienced. These factual allegations correspond
directly to the prima facie elements of a hostile work environment claim. See
Boyle, 710 N.W.2d at 746.
It is true that Hager’s petition did not set out a separate heading/caption for
a hostile work environment claim. But as Hager correctly points out, “[n]o technical
forms of pleadings are required” under our rules. Iowa R. Civ. P. 1.402(2)(a). And
a petition should not be defined by the labels it uses, “but is required to be read in
light of the allegations and legal ramifications contained within the four corners.”
Roush v. Mahaska State Bank, 605 N.W.2d 6, 9 (Iowa 2000). Hager’s detailed
factual allegations alerted the defendants of the claim’s general nature and the
events giving rise to the claim. Thus, it satisfied the “fair notice” requirement under
our pleading standards. See U.S. Bank, 770 N.W.2d at 354. If the defendants
were unsure of every claim Hager was asserting in his petition, they had ample 15
opportunity over the course of this case to file a motion for a more specific
statement. They declined to do so.
Ultimately, we find Hager’s petition sufficiently pled a hostile work
environment claim. The district court, to the extent its rulings on his pretrial motion
to amend found otherwise, were in error. Thus, we conclude Hager is entitled to
a new trial on a hostile work environment claim because the district court
improperly denied him the opportunity to move forward to trial with such a claim.
IV. Conclusion
In short, we conclude the district court’s ruling on Hager’s pretrial motion to
amend his petition erroneously deprived him of the opportunity to have his hostile
work environment claim tried to a jury. His petition sufficiently pled a hostile work
environment claim under Iowa’s notice pleading standards. Because of the district
court’s error in denying him the opportunity to move forward to trial on a hostile
work environment claim, Hager is entitled to a new trial on this issue. We
accordingly remand for a new trial on his hostile work environment claim. And
because we find this issue dispositive, we do not reach Hager’s alternative
arguments regarding his pretrial motion to amend and motion to amend to conform
to the proof at the close of evidence.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.