Utah Supreme Court Decisions 2017

SMS Financial v. CCB, LLC  
Date: December 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 90
Docket Number: 20150916

Justia Opinion Summary: The doctrine of equitable conversion operates to protect a buyer’s interest in the land from the time a land sales contract is capable of being specifically enforced by the buyer. The Utah Supreme Court affirmed the…

Neese v. Utah Board of Pardons & Parole  
Date: December 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 89
Docket Number: 20150487

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to the Board of Pardons and Parole on the question of whether it violated the due process rights of Michael Neese, a Utah prison…

Bylsma v. R.C. Willey  
Date: December 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 85
Docket Number: 20140484

Justia Opinion Summary: The Liability Reform Act (LRA), Utah Code 78B-5-817 through 823, does not immunize retailers - whether “passive” or not - from products liability claims in cases where the manufacturer is a named party. In so holding,…

Petersen v. Utah Labor Commission  
Date: December 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 87
Docket Number: 20150203

Justia Opinion Summary: Utah Code 35-1-65, which provides that an injured worker who is temporarily totally disabled shall not receive compensation benefits over a period of eight years from the date of the injury, does not operate as an…

Waite v. Utah Labor Commission  
Date: December 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 86
Docket Number: 20150384

Justia Opinion Summary: Utah Code 34A-2-417(2)(a)(ii), a provision of the Workers’ Compensation Act (WCA) that limits the time an injured worker has to prove a claim, is a statute of repose but is nevertheless constitutional under the Open…

State v. Rowan  
Date: December 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 88
Docket Number: 20150598

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting Defendants’ motion to suppress the result of a search executed pursuant to a search warrant. The warrant was signed by a magistrate and executed by…

State v. Allgier  
Date: November 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 84
Docket Number: 20130021

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed Appellant’s appeal of the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea to aggravated murder and other offenses and no contest plea to three counts of attempted aggravated murder. The…

State v. Rettig
Date: November 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 83
Docket Number: 20131024
Utah Stream Access Coalition v. Orange Street Development  
Date: November 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 82
Docket Number: 20150439

Justia Opinion Summary: The one-mile stretch of the Weber River at issue in this case is a “navigable water” under the Public Waters Access Act, and therefore, the public has a statutory right to recreational use to that stretch of the…

State v. Rettig  
Date: November 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 83
Docket Number: 20131024

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the holding in Gailey v. State, 379 P.3d 1278, that the Plea Withdrawal Statute “does not on its face violate the constitutional right to appeal” but also decided an issue that the Gailey…

Fire Insurance Exchange v. Oltmanns  
Date: November 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 81
Docket Number: 20160304

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeals’ decision to uphold the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Fire Insurance Exchange in this dispute over attorneys fees. In the underlying action, Fire…

Baumann v. Kroger Co.  
Date: November 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 80
Docket Number: 20160686

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals upholding the district court’s grant of summary judgment to Defendants - a physician and pharmacy - in this case filed by Plaintiff alleging that Defendants…

In re R.G.  
Date: November 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 79
Docket Number: 20141046

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court adjudicating D.G. and R.G. delinquent for committing aggravated sexual assault. The juvenile court denied the motions filed by D.G. and R.G. to suppress their…

In re D.G.
Date: November 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 79
Docket Number: 20141047
Porenta v. Porenta  
Date: November 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 78
Docket Number: 20160243

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s grant of Patricia and Robert Porenta’s marital home to Patricia in this case involving a fraudulent transfer of the home to Robert’s mother (Mother). During the divorce…

State v. Johnson  
Date: November 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 76
Docket Number: 20140794

Justia Opinion Summary: The court of appeals erred in concluding that exceptional circumstances merited review of an issue not preserved in the trial court and not argued on appeal. Defendant was found guilty of murder. On appeal, the court of…

Smith v. Smith  
Date: November 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 77
Docket Number: 20151023

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court did not reach the merits in this matter where Father appealed the district court order awarding Mother attorney fees and costs for the underlying juvenile court proceedings for lack of jurisdiction and…

Harvey v. Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah & Ouray Reservation  
Date: November 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 75
Docket Number: 20160362

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case brought against the Ute Indian Tribe, tribal officials, various companies owned by the tribal officials, oil and gas companies, and other companies, Plaintiff alleged that, through its ability to restrict…

Outfront Media, LLC v. Salt Lake City Corp.  
Date: October 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 74
Docket Number: 20160150

