Opinions

Tesoro Great Plains Gathering & Marketing v. Mountain Peak Builders 2021 ND 95
Docket No.: 20200260
Filing Date: 6/3/2021
Case Type: CONTRACTS
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: If the obligation a lien secures is satisfied, the lien is extinguished and no longer valid.

An award of attorney fees and costs under N.D.C.C. § 35-24-19 requires a favorable judgment in an action brought to enforce a lien pursuant to N.D.C.C. ch. 35-24.

A claim for enforcement of a statutory lien and an underlying breach of contract claim are separate and distinct.

Dixon v. Dixon 2021 ND 94
Docket No.: 20210070
Filing Date: 6/3/2021
Case Type: PROBATE - WILLS - TRUSTS
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Appeal dismissed in supervised administration of a trust due to lack of a final order or judgment, or a N.D.R.Civ.P. P. 54(b) certification.

State v. Mitchell 2021 ND 93
Docket No.: 20200306
Filing Date: 6/3/2021
Case Type: SEXUAL OFFENSE
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: An order dismissing a criminal complaint, information, or indictment is the equivalent of an order quashing an information or indictment and is therefore appealable under the statute. The State may either appeal an adverse ruling on probable cause or issue a new complaint upon the offer of additional evidence or other good cause.

Because a preliminary hearing is not a trial, the finding of probable cause may be based on hearsay evidence and evidence that would be inadmissible at the trial. The State is not required to prove with absolute certainty or beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred, but rather need only produce sufficient evidence to satisfy the court that a crime has been committed and that the accused is probably guilty.

Froistad v. State 2021 ND 92
Docket No.: 20200274
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: When a motion following conviction is denominated as a motion under the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure, the provisions of the Uniform Postconviction Procedure Act, N.D.C.C. ch. 29-32.1, are applicable.

Under N.D.C.C. § 29-32.1-12, an application for postconviction relief may be denied on the ground that the same claim or claims were fully and finally determined in a previous proceeding, or when the applicant presents a claim for relief which the applicant inexcusably failed to raise either in a proceeding leading to judgment of conviction and sentence or in a previous postconviction proceeding.

Lyons v. State 2021 ND 91
Docket No.: 20200333
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: POST-CONVICTION RELIEF
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A district court order denying an application for post-conviction relief is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2) and (7).

Interest of J.B. 2021 ND 90
Docket No.: 20200238
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: CIVIL COMMIT OF SEXUAL PREDATOR
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: The condition that the court may order community placement only when the executive director files a petition requesting it satisfies procedural due process and does not violate the separation of powers doctrine.

State v. Louser, et al. 2021 ND 89
Docket No.: 20200322
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: WRIT OF SUPERVISION (Crim.)
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald W.

Highlight: A district court’s role to approve or reject amendments to criminal charges does not violate the separation of powers doctrine.

A district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied a motion to amend a criminal charge and rejected a plea agreement. The court followed the legislative directive, explained why the State negotiated the agreement, and explained the court’s reasons for rejecting it.

Kruger, et al. v. Goossen 2021 ND 88
Docket No.: 20200287
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: OTHER (Civil)
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A district court’s findings of fact after a bench trial are presumptively correct and will not be reversed on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous.

State v. Riggin 2021 ND 87
Docket No.: 20200293
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: INFRACTION (CRIMINAL)
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Upon the declaration of a state of emergency, the North Dakota Disaster Act of 1985 vests with the governor emergency management powers.

The Legislature may delegate powers which are not exclusively legislative and which the Legislature cannot conveniently do because of the detailed nature.

Where a party fails to provide supporting argument for an issue listed in the appellate brief, the party is deemed to have waived that issue.

Blasi, et al. v. Bruin E&P Partners, et al. 2021 ND 86
Docket No.: 20200327
Filing Date: 5/20/2021
Case Type: CERTIFIED QUESTION OF LAW (Civil)
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: The following royalty provision in an oil and gas lease unambiguously establishes a royalty valuation point at the well:

Lessee covenants and agrees:

To deliver to the credit of the lessor, free of cost, in the pipeline to which lessee may connect wells on said land, the equal [fractional] part of all oil produced and saved from the leased premises.