Opinions

Service Oil, Inc., et al. v. Gjestvang, et al. 2015 ND 77
Docket No.: 20130366
Filing Date: 3/30/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Employer/Employee Dispute
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: No damages can be recovered for a breach of contract if not clearly ascertainable in both nature and origin.
The gist of conversion is not in acquiring the complainant's property, but in wrongfully depriving him of it, whether temporarily or permanently, and it is of little relevance that the converter received no benefit from such deprivation.
A fraud or deceit which caused no injury cannot be the basis for an action.

Jordet v. Jordet, et al. 2015 ND 76
Docket No.: 20140221
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Other
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: Conversion is the wrongful exercise of dominion or control over property inconsistent with or in defiance of the rights of the owner.
Abuse of process occurs when a person uses a legal process against another primarily to accomplish a purpose for which it is not designed.

City of Napoleon v. Kuhn 2015 ND 75
Docket No.: 20140134
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Violation of City Ordinance
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence to convict, an appellate court looks only to the evidence most favorable to the verdict and the reasonable inferences therefrom to see whether there is substantial evidence to warrant a conviction.
Appellate review of a criminal sentence is generally confined to whether the district court acted within the sentencing limits prescribed by statute, or substantially relied upon an impermissible factor.

State, et al. v. Lavallie 2015 ND 74
Docket No.: 20140328
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A child support order issued by another state, not challenged within 20 days of being registered for enforcement in this state, is confirmed by operation of law.

Jordet v. Jordet (cross-ref w/20120185) 2015 ND 73
Docket No.: 20140232
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: The appealability of an order will be considered even if neither party raises the issue on appeal.
An interlocutory order is not a final, appealable order, and an appeal from an interlocutory order will generally be dismissed.

State v. Dahl 2015 ND 72
Docket No.: 20140216
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: Probable cause to support the issuance of a search warrant for a defendant's luggage is reviewed under the "totality of the circumstances."
Probable cause to search exists if the facts and circumstances relied on by a magistrate would warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe the contraband or evidence sought probably will be found in the place to be searched.

Interest of Johnson (cross-reference w/20120364) 2015 ND 71
Docket No.: 20140366
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Civil Commitment of Sexually Dangerous Individual
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: For civil commitment as a sexually dangerous individual, substantive due process requires proof that the individual has serious difficulty controlling his behavior.
The district court must specifically state the facts on which it relied to determine an individual has serious difficulty controlling his behavior.

Hankey v. Hankey 2015 ND 70
Docket No.: 20140350
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: Whether a moving party has established a prima facie case for a modification of primary residential responsibility is a question of law reviewed under the de novo standard of review.
When determining whether a prima facie case has been established justifying a modification of residential responsibility, the district court must accept the moving party's allegations as truth, and may not weigh conflicting allegations.

Lavallie v. Lavallie 2015 ND 69
Docket No.: 20140306
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A state district court and a tribal court may have concurrent subject-matter jurisdiction to determine an obligor's child support obligation.

State v. Owens (consolidated w/20140143) 2015 ND 68
Docket No.: 20140142
Filing Date: 3/24/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Felony
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: Analysis of a speedy trial claim requires balancing the length of a delay, the reason for the delay, a proper assertion of the right to a speedy trial, and actual prejudice to the accused.
In a criminal prosecution, the State must disclose information or documents that are in the State's possession, custody, or control, or that the State could have obtained through reasonable diligence if the prosecution intends to use the items in its case-in-chief, or the item is material to preparing a defense.
A prosecutor may question a defendant's credibility during final argument to a jury by arguing the defendant's presence during trial allowed the defendant to listen to the other witnesses' testimony before testifying.