Opinions

Matter of Reciprocal Discipline of Huisman 2017 ND 272
Docket No.: 20170369
Filing Date: 12/4/2017
Case Type: Discipline - Attorney - Original Proceeding
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Lawyer Suspension ordered.

Rogers v. State 2017 ND 271
Docket No.: 20170026
Filing Date: 11/27/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Whether a defendant received ineffective assistance of counsel is a mixed question of fact and law fully reviewable on appeal.
A district court's decisions on a motion to amend findings, a motion for a new trial, and a motion to correct the record, are reviewed for an abuse of discretion.

Altru Specialty Services, Inc. v. N.D. Dep't of Human Services, et al. 2017 ND 270
Docket No.: 20170146
Filing Date: 11/20/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: The district court does not acquire subject matter jurisdiction over an appeal from an administrative agency decision unless the appellant satisfies statutory requirements for perfecting an appeal.

Sundance Oil and Gas, LLC v. Hess Corporation 2017 ND 269
Docket No.: 20170148
Filing Date: 11/20/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: A district court may not use the findings in an unlocatable mineral owner trust action as res judicata in a subsequent quiet title action to resolve all factual disputes regarding whether a later purchaser was a good-faith purchaser for value.

State v. Montgomery 2017 ND 268
Docket No.: 20170170
Filing Date: 11/20/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Misdemeanor
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Criminal judgment entered after a jury found the defendant guilty of violating a disorderly conduct restraining order is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(3).

Motter, et al. v. Traill Rural Water District 2017 ND 267
Docket No.: 20170122
Filing Date: 11/20/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Real Property
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Raising the decisive issue for a judgment in post-trial briefing can constitute "surprise which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against" sufficient to grant a new trial.
A district court's grant of a motion for a new trial is reviewed for abuse of discretion.
A party claiming mutual mistake in a contract must present clear and convincing evidence to obtain reformation.
A district court's finding that a party failed to prove mutual mistake by clear and convincing evidence will not be overturned unless clearly erroneous.

Forsman v. Blues Brews and Bar-B-Ques Inc., et al. (cross-ref. w/20110356) 2017 ND 266
Docket No.: 20170088
Filing Date: 11/16/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Personal Injury
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Under a Miller-Shugart agreement and judgment, an insured defendant may stipulate for settlement of a plaintiff's claims and stipulate judgment may be collected only from the proceeds of any insurance policy, with no personal liability to the defendant. The stipulated judgment is not conclusive on the insurer.
While the burden of proof rests on a party claiming coverage under an insurance policy, the insurer has the burden of establishing the applicability of exclusions.
Summary judgment is a procedural device for the prompt resolution of a controversy on the merits without a trial if there are no genuine issues of material fact or inferences that can reasonably be drawn from undisputed facts, or if the only issues to be resolved are questions of law.

State v. Myers (cross-reference w/20130172) 2017 ND 265
Docket No.: 20170094
Filing Date: 11/16/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Assault
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: Under N.D.R.Crim.P. 35(a)(2), a sentencing court may correct a sentence that resulted from arithmetical, technical, or other clear error.
A subsequent statutory amendment removing class C felony aggravated assault from the provision requiring an offender to serve eighty-five percent of a sentence of incarceration is not an error that may be corrected under N.D.R.Crim.P. 35(a)(2).

Martinson v. N.D. Dep't of Transportation 2017 ND 264
Docket No.: 20170175
Filing Date: 11/16/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: Absent a showing of authority, threat, or demand, an officer calling out and running up ahead of person to get their attention does not constitute a seizure implicating the Fourth Amendment.
Under N.D.C.C. § 39-08-01, whether a driveway is a private area to which the public has a right to access is a question of fact. A fact-finder could reasonably conclude the driveway at issue, although private, was an area "to which the public has a right of access for vehicular use."

Garcia v. State 2017 ND 263
Docket No.: 20170030
Filing Date: 11/16/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A sentencing court must consider a juvenile offender's youth and attendant characteristics before sentencing the juvenile offender to life in prison without the possibility of parole.