Star Equipment, Ltd. v. State of Iowa, Iowa Department of Transportation

The majority notes that this is a case of first impression and then chides the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT) for not citing a case striking down a statute equivalent to Iowa Code section 573.2. Of course, the subcontractors did not cite a case supporting the opposite proposition. The lack of cited authority is thus not dispositive or even indicative of the proper result. We often face a lack of authority, one way or another, when considering questions of first impression. In these cases, we may be called upon to think on our own.

The court’s independent research has uncovered one…