Justia Opinion Summary: Salt Lake City’s denial of the request of Outfront Media, LLC, formerly CBS Outdoor, LLC (CBS), to relocate its billboard and grant of the relocation request of Corner Property L.C. were not arbitrary, capricious, or…

Dircks v. Travelers Indemnity Co. of America  
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 73
Docket Number: 20160065

Justia Opinion Summary: The terms of Utah Code 31A-22-305.3 requires that all vehicles covered under the liability provisions of an automobile insurance policy must also be covered under the underinsured motorist provisions of that policy, and…

Rawcliffe v. Anciaux  
Date: October 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 72
Docket Number: 20150852

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims under Utah R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) without prejudice. In his complaint, Plaintiff, a shareholder of USANA Health Sciences, Inc., alleged that…

Zonts v. Pleasant Grove City  
Date: October 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 71
Docket Number: 20170651

Justia Opinion Summary: This opinion followed the Supreme Court’s August 30, 2017 summary order denying Petitioners’ petition for extraordinary relief filed pursuant to Utah Code 20A-7-508(6)(a) pertaining to certain aspects of a final ballot…

State v. Johnson  
Date: October 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 70
Docket Number: 20140794

Justia Opinion Summary: In this criminal case convicting Defendant of murder, the Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals’ conclusion that exceptional circumstances merited review of an issue not preserved in the trial court and not argued…

MAA Prospector Motor Lodge, LLC v. Palmer  
Date: September 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 68
Docket Number: 20151010

Justia Opinion Summary: Here the Supreme Court reaffirmed its statement in 2DP Blanding, LLC v. Palmer, __ P.3d ___ (Utah 2017), that “an appellant who takes no action to preserve his interests in property at issue on appeal has no recourse…

Wilson v. Educators Mutual Insurance Ass’n  
Date: September 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 69
Docket Number: 20160227

Justia Opinion Summary: In this subrogation action filed by Educators Mutual Insurance Association (EMIA) against a tortfeasor in a personal injury case, the Supreme Court reversed the court of appeals’ dismissal for lack of standing. The court…

Bivens v. Salt Lake City  
Date: September 26, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 67
Docket Number: 20150249

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ putative class action lawsuit in which they alleged that Salt Lake City unjustly enriched itself by fining them for failing to use a parking meter…

McElhaney v. City of Moab  
Date: September 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 65
Docket Number: 20160142

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the district court reversing the decision of the Moab City Council denying Mary and Jeramey McElhaney’s application for a conditional use permit to operate a bed and breakfast in…

Scott v. Scott  
Date: September 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 66
Docket Number: 20160299

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the court of appeals affirming the district court’s conclusion that Jillian Scott cohabited with J.O, her ex-boyfriend, and, therefore, her alimony payments terminated under Utah…

Rivers v. Executive Director of Utah Department of Environmental Quality  
Date: September 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 64
Docket Number: 20160503

Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner waived its challenge to the decision of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality (UDEQ) to issue a “permit by rule” to U.S. Oil Sands Inc. for a bitumen-extraction project. Petitioner, which appeared…

State v. Martin  
Date: September 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 63
Docket Number: 20150860

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of four counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child and sentence of a composite term of thirty years to life in prison. The court held (1) to the extent that Defendant’s…

2DP Blanding, LLC v. Palmer  
Date: September 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 62
Docket Number: 20150670

Justia Opinion Summary: An appellant who takes no action to preserve his interests in property at issue on appeal has no recourse against a lawful third-party purchaser. Appellant agreed to sell two parcels of commercial real estate to JDJ…

State v. Goins  
Date: September 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 61
Docket Number: 20160485

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court disavowed its holding in State v. Brooks, 638 P.2d 537 (Utah 1981) that counsel always has the same motive to develop testimony at a preliminary hearing that she will have at trial. At issue was the…

State v. Ainsworth  
Date: September 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 60
Docket Number: 20160173

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the legislature’s classification of offenses in the DUI and measure substance statutes. The Supreme Court thus reversed the court of appeals’ decision…

Rueda v. Utah Labor Commission  
Date: August 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 58
Docket Number: 20140043

Justia Opinion Summary: In this splintered opinion, two justices would affirm in part and reverse in part the final order of the Labor Commission, two justices would affirm, and one justice would vacate and remand. Therefore, the order the…

In re Adoption of B.B.  
Date: August 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 59
Docket Number: 20150434

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court denying Birth Father’s motion to intervene in this contested adoption. Both Birth Father and Birth Mother were members of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and…

Tomlinson v. Douglas Knight Construction, Inc.  
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 56
Docket Number: 20150529

