Terms Used In Iowa Code 645.2

  • Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
  • Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
645.2 Actions for merchandise or damages.
1. An action for recovery of merchandise or the purchase price, damages, and costs may be brought by an owner pursuant to this chapter in any court of competent jurisdiction, including a court of small claims if the claim does not exceed jurisdictional limits.
2. A conviction under chapter 714 is not required as a condition precedent to the maintenance of an action pursuant to this chapter.
89 Acts, ch 99, §2; 2021 Acts, ch 76, §150