Opinions

Edison v. Edison 2024 ND 196
Docket No.: 20240119
Filing Date: 10/24/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: An amended divorce judgment is affirmed.

Adverse rulings alone are not evidence of judicial bias or partiality.

A district court misapplies N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-05 when it fails to make a finding on whether two self-employment activities are related.

The plain language of N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-05(6) and (7) does not preclude using a loss to reduce income that is related to the self-employment activity that produced the loss. On the other hand, if two self-employment activities are unrelated, then under N.D. Admin. Code § 75-02-04.1-05(6), a loss resulting from the unrelated self-employment activity could be applied to reduce income from the other self-employment activity only if the monthly gross income, reduced by one-twelfth of the self-employment loss, equals or exceeds the greatest of subsections (a), (b) or (c). If the district court erred in its application of the child support guidelines, then we must examine whether the error was harmless. An error is harmless if it does not affect the outcome of the case or a party's substantial rights. See N.D.R.Civ.P. 61.

Tracy v. Tracy 2024 ND 195
Docket No.: 20240092
Filing Date: 10/24/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A domestic violence protection order is affirmed.

A district court's finding of domestic violence is a finding of fact that will not be overturned unless it is clearly erroneous. This Court gives great deference to a factfinder's opportunity to observe the witnesses and determine credibility. We will not reverse simply because we may have viewed the evidence differently.

Interest of D.K.A. 2024 ND 194
Docket No.: 20240248
Filing Date: 10/24/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Mental Health
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: An appeal is moot when a determination is sought which, when rendered, cannot have any practical legal effect upon a then-existing controversy. An appeal is not moot if the district court's decision continues to have collateral consequences for the appealing party. If an individual is already subject to firearms restrictions, the court's finding that federal firearms restrictions apply is not a lasting collateral consequence of the order being challenged on appeal.

Santora v. Santora, et al. 2024 ND 193
Docket No.: 20240014
Filing Date: 10/24/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: An order denying a motion to vacate judgment is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2), (4), (7), and (8).

Interest of A.J.E. 2024 ND 192
Docket No.: 20240245
Filing Date: 10/24/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Juvenile - Termination of Parental Rights
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A juvenile court judgment terminating parental rights is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).

Disciplinary Board v. Daniel 2024 ND 191
Docket No.: 20240182
Filing Date: 10/18/2024
Case Type: Discipline - Attorney - Disbarment
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Lawyer disbarment ordered.

Kath v. Farmers Union Mutual Ins. Co., et al. 2024 ND 190
Docket No.: 20240068
Filing Date: 10/10/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Personal Injury
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: An endorsement is part of the insurance contract. The body of an insurance policy and the endorsements are read as a whole with every attempt to give effect to all of the provisions. When there is a conflict between an endorsement and other policy provisions, the endorsement prevails.

Guardianship and Conservatorship of K.H.P. 2024 ND 189
Docket No.: 20240021
Filing Date: 10/10/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Guardian/Conservator
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: Unless a statute imposing a time limit declares the time limit is jurisdictional, we will not treat the time limit as affecting the jurisdiction of a court or administrative agency.

An issue is not justiciable if it is moot or not ripe for review, a party lacks standing, or resolving it would be advisory.

When petitioning for termination of a guardianship, the ward has the burden of establishing a prima facie case that he is no longer incapacitated. If the ward presents evidence strong enough, if uncontradicted, to support a finding in his favor, he has made a prima facie case.

The review process under N.D.C.C. § 30.1-28-04(5) does not provide the court statutory authority to reappoint an expert examiner. At the time of petitioning for termination in this case, N.D.C.C. § 30.1-28-07(3) (2022) did not give the court statutory authority to reappoint an expert examiner in the termination proceedings, or request an evaluative report and testimony.

After the ward establishes a prima facie case, the guardian has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the ward remains an incapacitated person.

Curtis v. Curtis, et al. 2024 ND 188
Docket No.: 20240115
Filing Date: 10/10/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: An appeal from a district court judgment is dismissed because the appeal was untimely. The time to appeal the judgment was not tolled under N.D.R.App.P. 4(a)(3)(A)(vi) because a Rule 60, N.D.R.Civ.P., motion was not filed and served within 28 days from notice of entry of judgment.

Samaniego v. State 2024 ND 187
Docket No.: 20240090
Filing Date: 10/10/2024
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan

Highlight: A prosecutor's question to a law enforcement officer whether, at any point during the officer's investigation, the officer interviewed the defendant did not violate the defendant's Fifth Amendment rights.

A court considering a motion for new trial based on alleged jury misconduct is prohibited from hearing testimony from or receiving declarations of jurors, subject to the exceptions under N.D.R.Ev. 606(b).