Opinions

Peterson v. Schulz 2017 ND 155
Docket No.: 20160377
Filing Date: 6/29/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Most non-appealable intermediate orders may be reviewed on appeal from a final judgment. In domestic relations cases, the requirements of N.D.R.Ct. 8.2 must be complied with before a party's request for affirmative relief may be granted in an ex parte interim order. Attorney's fees may be awarded as a remedial sanction for contempt.

State v. Froelich 2017 ND 154
Docket No.: 20160349
Filing Date: 6/29/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Assault
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Under Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), the admission of out-of-court testimonial statements in criminal cases is precluded, unless the witness is unavailable to testify and the accused has had an opportunity to cross-examine the declarant.
The Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause does not require exclusion of nontestimonial statements.
Under Davis v. Washington, 547 U.S. 813 (2006), statements are nontestimonial when made in the course of interrogation under circumstances which objectively indicate the interrogation's primary purpose is to enable police assistance to meet an ongoing emergency.

Interest of Tanner (cross-reference 20120084) 2017 ND 153
Docket No.: 20160231
Filing Date: 6/29/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Civil Commitment of Sexually Dangerous Individual
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: When a person committed as a sexually dangerous individual petitions for discharge, the State has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the committed individual remains a sexually dangerous individual.
Expert testimony in sexually dangerous individual proceedings will not be reweighed on appeal, and a choice between two permissible views of the weight of the evidence is not clearly erroneous.

Brown v. WSI 2017 ND 151
Docket No.: 20170083
Filing Date: 6/29/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Judgment affirming a decision of Workforce Safety and Insurance to terminate disability and vocational rehabilitation benefits and require repayment of $2,558.57 in benefits is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(5).

Jasmann v. State 2017 ND 150
Docket No.: 20160396
Filing Date: 6/29/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - 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), (7).

Disciplinary Board v. Matson (cons. w/ 20170102-20170121) 2017 ND 149
Docket No.: 20170101
Filing Date: 6/19/2017
Case Type: Discipline - Attorney - Original Proceeding
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Lawyer disbarred.

Statoil Oil & Gas, LP v. Abaco Energy, LLC, et al. (Consolidated w/20160262) 2017 ND 148
Docket No.: 20160261
Filing Date: 6/16/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Oil, Gas and Minerals
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A district court's decision on a motion to dismiss for failure to join an indispensable party is reviewed for an abuse of discretion.

State v. Cody 2017 ND 147
Docket No.: 20160357
Filing Date: 6/15/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Theft
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: When an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is raised on direct appeal from a criminal conviction, the defendant must show ineffectiveness of constitutional dimensions from the face of the existing record to obtain relief.

Cartwright, et al. v. Tong, M.D., et al. 2017 ND 146
Docket No.: 20160293
Filing Date: 6/14/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Malpractice
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A prima facie case of medical negligence requires expert evidence establishing the applicable standard of care, violation of that standard, and a causal relationship between the violation and the harm complained of.
Under the "obvious occurrence" exception, the occurrence leading to the result must be obvious, not the result itself.
In a lack of informed consent case, expert medical testimony is generally necessary to identify the risks of treatment, their gravity, likelihood of occurrence, and reasonable alternatives.
Under N.D.C.C. § 28-01-46, the plain, ordinary and commonly understood meaning of the phrase "wrong organ" requires a doctor to perform a procedure on the incorrect organ. The "wrong organ" exception does not apply to performing an allegedly incorrect procedure on the correct organ.

Huebner, et al. v. Furlinger, et al. (cross-reference w/20150169) 2017 ND 145
Docket No.: 20160269
Filing Date: 6/8/2017
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Real Property
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Under the abandoned mineral statutes, the surface owner must mail a copy of the notice of lapse to the mineral interest owner's address if the mineral interest owner's address is shown of record.