Opinions

Matter of J.G. (CONFIDENTIAL) 2011 ND 73
Docket No.: 20100366
Filing Date: 4/12/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Civil Commitment of Sexually Dangerous Individual
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Order denying petition for discharge from commitment as a sexually dangerous individual summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(2).

State v. Trowbridge 2011 ND 72
Docket No.: 20100363
Filing Date: 4/12/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Drugs/Contraband
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Order granting motion to reduce sentence summarily affirmed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(4).

Disciplinary Board v. Rozan 2011 ND 71
Docket No.: 20110031
Filing Date: 4/6/2011
Case Type: Discipline - Attorney - Original Proceeding
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Discipline ordered for lawyer.

Thompson, et al. v. Schmitz, et al. (cross-reference w/20080191) 2011 ND 70
Docket No.: 20100248
Filing Date: 3/28/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: An award of attorney's fees and pre-judgment interest is permitted under the Business Corporations Act when a district court finds an officer or director of a corporation violates fiduciary duties or finds a party to have acted arbitrarily, vexatiously, or otherwise not in good faith.
The district court may award expert witness fees, including fees for experts who do not testify, under the Business Corporations Act.

Kost v. Kraft 2011 ND 69
Docket No.: 20100159
Filing Date: 3/25/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: The receipt and acceptance of leased goods need not be exclusively referable to an alleged oral lease agreement, and conduct consistent with an oral agreement is sufficient to take a claimed oral lease agreement out of the statute of frauds even though the conduct is not inconsistent with some other plausible arrangement between the parties.
A party moving for summary judgment must show there are no genuine issues of material fact and the case is appropriate for judgment as a matter of law.

Loper v. Adams 2011 ND 68
Docket No.: 20100101
Filing Date: 3/25/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Personal Injury
Author: Maring, Mary

Highlight: The district court has discretion in determining appropriate sanctions for a party's failure to timely supplement interrogatories by disclosing the identity of an expert witness and the substance of the expert's testimony.
A party moving for enlargement of time under N.D.R.Civ.P. 6(b)(2) after the original deadline has passed has the burden to demonstrate that his failure to timely comply was the result of excusable neglect, and the district court has broad discretion in determining whether to allow additional time.
The determination whether certain conduct is a superseding, intervening cause is a question of fact.

Klug et al. v. City of Minot 2011 ND 67
Docket No.: 20100217
Filing Date: 3/25/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Contracts
Author: VandeWalle, Gerald

Highlight: A home rule city may enact ordinances that supersede state laws regulating police pension plans.
A member of a defined benefit plan does not have a claim to particular assets that are part of the general asset pool and is not entitled to a share of the surplus assets.

State v. Norman (cross-ref. 20020172) 2011 ND 66
Docket No.: 20100296
Filing Date: 3/25/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Criminal - Homicide
Author: Per Curiam

Highlight: Appeal from a trial court order denying the State's motion requiring DNA sample summarily dismissed under N.D.R.App.P. 35.1(a)(1) and (a)(7).

Grand Forks Homes, Inc., et al. v. State of North Dakota 2011 ND 65
Docket No.: 20100198
Filing Date: 3/22/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Administrative Proceeding
Author: Sandstrom, Dale

Highlight: The State Board of Equalization has no authority under state law to reclassify locally assessed property as exempt from taxation.
Timely filing of an appeal from a decision of a board of county commissioners is mandatory to invoke a district court's appellate subject matter jurisdiction over the appeal.

Johnson, et al. v. Hovland, et al. 2011 ND 64
Docket No.: 20100043
Filing Date: 3/22/2011
Case Type: Appeal - Civil - Real Property
Author: Kapsner, Carol

Highlight: A district court has wide discretion in deciding whether to permit amended pleadings after the time for an amendment has passed, and the court does not abuse its discretion in denying a motion to amend the complaint when a proposed amendment would be futile.
If leave to amend is not sought until after discovery has closed and a summary judgment motion has been docketed, a proposed amendment is properly classified as futile unless the allegations of the proposed amended complaint are supported by substantial evidence.
A party seeking reformation of a written instrument must establish by clear and convincing evidence that the document does not state the parties' intended agreement. Courts grant the high remedy of reformation only upon the certainty of error.