1. The remedies provided by this section against state governmental bodies shall be in
addition to those provided by section 17A.19. Any aggrieved person, taxpayer to, or citizen of,
the state of Iowa, or the attorney general or county attorney, may seek judicial enforcement of
the requirements of this chapter. Suits to enforce this chapter shall be brought in the district
court for the county in which the governmental body has its principal place of business.\n\nTue Dec 09 22:32:24 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 21 (29, 2)
5 OFFICIAL MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC (OPEN MEETINGS), §21.6\n\n 2. Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of this chapter demonstrates to the court
that the body in question is subject to the requirements of this chapter and has held a closed
session, the burden of going forward shall be on the body and its members to demonstrate
compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
3. Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a governmental body has
violated any provision of this chapter, a court:
a. Shall assess each member of the governmental body who participated in its violation
damages in the amount of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars and not less than
five hundred dollars. However, if a member of a governmental body knowingly participated
in such a violation, damages shall be in the amount of not more than twelve thousand five
hundred dollars and not less than five thousand dollars. These damages shall be paid by the
court imposing it to the state of Iowa, if the body in question is a state governmental body,
or to the local government involved if the body in question is a local governmental body. A
member of a governmental body found to have violated this chapter shall not be assessed
such damages if that member proves that the member did any of the following:
(1) Voted against the closed session.
(2) Had good reason to believe and in good faith believed facts which, if true, would have
indicated compliance with all the requirements of this chapter.
(3) Reasonably relied upon a decision of a court, a formal opinion of the Iowa public
information board, the attorney general, or the attorney for the governmental body, given in
writing, or as memorialized in the minutes of the meeting at which a formal oral opinion was
given, or an advisory opinion of the Iowa public information board, the attorney general, or
the attorney for the governmental body, given in writing.
b. Shall order the payment of all costs and reasonable attorney fees in the trial and
appellate courts to any party successfully establishing a violation of this chapter. The
costs and fees shall be paid by those members of the governmental body who are assessed
damages under paragraph “a”. If no such members exist because they have a lawful defense
under that paragraph to the imposition of such damages, the costs and fees shall be paid to
the successful party from the budget of the offending governmental body or its parent.
c. Shall void any action taken in violation of this chapter, if the suit for enforcement of
this chapter is brought within six months of the violation and the court finds under the facts
of the particular case that the public interest in the enforcement of the policy of this chapter
outweighs the public interest in sustaining the validity of the action taken in the closed
session. This paragraph shall not apply to an action taken regarding the issuance of bonds
or other evidence of indebtedness of a governmental body if a public hearing, election or
public sale has been held regarding the bonds or evidence of indebtedness.
d. Shall issue an order removing a member of a governmental body from office if that
member has engaged in a prior violation of this chapter.
e. May issue a mandatory injunction punishable by civil contempt ordering the members
of the offending governmental body to refrain for one year from any future violations of this
chapter.
4. Ignorance of the legal requirements of this chapter shall be no defense to an
enforcement proceeding brought under this section. A governmental body which is in doubt
about the legality of closing a particular meeting is authorized to bring suit at the expense
of that governmental body in the district court of the county of the governmental body’s
principal place of business to ascertain the propriety of any such action, or seek a formal
opinion of the attorney general or an attorney for the governmental body.
[C71, 73, 75, 77, §28A.7, 28A.8; C79, 81, §28A.6]
C85, §21.6
99 Acts, ch 9, §1; 2005 Acts, ch 99, §1; 2011 Acts, ch 106, §7, 17; 2012 Acts, ch 1115, §1, 17;
2025 Acts, ch 139, §1
Referred to in §21.12, 23.5, 23.6, 23.10
Subsection 3, paragraphs a and d amended\n\nTue Dec 09 22:32:24 2025 Iowa Code 2026, Chapter 21 (29, 2)
§21.7, OFFICIAL MEETINGS OPEN TO PUBLIC (OPEN MEETINGS) 6
\n
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
29
cases (
9 in the last 5 years), 1985–2026 · leading case:
Peg Hutchison, Dan Johnson, Russ Nichols, Shawn Ripperger, Leigh Ann Swain, & Shelly Vander Tuig v. Douglas Shull, Steve Wilson, Dean Yordi, the Bd. of Supervisors for Warren Cnty., Iowa, & Warren Cnty., Iowa, 878 N.W.2d 221 (Iowa 2016).
Peg Hutchison, Dan Johnson, Russ Nichols, Shawn Ripperger, Leigh Ann Swain, & Shelly Vander Tuig v. Douglas Shull, Steve Wilson, Dean Yordi, the Bd. of Supervisors for Warren Cnty., Iowa, & Warren Cnty., Iowa, 878 N.W.2d 221 (Iowa 2016).
· cites it 15× “May they continue to confer privately with staff or in small groups? Or, if they do, could someone sue them for violating chapter 21, putting their personal assets at risk for a judgment for attorney fees? Chapter 21 provides that statutory penalties and attorney fees may be…”
City of Postville, Iowa & Jason Meyer v. Upper Explorerland Reg'l Plan. Comm'n, Martin Brennan, Kathy Campbell, Ray Whalen, Leon Griebenow, Andrew Wenthe, Karla Organist, Warren Steffen, Michael Kenedy, Janet McGovern, Dean Darling, Les Askelson, & Randy Uhl, 834 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2013).
· cites it 12× “Iowa Code § 21.6 . Generally, Iowa law makes members of governmental bodies subject to liability for IOMA violations.”
Elyse De Stefano v. Apts. Downtown, Inc., 879 N.W.2d 155 (Iowa 2016).
· cites it 4× “, Iowa Code § 21.6 (3)(b) (2015) (requiring a court to “order the payment of all costs and reasonable attorney fees” to a person prevailing on an open meetings claim); id.”
