Utah Supreme Court Decisions 2013
Date: December 20, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 76
Docket Number: 20120142
Justia Opinion Summary: Legacy Resources, Inc. brought several claims against Liberty Pioneer Energy Source, Inc. The district court dismissed Legacy's breach of contract and trade secret claims on summary judgment, determining (1) Legacy…
Date: December 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 75
Docket Number: 20110909
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sustained injuries when he tripped on an uneven section of sidewalk maintained by Salt Lake City. Plaintiff sued the City, alleging that the City negligently failed to maintain the sidewalk. After Plaintiff's…
Date: December 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 74
Docket Number: 20130607
Justia Opinion Summary: Capital Assets Financial Services, the owner of property within the City of Saratoga Springs, asked the city council to rezone its property from a low density to a medium density residential zone. The city council…
Date: December 3, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 72
Docket Number: 20110961
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested and removed from a home he owned with his wife. Soon afterwards, Defendant's wife obtained a restraining order that prohibited Defendant from going to the family home for 150 days. About three…
Date: December 3, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 73
Docket Number: 20120692
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of misdemeanor sexual battery. The court of appeals reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, concluding that the district court plainly erred and Defendant's trial…
Date: November 22, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 71
Docket Number: 20100146
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual assault and one count of robbery for the 1996 attack and sexual assault of a twenty-three-year-old woman. On appeal, Appellant contended that…
Date: November 22, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 70
Docket Number: 20110739
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and one count of dealing in material harmful to a minor. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the…
Date: November 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 69
Docket Number: 20120470
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants in this case were several nonprofit Utah corporations that distributed water to their shareholders for irrigation of agricultural land (collectively, Irrigation Companies). The Irrigation Companies filed a…
Date: November 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 68
Docket Number: 20100891
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder and two counts of attempted murder. Defendant was sentenced to life without parole for each aggravated murder conviction and three years to…
Date: November 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 67
Docket Number: 20111028
Justia Opinion Summary: The Central Utah Water Conservancy District (CUWCD) entered into an agreement with three canal companies to improve irrigation structures belonging to the canal companies in exchange for rights to the increased water…
Date: November 1, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 65
Docket Number: 20111027
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were the parents of a boy killed by a bear while camping with his parents in American Fork Canyon. Plaintiffs sued the State for negligence in failing to warn Plaintiffs of the dangerous condition created by…
Date: November 1, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 66
Docket Number: 20120180
Justia Opinion Summary: In April 2002, Ogden City Police Officer Troy Burnett and another officer searched Plaintiff's motel room and found drugs and a firearm. Plaintiff pled guilty to two federal offenses, but the court of appeals overturned…
Date: November 1, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 64
Docket Number: 20120310
Justia Opinion Summary: Melissa and Corey Waddoups sued Intermountain Health Care (IHC), among other defendants, alleging negligent credentialing after Dr. Barry Noorda performed several gynecological procedures on Melissa at an IHC facility.…
Date: October 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 63
Docket Number: 20110965
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Jed Gressman was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to a term of five years to life. In 1996, Gressman moved to dismiss the charges against him based on newly-discovered evidence. The district…
Date: October 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 61
Docket Number: 20120445
Justia Opinion Summary: After Larry Sewell fell into a service pit at Xpress Lube, Sewell filed suit against Xpress Lube. A process server left copies of the summons and complaint with an Xpress Lube employee. Bruce Anderson, the sole…
Date: October 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 62
Docket Number: 20120852
Justia Opinion Summary: An injunction was entered against Ogden Trece, a criminal street gang, prohibiting Trece members from associating with one another; possessing a firearm in a public place; and harassing or assaulting a witness or victim…
Date: October 11, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 60
Docket Number: 20120428
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a condominium resident, was injured when she tripped on tree root offshoots within the common area of her complex. Plaintiff sued the complex's contract property management company, claiming that the company…
Date: October 1, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 58
Docket Number: 20111053
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance in a drug free zone and was sentenced to a term of incarceration for five years to life. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying…
Date: October 1, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 59
Docket Number: 20120705
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, homeowners, filed a negligence action against a water conservancy district (the District) after one of its water pipelines broke, resulting in damage to Plaintiffs' home. The district court granted summary…
