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Baker v. Autos, Inc., et al.2022 ND 41 Docket No.: 20210202 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: OTHER (Civil) Author: Crothers, Daniel John
Highlight:A district court’s decision on a motion for a new trial is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
The law of the case doctrine and the mandate rule restrict proceedings on remand to the district court.
Jury instructions should fairly inform the jury of the law applicable to the case.
City of Jamestown v. Kastet2022 ND 40 Docket No.: 20210170 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: ASSAULT Author: Crothers, Daniel John
Highlight:A defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on a legal defense if there is evidence to support it.
In determining whether the jury should have received an instruction on a particular defense, this Court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant.
If the district court evaluates the evidence supporting a proposed defense and declines to charge on that defense, it dilutes the defendant’s jury trial by removing the issue from the jury’s consideration.
Taylor v. Taylor2022 ND 39 Docket No.: 20210214 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: CHILD CUST & SUPPORT (Div.\Other) Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair
Highlight:An attempted appeal from an order for judgment will be treated as an appeal from a subsequently entered consistent judgment, if one exists.
A district court is generally not required to do a line-by-line best-interest analysis for each individual child, but factual findings should be stated with sufficient specificity for reviewing court to understand basis for its decision.
Expert testimony is unnecessary for a showing that physical or emotional harm is likely to result from parenting time, and general testimony of a parent may suffice.
Visitation with a noncustodial parent may be temporarily suspended where it is likely to endanger the children’s physical or emotional health.
District court order granting sole decisionmaking authority to custodial parent must be in the children’s best interests.
Visitation provisions controlled by custodial parent should be utilized only in exceptional circumstances and when custodial parent demonstrates willingness to foster parent-child relationship. Custodial parent may be permitted to monitor visitation between children and noncustodial parent.
State v. Samaniego2022 ND 38 Docket No.: 20210252 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: SEXUAL OFFENSE Author: Jensen, Jon J.
Highlight:The force required for gross sexual imposition is that which compels the victim to submit.
The location of the crime is not a statutory element of a criminal offense. The North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure provide for venue in the county where the crime occurred.
A defendant’s objection on one specified ground did not preserve the appeal for another, unspecified ground.
When prosecutorial misconduct is alleged for the first time on appeal, the standard of review is obvious error.
Lovett v. Lovett, et al.2022 ND 37 Docket No.: 20210198 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: CHILD CUST & SUPPORT (Div.\Other) Author: VandeWalle, Gerald W.
Highlight:An issue is moot when the determination sought will not have any practical legal effect upon a then-existing controversy.
Whetsel v. State2022 ND 36 Docket No.: 20210180 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF Author: Per Curiam
Highlight:An applicant for post-conviction relief has a statutory right to counsel in post-conviction proceedings, but an applicant may not claim he received ineffective assistance of post-conviction counsel.
Highlight:Property damage caused by faulty workmanship is a covered occurrence under an insurance policy to the extent the faulty workmanship causes bodily injury or property damage to property other than the insured’s defective work product.
Exclusions from coverage in an insurance policy must be clear and explicit and are strictly construed against the insurer.
When a conflict exists between the provisions of an insurance policy and an attached endorsement, the provisions of the endorsement prevail.
State v. Willard2022 ND 34 Docket No.: 20210203 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: DRUGS/CONTRABAND Author: Crothers, Daniel John
Highlight:The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures.
Traffic violations, even if common or minor, provide officers with reasonable suspicion to justify a traffic stop.
The term “driveway” means “a private way of access that allows drivers to reach a private place from a public road.”
Goldade-Jose v. Jose, et al.2022 ND 33 Docket No.: 20210231 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: CHILD CUST & SUPPORT (Div.\Other) Author: Per Curiam
Highlight:An order denying a request to lift the supervision requirement on parenting time is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).
Lessard v. Johnson2022 ND 32 Docket No.: 20200206 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: CHILD CUST & SUPPORT (Div.\Other) Author: Jensen, Jon J.
Highlight:The effect of a judgment decreeing a divorce is to restore the parties to the state of unmarried persons, but neither party to a divorce may marry except in accordance with the decree of the court granting the divorce.
Whether a moving party has established a prima facie case for a modification of primary residential responsibility presents a question of law, reviewed de novo on appeal.
A district court’s decision whether to grant a protective order limiting discovery is reviewed for an abuse of discretion.
A parent moving for permission to relocate has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the move is in the child’s best interests. To decide whether relocation is in a child’s best interests, the district court applies the four Stout-Hawkinson factors.
A district court may award attorney’s fees and costs to remedy abuse caused by successive frivolous post-judgment motions.
State v. Halsey2022 ND 31 Docket No.: 20210090 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: MISC. STATUTORY OFFENSE (FELONY) Author: Tufte, Jerod E.
Highlight:A district court’s admission of prior bad acts evidence without the required three-step analyis was harmless error.
Absent a stipulation offered from a defendant, a court does not abuse its discretion in allowing the name and nature of a felony charge to be admitted into evidence to prove an element of the offense of preventing arrest.
State v. Davis2022 ND 30 Docket No.: 20210152 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: HOMICIDE Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair
Highlight:Constitutional forfeiture doctrine recognized by adopting the hearsay exception under N.D.R.Ev. 804(b)(6).
Forfeiture by wrongdoing requires the State to prove (1) that the declarant-witness is unavailable; (2) that the defendant engaged in wrongful conduct; (3) that the wrongful conduct procured the unavailability of the witness; and (4) that the defendant intended to procure the unavailability of the witness.
Forfeiture by wrongdoing was properly applied where the district court found, by a preponderance of the evidence, that defendant murdered victim with intent to prevent testimony at criminal proceedings.
The State is not required to prove defendant intended to prevent victim from testifying in the same case in which testimony was offered. Intent to prevent testimony in foreseeable proceeding or investigation is sufficient.
A sentence is illegal if it is not authorized by the judgment of conviction, and a district court must abide by the terms of the judgment when amending the judgment to include restitution.
Orwig v. Orwig2022 ND 29 Docket No.: 20210140 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: DIVORCE/PROPERTY DIV./ALIMONY Author: Jensen, Jon J.
Highlight:Failure to comply with provisions of a separation or divorce decree relating to distribution of the parties’ property constitutes contempt of court.
A person aggrieved by contempt of court may seek imposition of a remedial sanction for the contempt by filing a motion for that purpose.
A party seeking a contempt sanction must clearly and satisfactorily prove the alleged contempt was committed.
Whether a contempt has been committed lies within the district court’s sound discretion, which will not be overturned on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.
Krile v. Lawyer2022 ND 28 Docket No.: 20210138 Filing Date: 2/18/2022 Case Type: TORTS (NEGLIGENCE, LIAB., NUIS.) Author: VandeWalle, Gerald W.
Highlight:A motion to dismiss under N.D.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) is not automatically converted to a motion for summary judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 56 when a party submits additional materials outside the pleadings, and the court has discretion in deciding whether to exclude the additional materials. A pleading that states a claim for relief is not required to have detailed factual allegations, but it must have more than labels and conclusions or a formulaic recitation of the elements of a claim.
