Opinions

Bakke v. Magi-Touch Carpet One Floor & Home, Inc., et al. 2018 ND 273
Docket No.: 20180116
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: An employer of an independent contractor generally is not liable for the negligence of the independent contractor.

North Dakota law recognizes an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose in construction contracts.

A contracting party cannot escape its liability on the contract by merely assigning its duties and rights under the contract to a third party.

The remedy for fraud is rescission of the contract and requires returning the parties back to their original positions.

Deceit is not an action dependent on a contract; it is a tort cause of action, and allows recovery of damages upon proof of an affirmative misrepresentation or suppression of material facts.

When a party requests leave to amend without requesting additional discovery and a summary judgment motion has been docketed, the proposed amendment must be both theoretically viable and solidly grounded in the record.

The measure of damages for breach of contract is the amount which will compensate the injured person for the loss which fulfillment of the contract would have prevented or the breach of the contract now requires.

City of Grand Forks v. Barendt 2018 ND 272
Docket No.: 20180227
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: The implied consent advisory under N.D.C.C. 39-20-01(3) must be read after placing an individual under arrest and before administering a chemical test to determine alcohol concentration or the presence of other drugs.

Dale Exploration, LLC, et al. v. Hiepler, et al. 2018 ND 271
Docket No.: 20180065
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Real Property
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: The settlor of an irrevocable trust with the power to remove trust property must convey mineral interests that he sold in an individual capacity while the property was titled under the trust.

Lechner v. WSI, et al. 2018 ND 270
Docket No.: 20180203
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A claim for workers’ compensation benefits must be filed within one year after the injury.
The date of injury for purposes of determining whether a claim for benefits is timely filed is the first date a reasonable lay person, not learned in medicine, knew or should have known that he suffered a compensable work-related injury and has either lost wages or received medical treatment.

State v. Vollrath 2018 ND 269
Docket No.: 20180161
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: Once a judgment is final, a district court generally no longer has jurisdiction to alter, amend, or modify that judgment.

Rustad v. Baumgartner 2018 ND 268
Docket No.: 20180080
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A parenting plan is clearly erroneous when it denies a parent overnights or extended summer visitation without evidence of endangerment to the child’s physical or emotional health.

State ex rel. City of Marion v. Alber 2018 ND 267
Docket No.: 20180074
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: Under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b), a district court cannot amend an order to impose further affirmative relief. If an amendment grants no further relief but merely more clearly articulates the same substantive relief, it may be made under Rule 60(a) at any time.

State v. White 2018 ND 266
Docket No.: 20180020
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: The warrantless search of supervised probationer’s home is reasonable under totality of the circumstances and does not violate Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

Adoption of A.S. (CONFIDENTIAL)(consolidated w/ 20180327) 2018 ND 265
Docket No.: 20180326
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Juvenile - Termination of Parental Rights
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: A district court's findings of fact in a termination of parental rights proceeding will not be reversed on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous.

A finding on one of three alternative grounds authorizing termination of parental rights under N.D.C.C. 14-15-19(3) is sufficient to uphold a district court's order terminating parental rights on that ground.

Stein v. State 2018 ND 264
Docket No.: 20180128
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Post-Conviction Relief
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: A district court may summarily dismiss an application for post-conviction relief if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.

Ineffective assistance of counsel issues are mixed questions of law and fact, which are fully reviewable on appeal.

When a claim made in an application for post-conviction relief is clearly and unambiguously contradicted by the record, summary disposition is appropriate.

When determining if summary disposition is appropriate on claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, the record and transcripts are generally not adequate if the petitioner alleges incidents outside of the record.