Keller v. Keller, et al.2024 ND 27 Docket No.: 20230258 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: CONTEMPT OF COURT (CIVIL) Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan
Highlight:A district court’s finding of contempt will only be overturned if the court abused its discretion.
A district court’s award of attorney’s fees will only be overturned if the court abused its discretion.
This Court does not consider arguments which are not adequately articulated, supported, and briefed.
WSI v. Kringlie, et al.2024 ND 26 Docket No.: 20230184 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan
Highlight:Under the Administrative Agencies Practice Act, courts exercise limited appellate review of administrative agency decisions.
A vocational rehabilitation plan is appropriate if it meets the statutory requirements and gives the injured worker a reasonable opportunity to obtain substantial gainful employment.
While the validity of a vocational rehabilitation plan is assessed at the time it was formulated, a claimant’s pre-existing, non-work-related medical limitations are taken into account as they existed at the time of the work-related injury.
Highlight:There is not a time limit for a motion attacking a void judgment under Rule 60(b)(4), N.D.R.Civ.P.
A district court does not lose subject matter jurisdiction if it misapplies the law.
A district court signing an order before the time to object to proposed findings expire is harmless error.
Sherwood v. Sherwood2024 ND 24 Docket No.: 20230230 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: OTHER (Civil) Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan
Highlight:A district court has broad discretion over the presentation of evidence and conduct of a trial, including when to certify a hostile witness.
After a district court makes a finding of actual or imminent domestic violence, a petitioner does not need to prove actual or imminent domestic violence to maintain a domestic violence protection order.
A party is only entitled to have a district court decide an issue if the party has standing to raise the issue.
Estate of Heath2024 ND 23 Docket No.: 20230250 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: PROBATE - WILLS - TRUSTS Author: Jensen, Jon J.
Highlight:A prerequisite to obtaining an order establishing the authority of a domiciliary foreign personal representative is proof of the authority to act as the personal representative in the foreign jurisdiction, meaning an active appointment in the foreign jurisdiction.
Chapter 30.1-24, N.D.C.C., gives a district court the authority to consider petitions to initiate foreign probate proceedings. The issuance of an order without satisfaction of all of the statutory prerequisites does not divest subject matter jurisdiction. It is instead an error in the application of the law, which may furnish grounds for appeal, but it does not invalidate the judgment under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(4).
To grant a motion under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(6), the district court must make a finding that the motion was brought within a reasonable time; otherwise, the motion must be denied.
A trustee with an interest in a disputed mineral interest that it contends is intended to benefit the trust has sufficient interest in the probate proceedings disposing of those interests, to possess standing.
The district court may only take judicial notice of a fact that is not subject to reasonable dispute because it is either generally known within the court’s territorial jurisdiction or it is a fact that can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.
Highlight:For a district court to acquire subject matter jurisdiction over an appeal from an administrative agency decision, the appellant must satisfy the statutory requirements for perfecting an appeal. By statute, a person aggrieved by the Department of Water Resources’ action or decision must request a hearing within 30 days and prior to appealing. An information-gathering public meeting is not an adjudicative proceeding hearing.
Mahad v. WSI, et al.2024 ND 21 Docket No.: 20230332 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: WORKERS COMPENSATION Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan
Highlight:The time to appeal a final administrative order begins when notice of the final order is mailed.
The time to appeal a final administrative order is not extended because the order is mailed.
Dimmler v. Dimmler, et al.2024 ND 20 Docket No.: 20230154 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: CHILD CUST & SUPPORT (Div.\Other) Author: Crothers, Daniel John
Highlight:Complete valuation of a remainder interest includes consideration of the debt secured by a mortgage on the real estate.
A court can value personal property within the range of evidence supplied. If parties fail to value, or give little value, to marital property, the district court may award no value to the property.
A district court must weigh the evidence to determine which parent will receive primary residential responsibility. This Court will not retry the district court’s findings on best interest factors.
