Opinions

Interest of E.L. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2015 ND 2
Docket No.: 20140462
Filing Date: 1/15/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Mental Health
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: A district court order for involuntary treatment with medication is summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).

State v. Brossart (CONSOLIDATED W/ 20140027) 2015 ND 1
Docket No.: 20140024
Filing Date: 1/12/2015
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Misc. Misdemeanor
Author: McEvers, Lisa K. Fair

Highlight: The First Amendment precludes states from enacting laws "abridging the freedom of speech," but not all speech is protected, and speech that is a "true threat" may be restricted.
Whether speech constitutes a "threat" is a question of fact for the jury.
An estray is an animal escaped away from the control of its owner, with no knowledge of the animal's location.
A person is required to notify the sheriff or chief brand inspector when the person takes possession of an estray and does not know who owns the estray.
Whether an officer used excessive force in arresting a defendant is a question of fact, and a defendant may raise the issue to the jury and offer his resistance as a justification defense to a preventing-arrest charge.

Guardianship and Conservatorship of J.G.S. 2014 ND 239
Docket No.: 20140017
Filing Date: 12/30/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Guardian/Conservator
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A conservatorship is designed to protect the property of a person who is under disability and, as such, unable to maintain his or her property.
Under the conservatorship statutes, for the district court to acquire personal jurisdiction over the person to be protected on a petition for appointment of a conservator, the person to be protected must be personally served with notice of the proceeding at least fourteen days before the date of hearing.
This Court applies the clearly erroneous standard of review to the district court's findings of fact in a proceeding to establish a conservatorship.

Chornuk, et al. v. Nelson, et al. (cross-ref. w/20120071) 2014 ND 238
Docket No.: 20140124
Filing Date: 12/22/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Real Property
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: A party who pays a judgment against him under coercion or duress does not waive the right to appeal from the judgment.
An unrecorded deed is void against any subsequent purchaser in good faith.
A good-faith purchaser must acquire rights without actual or constructive notice of another's rights.
A person who has actual notice of circumstances sufficient to put a prudent person upon inquiry as to a particular fact and who omits to make such inquiry with reasonable diligence is deemed to have constructive notice of the fact itself.

Estate of Pedro 2014 ND 237
Docket No.: 20140074
Filing Date: 12/18/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Probate, Wills, Trusts
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: Under the probate code, a personal representative has certain duties regarding the inventory and appraisement and, when appropriate, to provide a supplementary inventory.
An "interested person" includes heirs, devisees, children, spouses, creditors, beneficiaries, and any others having a property right in or claim against a trust estate or the estate of a decedent, ward, or protected person.
A claim for relief is frivolous under N.D.C.C. 28-26-01(2) only if there is such a complete absence of actual facts or law that a reasonable person could not have expected a court would render a judgment in that person's favor.

Across Big Sky Flow Testing, LLC v. WSI, et al. 2014 ND 236
Docket No.: 20140193
Filing Date: 12/18/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Workers Compensation
Author: Crothers, Daniel John

Highlight: For a workers compensation claim, where expert medical testimony is desirable, if not essential, to determining causation, an ALJ may not reject competent medical testimony without adequate explanation.

Grossman v. Lerud 2014 ND 235
Docket No.: 20140182
Filing Date: 12/18/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: For imputation of income to an underemployed obligor under the child support guidelines, a court may consider only the North Dakota statewide average earnings of an occupation, and an obligor may dispute that employment opportunities are available within one hundred miles of the obligor's actual place of residence.

McCarthy v. McCarthy 2014 ND 234
Docket No.: 20140044
Filing Date: 12/18/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Child Support
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: In a divorce, a property division need not be equal to be equitable, but a substantial disparity must be explained.

Sorum v. Dalrymple, et al. 2014 ND 233
Docket No.: 20140194
Filing Date: 12/18/2014
Case Type: Original Proceeding - Civil - Writ of Mandamus
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: All provisions of election law are mandatory if enforcement is sought prior to an election, and directory in support of the result after an election unless of a character to effect an obstruction to the free and intelligent casting of the vote, or to the ascertainment of the result, or unless the provisions affect an essential element of the election.

Deeth v. N.D. Dep't of Transportation 2014 ND 232
Docket No.: 20140161
Filing Date: 12/18/2014
Case Type: Appeal - Administrative - Department of Transportation
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: If a person's driver's license is revoked for refusing to submit to an alcohol test, the only facts that must be proven are those that establish probable cause to believe the offense has been committed, arrest for the offense, and refusal of the test after the implied consent advisory.
"Reasonable grounds to believe an offense has been committed" is synonymous with "probable cause."