Date: August 30, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 57
Docket Number: 20120982
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners obtained sufficient signatures to challenge a proposed tax increase approved by the Orem City Council via a referendum petition. The referendum petition was scheduled to go to a vote in the November 2013…
Date: August 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 56
Docket Number: 20110718
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant confessed to shooting a female victim during a custodial interrogation by detectives. Defendant moved to suppress the confession on the grounds that it was coerced. The district court granted the motion based…
Date: August 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 55
Docket Number: 20110738
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated assault. Defendant subsequently filed a motion to withdraw his plea, stating that he was confused when he entered his plea. The district court denied the motion,…
Date: August 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 52
Docket Number: 20120120
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff received treatment at the University Hospital for injuries she received in an automobile accident. Plaintiff later sued the Hospital, alleging that she was rendered a paraplegic due to the Hospital's…
Date: August 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 54
Docket Number: 20120470
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, several irrigation companies, and Appellee, a family ranch, were water-rights holders in the Sevier River system. Appellants filed a complaint in district court alleging that Appellee's water right had been…
Date: August 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 53
Docket Number: 20120626
Justia Opinion Summary: Officer Dennis Nelson, a police officer with the Orem City Police Department (OCPD), was terminated from his position for using excessive force during a booking at the Orem City Jail. The Orem City Employee Appeals Board…
Date: August 13, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 51
Docket Number: 20120320
Justia Opinion Summary: The City police department fired a police officer (Plaintiff) for reporting for duty while under the influence of alcohol. The board of appeals and court of appeals affirmed the decision. The Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: August 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 50
Docket Number: 20110168
Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Defendant was convicted of vaginal rape and forcible anal sodomy. Defendant appealed, arguing that the trial court's exclusion prior instances of sexual conduct between Defendant and the victim under Utah…
Date: August 6, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 47
Docket Number: 20110020
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Sellers entered into a real estate purchase contract with Buyers. A portion of the purchase price was to be financed through a third-party purchase money mortgage by Bank. Another portion of the purchase price…
Date: August 6, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 48
Docket Number: 20120500
Justia Opinion Summary: Sixteen-year-old Wayne Torrie's mother asked law enforcement officers to locate Wayne, who had left home in his family's vehicle, and bring him into custody. A Weber County sheriff's deputy spotted Wayne and pursued him…
Date: August 2, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 46
Docket Number: 20111125
Justia Opinion Summary: William Hannifin took Willis Nakai when he was fourteen years old and raised him as his own child. Nakai's biological parents did not assert parental control over him or support him financially. Hannifin and Nakai…
Date: July 23, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 45
Docket Number: 20110575
Justia Opinion Summary: Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) initiated an unlawful detainer action against Appellant, claiming ownership of Appellant's home pursuant to a trustee's deed it obtained from ReconTrust, a national bank that…
Date: July 23, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 44
Docket Number: 20110835
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a New Mexico resident, was arrested in Utah and indicted on federal charges of coercion and enticement of a fifteen-year-old. Defendant was returned to New Mexico to await trial and remained there for more…
Date: July 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 43
Docket Number: 20111027
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were camping with their young son, Sam, when a bear pulled Sam from out of his tent and killed him. The bear was the same bear that had attacked another camper in the same campsite earlier that day. Plaintiffs…
Date: July 12, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 42
Docket Number: 20110481
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of murder. Fourteen years later, Defendant filed a petition for a post-conviction determination of factual innocence pursuant to Utah's Post-Conviction Remedies Act (PCRA).…
Date: July 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 39
Docket Number: 20110326
Justia Opinion Summary: In connection with the Utah Transit Authority's construction of a high-speed commuter rail line, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) classified a certain railroad crossing as public. The Public Service…
Date: July 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 41
Docket Number: 20120251
Justia Opinion Summary: Wade Marinoni was employed as a first-response emergency medical technician (EMT) for Carbon County. After an incident involving an immediate transport of a patient having a heart attack, Marinoni was fired for failing…
Date: July 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 40
Docket Number: 20120347
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was traveling home from work in his personal vehicle when he sustained back injuries in a car accident. Petitioner applied for workers' compensation benefits, but his application was denied under the "going…
Date: June 28, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 38
Docket Number: 20120232
