Opinions

Western Energy Corporation v. Stauffer, et al. 2019 ND 26
Docket No.: 20180283
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: District court judgment finding reformation of 1959 warranty deed barred by the ten-year statute of limitation under N.D.C.C. § 28-01-15(2) is affirmed.

Swanson v. Swanson 2019 ND 25
Docket No.: 20180158
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: District court division of marital property was not clearly erroneous.

While long-term marriages generally support an equal distribution of the marital property, a court does not err by considering how the property was acquired and acting to preserve the viability of a business operation like a family farm by awarding a majority of the marital property, and its corresponding debt, to one party.

Grina v. Job Service, et al. 2019 ND 24
Docket No.: 20180284
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Unemployment/Job Service
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A Job Service decision is affirmed when a reasoning mind reasonably could have determined the agency’s factual conclusions were proved by the weight of evidence.

Interest of Jane Doe (CONFIDENTIAL) 2019 ND 23
Docket No.: 20180409
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Mental Health
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A district court’s finding that a person is mentally ill and in need of treatment will not be reversed unless it is clearly erroneous.

In determining whether an individual is a person requiring treatment a district court must consider whether the individual is mentally ill, and whether there is a reasonable expectation that, if the individual is not hospitalized, there exists a serious risk of harm to himself, others, or property.

State v. Pittenger 2019 ND 22
Docket No.: 20170279
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Sexual Offense
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Closing a trial to the public without proper analysis is a structural error requiring automatic reversal.

State v. Lyon 2019 ND 21
Docket No.: 20180130
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Homicide
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A sentence in excess of a statutory provision or in some other way contrary to an applicable statute is an illegal sentence.

Avila v. Weaver, et al. 2019 ND 20
Docket No.: 20180111
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: If a post-trial motion does not require the amendment of the judgment, N.D.R.App.P. 4(a)(3) applies and the time for appeal begins upon service of the notice of the order disposing of the motion.

Where the order disposing of the motion necessitates the entry of an amended judgment, N.D.R.App.P. 4(a)(1) applies and the time for appeal begins upon the service of the notice of the entry of the amended judgment.

An initial judgment did not foreclose on an award of attorney fees under N.D.R.Civ.P. 54(e)(3).

This Court does not consider questions that were not presented to the district court and that are raised for the first time on appeal.

Desert Partners IV, L.P., et al. v. Benson, et al. 2019 ND 19
Docket No.: 20180112
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: A district court’s decision on whether to grant a motion for a continuance will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion.
Whether or not a party was a good-faith purchaser without notice of a competing interest is a mixed question of fact and law.
A good-faith purchaser is one who acquires rights without actual or constructive notice of another’s rights.

State v. Lott 2019 ND 18
Docket No.: 20180154
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Misdemeanor
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Criminal judgment of preventing arrest is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(3).

N.D.R.Crim.P. 32., mandates a defendant be given an opportunity to make a statement prior to sentencing.

An individual who has been denied the right of allocution has generally met the burden of showing their substantial rights were affected.

Hogen, et al. v. Hogen, et al. 2019 ND 17
Docket No.: 20180143
Filing Date: 1/15/2019
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Real Property
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A transferor cannot convey an interest greater than the transferor has in the property, and a transferor who does not hold title to property cannot pass or transfer title to that property.