Opinions

Williamson v. Williamson 2025 ND 170
Docket No.: 20250007
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A district court's judgment of divorce, order denying reconsideration, and order awarding attorney's fees is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(1), (4), and (6).

Thompson v. City of Adams, et al. 2025 ND 169
Docket No.: 20250185
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A district court judgment granting summary judgment is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(8).

Cache Private Capital Diversified Fund v. Braddock, et al. 2025 ND 168
Docket No.: 20250177
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Eviction
Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan

Highlight: Valid service of process is necessary to assert personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Once a prima facie showing of valid service has been presented, the burden shifts to the defendant to present facts and documentation to establish service of process was insufficient.

Eviction actions are not joinable with other actions, and counterclaims and defenses may not be interposed except as a setoff to a demand made for damages, rents, or profits.

A contract for deed may be canceled by statutory cancellation. By following the statutes' strict guidelines, a vendor cancels the contract for deed by operation of law. Upon cancellation, the vendee's interest in the property terminates, and the vendee is required to return possession of the property to the vendor. If the vendee fails to return possession of the property, the vendee is in wrongful possession of the property, and an eviction is proper.

Cache Private Capital Diversified Fund v. Braddock, et al. 2025 ND 168
Docket No.: 20250176
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Eviction
Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan

Highlight: Valid service of process is necessary to assert personal jurisdiction over a defendant. Once a prima facie showing of valid service has been presented, the burden shifts to the defendant to present facts and documentation to establish service of process was insufficient.

Eviction actions are not joinable with other actions, and counterclaims and defenses may not be interposed except as a setoff to a demand made for damages, rents, or profits.

A contract for deed may be canceled by statutory cancellation. By following the statutes' strict guidelines, a vendor cancels the contract for deed by operation of law. Upon cancellation, the vendee's interest in the property terminates, and the vendee is required to return possession of the property to the vendor. If the vendee fails to return possession of the property, the vendee is in wrongful possession of the property, and an eviction is proper.

State v. Jemal 2025 ND 167
Docket No.: 20250222
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Misdemeanor
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: In probation revocation proceedings, a district court need not make factual findings to support its decision to revoke probation instead of choosing alternative sanctions.

Appellate review of sentencing decisions is limited to determining whether the sentence is within the statutory range and whether the court considered impermissible factors.

A party may not challenge an order or judgment on appeal without designating it in a notice of appeal.

Sutherby v. Astanina, et al. 2025 ND 166
Docket No.: 20250132
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Parenting Responsibility
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A district court must credit a noncustodial parent for voluntary child support payments made during the pendency of an action when calculating past-due support obligations. When a court orders child support with a retroactive effective date, it must offset any past-due support owed by payments the noncustodial parent made to the custodial parent for the children's benefit during the relevant period.

Rugland v. State 2025 ND 165
Docket No.: 20250117
Filing Date: 10/22/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: An order denying a postconviction relief application is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2) and (4).

Interest of Hoff 2025 ND 164
Docket No.: 20250016
Filing Date: 10/9/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Civil Commitment of Sexually Dangerous Individual
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: An order denying discharge from civil commitment as a sexually dangerous individual is reversed and remanded for further findings. A district court's order finding an individual remains a sexually dangerous individual must contain sufficient and specific factual findings to show the individual has serious difficulty controlling his behavior.

State v. Moen 2025 ND 163
Docket No.: 20250018
Filing Date: 10/9/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Homicide
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: The Confrontation Clause provides two protections to criminal defendants: the right to physically face someone who testifies against them, and the right to cross-examine. Although the right to confront witnesses is of a constitutional magnitude, it is not absolute and, in appropriate cases, may bow to accommodate other legitimate interests in the criminal trial process.

North Dakota Century Code § 31-04-04.2 permits remote electronic testimony by children if testifying in front of a criminal defendant would traumatize a child in a manner impacting the child's ability to communicate.

A district court's findings of fact in preliminary proceedings of a criminal case will not be reversed if, after the conflicts in the testimony are resolved in favor of affirmance, there is sufficient competent evidence fairly capable of supporting the court's findings, and the decision is not contrary to the manifest weight of the evidence.

State v. Guthmiller 2025 ND 162
Docket No.: 20250085
Filing Date: 10/9/2025
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Bahr, Douglas Alan

Highlight: In criminal cases, errors not raised in the district court may be either forfeited errors or waived errors. Forfeiture is the failure to timely assert a right, while waiver is the intentional relinquishment of a right.

Although this Court may review forfeited errors for obvious error, the obvious error analysis under N.D.R.Crim.P. 52(b) does not apply to waived errors.

Unchallenged jury instructions become the law of the case for purposes of assessing a claim about the sufficiency of the evidence.