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner was working as a park ranger for Utah State Parks and Recreation when he suffered pain in his lower back after losing then regaining his balance on a boat dock while preparing to go on boating patrol. The Utah…
Date: June 25, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 36
Docket Number: 20110860
Justia Opinion Summary: While employed with Employer, Employee agreed to arbitrate any disputes arising from his employment. Employee's employment was later terminated. Employee filed a charge of discrimination with the Utah Anti-Discrimination…
Date: June 25, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 37
Docket Number: 20120524
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant confessed to helping Glenn Griffin commit murder. The State charged both Griffin and Defendant with the crime. The State prosecuted Griffin first and, concerned that Defendant would invoke his privilege against…
Date: June 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 35
Docket Number: 20120552
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered into a contingency fee agreement with Appellee, an attorney, which provided that Appellee was entitled to one-third of Appellant's primary award. The underlying action resulted in a judgment in favor of…
Date: June 14, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 34
Docket Number: 20110945
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured at ShopKo Stores, Inc. when she sat on a display office chair and the chair collapsed. Plaintiff sued ShopKo for negligence. A jury found ShopKo negligent but awarded Plaintiff much less than she…
Date: June 7, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 33
Docket Number: 20120202
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs, property owners in a development, filed a derivative suit against Defendants, the directors of the non-profit homeowners association that provided road maintenance and other services to the development,…
Date: June 4, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 32
Docket Number: 20120396
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Plaintiff was negotiating the sale of three limited liability companies of which he was the sole shareholder. The companies were S Corporations. Plaintiff retained an Accounting Firm to advise him on his tax…
Date: May 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 31
Docket Number: 20100802
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Plaintiff, the owner of a car dealership, executed two vehicle contracts with Henry Day Ford to preorder two Ford GT40s (later renamed the GT). After Henry Day learned it would not be receiving GT40s in its…
Date: May 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 30
Docket Number: 20120523
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2009 onward, Judge Kevin Christensen was employed as a justice court judge by four Utah municipalities. Following an investigation, the Judicial Conduct Commission (JCC) found that the salary of Judge Christensen…
Date: May 14, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 29
Docket Number: 20120141
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, Chin Lee established a defined-benefit plan, which he converted in 1996 into a profit-sharing plan, both of which were qualified plans. Chin's sole proprietorship contributed funds to the Plan from 1990 to 1995.…
Date: May 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 27
Docket Number: 20110443
Justia Opinion Summary: The Metropolitan Water District of Salt Lake and Sandy (District) held an appurtenant easement that crossed Petitioner's residential property for the purpose of maintaining the Salt Lake Aqueduct. In 2009, Petitioner…
Date: May 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 28
Docket Number: 20110458
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant, who was temporarily staying in the spare bedroom of the victim's father's house, was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Defendant's conviction was based on the holding that he…
Date: May 7, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 26
Docket Number: 20120016
Justia Opinion Summary: Child was removed from his home by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). The juvenile court later terminated Mother's parental rights. Subsequently, both the child's grandmother and foster parents filed…
Date: May 3, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 23
Docket Number: 20110431
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, and aggravated assault and sentenced to life without parole on the murder conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1)…
Date: May 3, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 24
Docket Number: 20110742
Justia Opinion Summary: Wolf Mountain and ASC Utah (ASCU) had been litigating their rights and responsibilities regarding development in a resort of several years. In 2011, the jury awarded ASCU $54,437,000 in damages. Wolf Mountain appealed.…
Date: May 3, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 25
Docket Number: 20110910
Justia Opinion Summary: The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) owned a piece of property on land adjacent to property owned by Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed a condemnation action, asserting a right to condemn a portion of UDOT's parcel to…
Date: April 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 22
Docket Number: 20110565
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured while participating in a guided horseback ride near Sundance Resort. Prior to the ride, Plaintiff signed a release (waiver) waiving her right to sue Defendants, Sundance-related entities…
Date: April 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 21
Docket Number: 20110569
Justia Opinion Summary: Susie Stohm, the one-time CFO of ClearOne Communications, was charged with eight federal criminal counts relating to an investigation into certain accounting practices at ClearOne. Strohm was eventually acquitted of all…
Date: April 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 19
Docket Number: 20110926
