In re Supervision of Diocese of Bismarck Trust - Civil No. 960040 The purpose of the rules restricting filing of discovery materials with the court is to alleviate storage problems, and the court has discretion in accepting discovery documents. A charitable trust is a matter of public concern, and no harm was caused by the court allowing the filing of a prehearing brief and appendix in a trust dispute after the hearing was canceled.
September 10, 1996
Anderson v. N.D. Workers Comp. Bureau - Civil No. 960046 The workers compensation claimant did not know or have reason to know she had a compensable work-related injury until her symptoms of carpel tunnel syndrome significantly worsened ten years after first being diagnosed.
Bangen v. Bartelson - Civil No. 950326 Because the appellants argued they were entitled to an additional lease benefit, their acceptance of a $6,000 cash award did not waive their right to appeal. A lease cannot be voided upon the lessee's mistake of fact arising from the lessee's neglect to determine the true state of title to the property. A joint tenant has the right to lease her interest in the property without the consent of the other joint tenant. The lessee succeeds to all the rights of the lessor to enjoy possession of the property with the other joint tenant.
Diocese of Bismarck Trust v. Ramada - Civil Nos. 950375 & 380 The ten-year statute of limitations in Section 28-01-15(2), N.D.C.C., applies to an action for reformation of a ground lease on the basis of mutual mistake. A reformation action based upon mutual mistake accrues when the facts which constitute the mistake have been, or in the exercise of reasonable diligence should have been, discovered by the parties seeking relief. Under Section 32-04-17, N.D.C.C., reformation of a contract is not available against third persons who have acquired rights in good faith and for value. If parties make a mistake in reducing a prior agreement to writing, the negligent failure to read the subsequent written agreement does not preclude reformation of the agreement unless failure to read the agreement was not in good faith or was not in accordance with reasonable standards of fair dealing.
Hendrickson v. Hendrickson - Civil No. 950331 Where the father lived apart from his family, except for weekends and holidays, the trial court's child custody award to the mother was not clearly erroneous. An employer's contributions to a child support obligor's pension plan and health insurance must be included in the obligor's income for determining child support. Interest on a judgment may not be compounded.
Lutz v. Krauter - Civil No. 960022 Under Section 47-05-06, N.D.C.C., a spouse who is the sole owner of a servient tenement cannot create a valid easement by attempting to convey an easement over the servient tenement to both spouses as owners of the dominant tenement. To create an implied easement when the owner of two tenements sells one of the tenements, the grantee must have actual or implied knowledge of the easement.
Neubauer v. Neubauer - Civil No. 960096 A motion to clarify an ambiguous provision of a property division in an original divorce decree may not be used as a substitute for an appeal. The same trial judge's clarification of an ambiguous provision of a property division was not clearly erroneous.
Swanson v. N.D. Workers Comp. Bureau - Civil No. 950416 The claimant did not have standing to challenge the Workers Compensation Bureau's claimed lack of a peer review system. Under Section 65-05-07(3), N.D.C.C., only doctors or health care providers may appeal adverse Bureau decisions on "reasonableness of fees and payment denials for unjustified treatments."
September 3, 1996
Earthworks v. Sehn - Civil No. 950417 When the seller of a business agrees not to engage in that business in the area for a reasonable length of time, good will although not specifically mentioned passes as an incident of the sale. If each party prevails on certain parts of a lawsuit, the trial court need not award costs under Section 28-26-06, N.D.C.C., to either party.
Estate of Joseph M. Powers - Civil No. 960056 The non-claim statute, Section 30.1-19-03, N.D.C.C., does not bar a person from disputing title to property alleged to be included in an estate. A person's assertion of rights under a specific bequest provision of a will is not a "claim" against an estate for purposes of the non-claim statute.
Grinaker v. Grinaker, et al. - Civil No. 950354 The trial court did not err in concluding that a shareholder's conduct was oppressive, fraudulent, and unfairly prejudicial and, therefore, did not abuse its discretion in appointing a receiver to preserve the assets of the corporation during the shareholder's divorce.
Grinaker v. Grinaker - Civil No. 960035 Although the procedure employed by the trial court in twice amending its judgment was unusual, the court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that this procedure did not deny the plaintiff a fair trial and in denying her motion for a new trial or for relief from the judgment. Property brought into the marriage by one party, and separate property acquired by gift, inheritance, or otherwise, must be included in the marital estate and is subject to distribution. The trial court did not err in valuing the parties' property as of the date of trial, rather than the date of distribution.
Kinney Shoe Corp. v. State of N.D. - Civil No. 950420 Under Section 57-38-01.3(1)(c), N.D.C.C., a subsidiary corporation's state income tax deduction for federal income taxes "paid or accrued" is the subsidiary's proportionate share of the federal tax actually paid to the federal government by the subsidiary's parent corporation.
Kristianson v. Flying J Oil & Gas - Civil No. 950363 One who hires an independent contractor is liable for the negligence of the contractor under the "retained control" theory of Section 414, Restatement (Second) of Torts, only if he retains control over the manner, method, or operative detail of the work. Merely providing an isolated piece of equipment, without directly supervising or controlling its use, does not constitute control sufficient to create a duty under the retained control doctrine.
Vanover v. Kansas City Life Insurance - Civil No. 960002 The Supreme Court overruled Ellsworth v. Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory, Inc., 66 N.D. 578, 268 N.W. 400 (1936), to the extent that it requires proof of special damages for recovery in an action for libel per quod. Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, there was substantial evidence that the plaintiff's reputation was damaged by letters saying the plaintiff had been terminated for cause.