Opinions

Dahms, et al. v. Nodak Mutual Insurance Co., et al. 2018 ND 263
Docket No.: 20180202
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Insurance
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A detached garage connected to a dwelling by a deck constituted an “other structure” rather than a “dwelling” for purposes of determining insurance coverage.

Summary judgment is appropriate against a party who fails to establish the existence of a factual dispute as to an essential element of his claim and on which he will bear the burden of proof at trial.

State, et al. v. Martin 2018 ND 262
Docket No.: 20180141
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: District court did not err in denying a Rule 60(b) motion for relief from judgment where party was properly provided notice and served with the motion for default judgment.

Hunts Along v. N.D. Dep't of Transportation 2018 ND 261
Docket No.: 20180146
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: Department did not err in revoking defendant’s drivers license under N.D.C.C. § 39-20-14 following defendant’s refusal of on-site breath test.

A party who refuses a screening or chemical test cannot challenge the unperformed tests’ compliance with statutory requirements.

We cannot logically construe the statutes to require the State to provide foundational evidence for a test which was refuse, thus making the foundational evidence irrelevant.

Matter of Kulink 2018 ND 260
Docket No.: 20180083
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Civil Commitment of Sexually Dangerous Individual
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: A district court order denying discharge from civil commitment as a sexually dangerous individual is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2)

Schultz v. Schultz 2018 ND 259
Docket No.: 20180097
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Divorce - Property
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: There is no bright-line rule to distinguish between short and long-term marriages.

This Court will not reverse a district court’s findings on valuation of marital property unless they are clearly erroneous.

When a distribution of property includes periodic cash payments from one spouse to another, a district court has broad authority to provide for the payment of interest in order to achieve an equitable distribution of the property.

Green v. Swiers 2018 ND 258
Docket No.: 20180114
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: A district court’s decision on a motion to relocate is a finding of fact, which will not be reversed on appeal unless it is clearly erroneous.

To modify parenting time, the movant must establish a material change of circumstances has occurred since the prior visitation order and that it is in the best interests of the child to modify the order.

A material change in circumstances sufficient to amend a parenting time order is similar to, but distinct from, a material change in circumstances sufficient to change primary residential responsibility.

A district court’s decision to modify parenting time is a finding of fact, which will not be reversed on appeal unless clearly erroneous.

Interest of A.L.E. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2018 ND 257
Docket No.: 20180341
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Juvenile - Termination of Parental Rights
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Prenatal exposure to any controlled substance is a ground for a finding of deprivation.

A parent’s past conduct can form the basis to predict future behavior and a parent’s lack of cooperation with social service agencies is evidence that the causes and conditions of deprivation will likely continue.

When a parent, through voluntary actions, without reasonable justification, makes herself unavailable to care for and parent a young child, the child should not be expected to wait or assume the risk involved in waiting for permanency and stability in her life.

State v. Bornsen 2018 ND 256
Docket No.: 20180093
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - DUI/DUS/APC
Author: Jensen, Jon J.

Highlight: Investigatory traffic stops are valid when the officer conducting the stop had a reasonable and articulable suspicion the motorist has violated or is violating the law.

Traffic violations, even if considered common or minor, constitute prohibited conduct which provide officers with requisite suspicion for conducting investigatory stops.

LeClair v. Sorel 2018 ND 255
Docket No.: 20180155
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: Tufte, Jerod E.

Highlight: The implied consent advisory provided to a driver after an arrest for driving under the influence must be substantively complete.
The entire substance of the advisory was conveyed despite the officer’s omission of the word “punishable” from the statutory language in N.D.C.C. 39-20-01(3)(a).

State v. Ferderer 2018 ND 254
Docket No.: 20180072
Filing Date: 12/6/2018
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A revocation of a sentence for a probation violation does not violate double jeopardy.