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of aggravated assault for stabbing the victim. At trial, the district court instructed the jury on self-defense. However, the court refused to instruct the jury on defense of a third person…
Date: April 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 20
Docket Number: 20111109
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Greg Schenk purchased shares in Cookietree, Inc. in violation of a 1991 shareholder agreement (agreement). In 2005, Cookietree's board of directors, including Schenk, voted to waive the provisions of the…
Date: March 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 18
Docket Number: 20110277
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants were a group of current and former legislators, other elected and unelected government officials, and citizens. Appellants filed suit against the State's attorney general, treasurer, and the executive director…
Date: March 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 17
Docket Number: 20110148
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was working as an aide at a middle school when she was convicted of rape, forcible sodomy, and forcible sexual abuse for incidents involving a fifteen-year-old student student and his friend. The trial judge…
Date: March 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 16
Docket Number: 20110356
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife separated in 2005 and spent the next several years litigating their divorce. Ultimately, the divorce court awarded Wife all of her attorney fees and out-of-pocket expenses and a disproportionate amount…
Date: March 12, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 15
Docket Number: 20091006
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was whether an attorney-client relationship that existed between a religious trust (Trust), and the Trust's attorneys at a law firm (Law Firm) continued after the Trust was reformed cy pres.…
Date: March 8, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 13
Docket Number: 20110618
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District (District) filed an action to condemn six waterfront lots owned by Petitioner. When negotiations reached an impasse on the value of the lots, the District instituted…
Date: March 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 12
Docket Number: 20100928
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case were two agreements: a ground lease agreement between ASC Utah, Inc. (ASCU) and Wolf Mountain Resorts, and a specifically planned area (SPA) development agreement, which had thirty-six signatories,…
Date: March 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 11
Docket Number: 20110994
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants were defrauded by an individual on parole from a Utah prison. Appellants filed a complaint alleging causes of action against the State for negligent supervision, gross negligence, failure to warn, and…
Date: February 22, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 10
Docket Number: 20110737
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to disorderly conduct in the justice county and was sentenced to ninety days in jail and ordered to pay a fine. After conducting a trial de novo, the district court convicted Defendant of the…
Date: February 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 7
Docket Number: 20110368
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal centered a film created by SummitWorks and Supernova Media. SummitWorks and Supernova formed LLCs in several states. Supernova and SummitWorks later litigated the issue of who had the right to control the…
Date: February 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 9
Docket Number: 20110667
Justia Opinion Summary: The Utah Highway Patrol performed a drug interdiction exercise on a rural stretch of the interstate. UHP chose to focus the bulk of its enforcement efforts on cars bearing out-of-state license plates. Defendant's…
Date: February 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 8
Docket Number: 20120050
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Howe, an employee of Peak Alarm Company, filed a complaint against the City and several of its employees, presenting ten federal and state claims, including false arrest and defamation. The district court granted…
Date: February 8, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 6
Docket Number: 20110556
Justia Opinion Summary: Basic Research, LLC marketed the weight-loss product Akavar. Customers who purchased Akavar filed lawsuits against Basic Research claiming false advertising, defective product, and failure to perform as promised. Basic…
Date: January 29, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 5
Docket Number: 20090691
Justia Opinion Summary: The United Effort Plan Trust, a charitable trust, was established by members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS church). Following allegations of trustee mismanagement, the district…
Date: January 25, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 4
Docket Number: 20110744
Justia Opinion Summary: An industrial accident occurred while Employer was insured under two separate workers compensation insurance policies, one with the Workers Compensation Fund (WCF) and one with the Utah Business Insurance Company (UBIC).…
Date: January 25, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 3
Docket Number: 20110842
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic infraction, was arrested for possession of methamphetamine after being questioned and searched by a deputy sheriff. Defendant moved to suppress the fruits of the…
Date: January 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 2
Docket Number: 20120521
Justia Opinion Summary: A group called Move to Amend Salt Lake submitted a petition for certification of an initiative petition for placement on the local election ballot. Salt Lake City informed Move to Amend that their petition would not be…
Date: January 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 UT 1
Docket Number: 20120019
Justia Opinion Summary: On November 12, 2009, City dismissed Petitioner from his position as a city police officer. Petitioner appealed his termination to the City appeal board, which, after a hearing, affirmed the City's termination decision…
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