James Hunter v. Page Cnty., Iowa, 102 F.4th 853 (8th Cir. 2024).
· cites it 3× “8 The County’s revocation of SHW’s permit provided plaintiffs the equivalent of the vacatur they sought under Iowa Code § 21.6 (3)(c), but not the monetary sums they seek under Iowa Code §§ 21.”
KCOB/KLVN, Inc. v. Jasper Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 473 N.W.2d 171 (Iowa 1991).
· cites it 8× “Iowa Code section 21.6(2) provides as follows: Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of this chapter demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of this chapter and has held a closed session, the burden of going forward shall be on the…”
Schumacher v. Lisbon Sch. Bd., 582 N.W.2d 183 (Iowa 1998).
· cites it 8× “See Iowa Code § 21.6 . The district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and found that the board’s action in closing the meeting was void.”
Feller v. Scott Cnty. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 482 N.W.2d 154 (Iowa 1992).
· cites it 8× “It reached that conclusion by holding that the enforcement provisions of Iowa Code section 21.6 applied to the provisions of Iowa Code section 21.”
Gavin v. City of Cascade, 500 N.W.2d 729 (Iowa Ct. App. 1993).
· cites it 6× “Gavin claims the court failed to implement section 21.6(2). Section 21.6(2) provides: Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of this chapter demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of this chapter and has held a closed session, the…”
— Iowa Code § 21.6(1) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 21.6(2) — 9 cases
KCOB/KLVN, Inc. v. Jasper Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 473 N.W.2d 171 (Iowa 1991).
“Iowa Code section 21.6(2) provides as follows: Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of this chapter demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of this chapter and has held a closed session, the burden of going forward shall be on the…”
Gavin v. City of Cascade, 500 N.W.2d 729 (Iowa Ct. App. 1993).
“Gavin claims the court failed to implement section 21.6(2). Section 21.6(2) provides: Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of this chapter demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of this chapter and has held a closed session, the…”
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3) — 8 cases
City of Postville, Iowa & Jason Meyer v. Upper Explorerland Reg'l Plan. Comm'n, Martin Brennan, Kathy Campbell, Ray Whalen, Leon Griebenow, Andrew Wenthe, Karla Organist, Warren Steffen, Michael Kenedy, Janet McGovern, Dean Darling, Les Askelson, & Randy Uhl, 834 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2013).
“Iowa Code § 21.6 . Generally, Iowa law makes members of governmental bodies subject to liability for IOMA violations.”
Feller v. Scott Cnty. Civil Serv. Comm'n, 482 N.W.2d 154 (Iowa 1992).
“It reached that conclusion by holding that the enforcement provisions of Iowa Code section 21.6 applied to the provisions of Iowa Code section 21.”
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(6) — 1 case
City of Postville, Iowa & Jason Meyer v. Upper Explorerland Reg'l Plan. Comm'n, Martin Brennan, Kathy Campbell, Ray Whalen, Leon Griebenow, Andrew Wenthe, Karla Organist, Warren Steffen, Michael Kenedy, Janet McGovern, Dean Darling, Les Askelson, & Randy Uhl, 834 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2013).
“Iowa Code § 21.6 . Generally, Iowa law makes members of governmental bodies subject to liability for IOMA violations.”
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(a) — 5 cases
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(a)(1) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(a)(2) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(a)(3) — 3 cases
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(a)(l) — 1 case
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(b) — 2 cases
Schumacher v. Lisbon Sch. Bd., 582 N.W.2d 183 (Iowa 1998).
“See Iowa Code § 21.6 . The district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs and found that the board’s action in closing the meeting was void.”
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(c) — 7 cases
Peg Hutchison, Dan Johnson, Russ Nichols, Shawn Ripperger, Leigh Ann Swain, & Shelly Vander Tuig v. Douglas Shull, Steve Wilson, Dean Yordi, the Bd. of Supervisors for Warren Cnty., Iowa, & Warren Cnty., Iowa, 878 N.W.2d 221 (Iowa 2016).
“May they continue to confer privately with staff or in small groups? Or, if they do, could someone sue them for violating chapter 21, putting their personal assets at risk for a judgment for attorney fees? Chapter 21 provides that statutory penalties and attorney fees may be…”
City of Postville, Iowa & Jason Meyer v. Upper Explorerland Reg'l Plan. Comm'n, Martin Brennan, Kathy Campbell, Ray Whalen, Leon Griebenow, Andrew Wenthe, Karla Organist, Warren Steffen, Michael Kenedy, Janet McGovern, Dean Darling, Les Askelson, & Randy Uhl, 834 N.W.2d 1 (Iowa 2013).
“Iowa Code § 21.6 . Generally, Iowa law makes members of governmental bodies subject to liability for IOMA violations.”
Amended June 28, 2016 Peg Hutchison, Dan Johnson, Russ Nichols, Shawn Ripperger, Leigh Ann Swain, & Shelly Vander Tuig v. Douglas Shull, Steve Wilson, Dean Yordi, the Bd. of Supervisors for Warren Cnty., Iowa, & Warren Cnty., Iowa (Iowa 2016).
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(d) — 2 cases
— Iowa Code § 21.6(3)(e) — 2 cases
— Iowa Code § 21.6(4) — 2 cases
KCOB/KLVN, Inc. v. Jasper Cnty. Bd. of Supervisors, 473 N.W.2d 171 (Iowa 1991).
“Iowa Code section 21.6(2) provides as follows: Once a party seeking judicial enforcement of this chapter demonstrates to the court that the body in question is subject to the requirements of this chapter and has held a closed session, the burden of going forward shall be on the…”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.