Opinions

Burris v. Burris 2022 ND 67
Docket No.: 20210178
Filing Date: 3/31/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: An order denying the elimination or modification of a spousal support obligation affects a substantial right and can be appealed to this Court.

A voluntary payment of an award of attorney’s fees renders the issue moot and waives the party’s right to appeal that issue.

Whether there has been a material change in circumstances warranting modification or elimination of the spousal support obligation is subject to the clearly erroneous standard of review.

Section 14-05.24.1, N.D.C.C., dealing with spousal support awards, does not provide for retroactive effect. Where there was no change to a 2006 judgment, the statute cannot be applied retroactively.

Burris v. Burris 2022 ND 67
Docket No.: 20210178
Filing Date: 3/31/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Beck v. NDDOT 2022 ND 66
Docket No.: 20210312
Filing Date: 3/31/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Section 39-08-01(1)(a), N.D.C.C., provides that a person may not drive or be in actual physical control of any vehicle upon a highway or upon public or private areas to which the public has a right of access for vehicular use in this state if that person has an alcohol concentration of at least eight one-hundredths of one percent by weight at the time of the performance of a chemical test within two hours after the driving or being in actual physical control of a vehicle.

At an administrative hearing, a report and notice form is prima facie evidence of its contents, including the time of driving. The time of driving may be placed into question at the administrative hearing, such as by cross-examining the testifying officer at the hearing.

While reasonable inferences can be drawn from the evidence at an administrative hearing, a reasoning mind must be able to reasonably find the Department met its burden of proving the chemical test was administered within two hours of the time of the driving.

Beck v. NDDOT 2022 ND 66
Docket No.: 20210312
Filing Date: 3/31/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

St. Alexius Medical Center v. Nesvig, et al. 2022 ND 65
Docket No.: 20220005
Filing Date: 3/17/2022
Case Type: Original Proceeding - Civil - Writ of Supervision
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: This Court’s power to issue supervisory writs is discretionary and is used only to rectify errors and prevent injustice where no adequate alternative remedy exists.

Peer review records are privileged and not subject to discovery in any civil action.

When a party withholds discoverable information because it is privileged, the party must expressly make a claim of privilege and describe the nature of the documents in a manner that, without revealing the information, enables other parties to assess the claim.

We look first at the words of the peer review statute, then determine how they apply to the procedure established by N.D.R.Civ.P. 26.

District Courts have discretion to conduct an in camera review of documents if a party challenges a claim of privilege identified in an adequate privilege log.

St. Alexius Medical Center v. Nesvig, et al. 2022 ND 65
Docket No.: 20220005
Filing Date: 3/17/2022
Case Type: Original Proceeding - Civil - Writ of Supervision
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Schrodt v. Schrodt, et al. 2022 ND 64
Docket No.: 20210211
Filing Date: 3/17/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: The district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied the request for a continuance.

The district court’s property valuations were not clearly erroneous.

An award of parenting time with appropriate restrictions is not clearly erroneous when based on evidence in the record.

When a child support obligor is underemployed, the district court is permitted under the child support guidelines to impute income to the obligor.

The district court has inherent authority to award attorney’s fees as a sanction for a litigant’s misconduct.

Schrodt v. Schrodt, et al. 2022 ND 64
Docket No.: 20210211
Filing Date: 3/17/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Twin City Technical, et al. v. Williams Cty, et al. 2022 ND 63
Docket No.: 20210157
Filing Date: 3/17/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: The law of the case doctrine applies when an appellate court has decided a legal question and remanded to the district court for further proceedings, and a party cannot on a second appeal relitigate issues which were resolved by the Court in the first appeal or which would have been resolved had they been properly presented in the first appeal. The mandate rule requires the district court to follow the appellate court’s pronouncements on legal issues in subsequent proceedings in the case and to carry the appellate court’s mandate into effect according to its terms.

Laches is a delay or lapse of time in commencing an action that works a disadvantage or prejudice to the adverse party because of a change in conditions during the delay.

A court has broad discretion under N.D.C.C. § 32-03-05 in determining whether to award prejudgment interest.

In an equitable proceeding there is no absolute right to a trial by jury.

Under N.D.R.Civ.P. 37(a)(1), a party moving for an order compelling discovery must certify that it has in good faith conferred or attempted to confer with the person or party failing to make discovery in an effort to obtain it without court action. The Court reviews an order compelling discovery under the abuse of discretion standard.

A district court is considered an expert in determining the amount of attorney’s fees, and its decision concerning the amount and reasonableness of the attorney’s fees will not be overturned on appeal absent a clear abuse of discretion. Electronic legal research fees are a component of attorney’s fees and cannot be separately taxed as expenses.

Twin City Technical, et al. v. Williams Cty, et al. 2022 ND 63
Docket No.: 20210157
Filing Date: 3/17/2022
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.