Berg v. Berg, 2000 ND 37 When it is unclear whether the trial court considered and resolved a critical issue, remand is necessary to afford the court an opportunity to address the issue. The determination whether contempt has been committed and remedial sanctions are warranted lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Berg v. Berg, 2000 ND 36 To award unsupervised visitation to a parent who has perpetrated domestic violence, the trial court must make specific, detailed findings of fact, outlining the relevant evidence and delineating the factors considered by the court. A child support obligor must be ordered to provide health insurance coverage for the child if it is available through an employer, union, or group plan. Judicial Vacancy in Northeast Central Judicial District, 2000 ND 35 District Judgeship No. 2 to be filled by election.
February 24, 2000
Schlafman v. Schell, 2000 ND 34 District court judgment in contract action summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).
February 22, 2000
Boudreau v. Estate of Miller, 2000 ND 30 Political subdivisions have a duty to exercise reasonable care to keep their roads and streets reasonably safe for use by the public and to guard against unreasonably dangerous conditions. Where the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices makes a recommendation by using the word "may," locating signs inconsistently with the recommendation does not in itself result in a breach of a county's duty to users of an intersection. Coteau Properties v. Oster, 2000 ND 23 When considering a permanent water impoundment amendment to a mining and reclamation operations permit, the Public Service Commission must make its own assessment of the water impoundment's compliance with state law. Estate of Flynn, 2000 ND 24 Courts construe the plain and unambiguous language of a will to effectuate the testator's intent. The doctrine of merger will not be applied to defeat a testator's intent. Interest of C.J.C., 2000 ND 27 The Uniform Parentage Act impliedly grants trial courts the power to change a minor child's surname if in the child's best interests. On appeal, the appellant assumes the consequences and the risk of failure to file a transcript. An interim order appointing a guardian ad litem is not a final judgment, and is subject to change at any time prior to entry of a final judgment. Cost taxation is within the trial court's discretion and will not be disturbed on appeal unless it is affirmatively established the trial court abused its discretion. Pearson v. Pearson, 2000 ND 20 To eliminate spousal support based on the obligee's alleged common law marriage in another jurisdiction, the obligor must show the other jurisdiction recognizes the obligee's relationship as a valid marriage. To reduce spousal support based on the obligee's cohabitation, the obligor must show a decrease in the obligee's need for support. The nature of spousal support payments may be considered in determining whether there is a material change in circumstances justifying modification of support. Principal Residential Mortgage v. Nash, 2000 ND 21 Notice of a sheriff's sale must be served on a party who has been participating in a foreclosure action. A judgment creditor is allowed to recover from the sheriff's sale proceeds only the amount of the debt and the costs of the action, including the costs of the judicial sale. A judgment creditor is not entitled to collect attorney fees under a provision in a mortgage as part of the amount due or as costs under N.D.C.C. 32-19-10. Siewert v. N.D. Workers Compensation Bureau, 2000 ND 33 Notice is adequate if it informs the party of the general nature of the questions to be heard. Questions that could have been raised in a previous appeal will not be examined. Sanctions for administrative delay are generally warranted only when a party has shown substantial prejudice from an unreasonable delay. State v. Burke, 2000 ND 25 If no evidence indicates the DNA testing methods used were unreliable and the defendant admits the proposition for which the DNA evidence was offered, admission of the DNA evidence is not obvious error. A prosecutor's fair and reasonable criticism of the evidence, and fair and reasonable argument, are not misconduct. A defendant alleging ineffective assistance of counsel bears a heavy burden and must show counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and the defendant was prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance. State v. Farrell, 2000 ND 26 The N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(c) requirement that the court inquire whether the defendant's willingness to plead guilty resulted from previous discussions between the prosecuting attorney and the defendant is intended to alert the trial court about plea negotiations so the court can further inquire about the negotiation process to assess the defendant's understanding of the terms of any resulting agreements. Withdrawal of a defendant's guilty plea is necessary to correct a manifest injustice if the trial court has not substantially complied with N.D.R.Crim.P. 11(c) and the record shows the defendant did not understand the nature of his informal agreement for a nonbinding sentence recommendation from the State. State v. Gonzalez, 2000 ND 32 A conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance cannot be based solely upon proof of a buyer-seller relationship. State v. Jensen, 2000 ND 28 Under N.D.R.Ev. 412, evidence that an alleged victim of sexual misconduct engaged in other sexual behavior or evidence of the victim's sexual predisposition is generally inadmissible. A party must file a written motion under the rule requesting the court to admit specific instances of sexual behavior between the alleged victim and the accused, and failure to make a timely motion is reason alone for the court to deny admissibility of the evidence. State v. Koble, 2000 ND 29 The N.D.C.C. 19-03.1-36 statutory promptness requirement does not apply to N.D.C.C. ch. 29-31.1 civil forfeitures. State v. Strutz, 2000 ND 22 A defendant alleging ineffective assistance of counsel must demonstrate counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and the defendant was so prejudiced by counsel's deficient performance that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. An Appellant challenging the sufficiency of evidence to support a verdict must show the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, reveals no reasonable inference of guilt; a verdict based on circumstantial evidence carries the same presumption of correctness as a verdict based on direct evidence. Steiner v. Ford Motor Co., 2000 ND 31 The economic loss doctrine applies to consumer purchases and bars recovery in tort for economic loss resulting from damage to a defective product when there is no damage to other property or persons. Whether an implied warranty of merchantability has been excluded or modified is a question of fact and may involve factual inferences that can be decided only by the trial court, as trier of fact. Strom-Sell v. Council for Concerned Citizens, 2000 ND 19 The trial court's order is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(1) because the appeal is frivolous and completely without merit. The Supreme Court may award costs, including attorney's fees, under N.D.R.App.P. 38 if an appeal is frivolous.
February 18, 2000
Webster v. Regan, 2000 ND 18 When a stipulation is incorporated into a judgment, the stipulation and judgment are merged, and the court's intent will control, not the intent of the parties to the stipulation. Extrinsic evidence of the parties' intent is considered only if, after an examination of the judgment, the stipulated language is ambiguous and the incorporating court's intent cannot be determined.