A district court can impute wages under N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-07(3) when a party is underemployed. If a party is employed, the court can impute wages if the party does not meet an exception under N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-07(5).
A district court does not abuse its discretion by reserving the issue of interim child support, and later denying a retroactive award of child support, when the parties made equalizing payments for overall expenses.
Recovery of attorney's fees is addressed to the district court’s discretion.
Lyons v. State2024 ND 19 Docket No.: 20230151 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF Author: Crothers, Daniel John
Highlight:The requirements of the Uniform Postconviction Procedure Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 29-32.1, must be satisfied before an applicant can obtain relief under the Act.
When an applicant for postconviction relief is put to his proof, he must present competent admissible evidence by affidavit or other comparable means to obtain an evidentiary hearing. Unsupported conclusory allegations are insufficient.
State v. Good Bear2024 ND 18 Docket No.: 20230193 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: MISC. STATUTORY OFFENSE (FELONY) Author: Jensen, Jon J.
Highlight:In determining if an out-of-court statement is admissible, the district court must first determine if the statement qualifies as hearsay under the rules of evidence. If not hearsay, then the statement is admissible; if it is hearsay, the court must then determine if it qualifies as an exception to the hearsay rule as outlined in the N.D.R.Ev. 803 and N.D.R.Ev. 804.
The excited utterance exception outlined in N.D.R.Ev. 803(2) is permitted regardless of the declarant’s availability to testify as a witness.
The amount of time that is permissible to lapse between the event and the statement, to allow the statement to qualify under the excited utterance exception, is more likely to be on the high end of the range permitted when the statement is made by a child, as a young child will likely remain excited longer than adults.
Even when a hearsay statement falls within an exception to the rule, it may not be admitted if the statement is testimonial in violation of the Sixth Amendment.
Landis v. State2024 ND 17 Docket No.: 20230224 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF Author: Per Curiam
Highlight:This Court only decides those issues which are thoroughly briefed and argued, and a party waives an issue by not providing adequate supporting argument.
Summary dismissal of an application for postconviction relief is appropriate if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.
LAWC Holdings v. Vincent Watford2024 ND 16 Docket No.: 20230087 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: REAL PROPERTY Author: Jensen, Jon J.
Highlight:Whether a party has breached a contract is a finding of fact, which will not be reversed on appeal unless it is clearly erroneous.
Generally, the prevailing party to a suit, for the purpose of determining who is entitled to costs, is the one who successfully prosecutes the action or successfully defends against it, prevailing on the merits of the main issue, in other words, the prevailing party is the one in whose favor the decision or verdict is rendered and the judgment entered.
A successful litigant is not entitled to attorney’s fees unless they are expressly authorized by statute or by agreement of the parties.
Under N.D.C.C. § 32-03-09, no damages can be recovered for a breach of contract if they are not clearly ascertainable in both their nature and origin.
An award of costs under N.D.C.C. § 28-26-10 is discretionary, and a district court’s decision on an award of disbursements under N.D.C.C. § 28-26-06 will be overturned on appeal only if an abuse of discretion is shown.
This Court and the district courts possess concurrent jurisdiction to award attorney’s fees on appeal; however, a preference exists that the initial determination be made by the district court.
Pinks, et al. v. Kelsch, et al.2024 ND 15 Docket No.: 20230161 Filing Date: 2/8/2024 Case Type: MALPRACTICE Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair
Highlight:A two-pronged test is used when determining whether an interlocutory order is appealable. First, the order appealed from must meet one of the statutory criteria of appealability set forth in N.D.C.C. § 28-27-02. If it does, then Rule 54(b) under the North Dakota Rules of Civil Procedure must be complied with. An appeal will not be considered in a multi-claim or multi-party case which disposes of fewer than all claims against all parties unless the district court has first independently assessed the case and determined that a Rule 54(b) certification is appropriate.