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Homebuyer's construction defect claims against the Contractor that built his home on the ground that Homebuyer was not in privity with Contractor and had no…

Transportation Alliance Bank v. International Confections Co.  
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 55
Docket Number: 20150784

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed as moot the appeal of International Confections Company seeking to set aside a district court order approving a receivership sale of its assets to a third party. After the third party entered…

Boyle v. Clyde Snow & Sessions, P.C.  
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 57
Docket Number: 20160621

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the district court’s order awarding a portion of settlement funds as fees to Clyde Snow & Sessions, P.C. in a wrongful death action. The wrongful…

Penunuri v. Sundance Partners  
Date: August 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 54
Docket Number: 20160683

Justia Opinion Summary: In August 2007, Lisa Penunuri was injured when she fell off her horse during a guided horseback trail ride at Sundance Resort. She and her husband sued for negligence and gross negligence against Rocky Mountain…

State v. Garcia  
Date: August 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 53
Docket Number: 20160451

Justia Opinion Summary: The court of appeals vacated Defendant’s conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of attempted murder but affirmed Defendant’s conviction of possession of a firearm by a restricted person. The court found that…

PC Riverview, LLC v. Cao  
Date: August 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 52
Docket Number: 20160781

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, a corporation was assigned a lease that permitted a restaurant to operate. Xiao-Yan Cao, the corporation’s president, personally guaranteed the corporation’s performance. In 2006, the lease was assigned to Hong…

Marziale v. Spanish Fork City  
Date: August 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 51
Docket Number: 20160696

Justia Opinion Summary: A credit card error that caused Carole and James Marziale’s complaint against Spanish Fork City to be rejected did not affect the timeliness of the Marziales’ filing. The Marziales submitted a personal injury complaint…

State v. Francis  
Date: August 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 47
Docket Number: 20150616

Justia Opinion Summary: The weekend before Defendant’s trial, Defendant and the State entered into a plea agreement. Before Defendant entered his plea, however, the State rescinded its offer because Defendant’s alleged victim disapproved of the…

OPC v. Rose
Date: August 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 50
Docket Number: 20151037
Zonts v. Pleasant Grove City
Date: August 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 48
Docket Number: 20170495
State v. Lambdin  
Date: August 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 46
Docket Number: 20150752

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the conviction of Defendant for the murder of his wife. During trial, Defendant sought to reduce the conviction from murder to manslaughter by…

Christensen v. Juab School District  
Date: August 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 47
Docket Number: 20160047

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s grant of partial summary judgment in favor of Hadley Christensen, who claimed reimbursement pursuant to Utah Code 52-6-201 from Juab School District, his former employer,…

Alpine Homes, Inc. v. City of West Jordan  
Date: August 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 45
Docket Number: 20140010

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s denial of the motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought by several property developers (Developers) alleging that the City of West Jordan violated statutory provisions that…

In re K.T.  
Date: August 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 44
Docket Numbers: 20160410, 20160386

Justia Opinion Summary: The juvenile court erred in using a per se rule that “[h]itting a child with a belt or strap or another object is abuse” because the rule is overbroad and alters the statutory meaning of “abuse” within the meaning of the…

State v. Martinez  
Date: August 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 43
Docket Number: 20141043

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s order granting Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained incident to his arrest. The district court concluded that the law enforcement officer who stopped…

Stichting v. United Park City Mines Co.  
Date: August 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 42
Docket Number: 20150047

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over a mining road built on Flagstaff Mountain over a century ago, Plaintiffs sued Defendants, the owners of land traversed by the road, asserting a right to use the road as a public highway under the…

Garfield County v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance  
Date: July 26, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 41
Docket Number: 20150335

Justia Opinion Summary: In a number of cases pending before several district courts concerning ownership of certain rights of way claimed by the State of Utah and several of its counties, the federal courts asked the Utah Supreme Court to…

Oliver v. Utah Labor Commission  
Date: July 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 39
Docket Number: 20150889

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing the order of the Labor Commission denying Respondent’s application for permanent total disability benefits under Utah Code 34A-2-413, the…

Quast v. Utah Labor Commission  
Date: July 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 40
Docket Number: 20151041

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals, which set aside the order of the Labor Commission concluding that Respondent had failed to make out a permanent total disability claim against her former…

Kendall v. Olsen  
Date: July 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 38
Docket Number: 20150927

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiff’s claims seeking a declaration that Utah Code 63G-7-601 and 78B-3-104 violate the Open Courts Clause of the state Constitution by restricting access…

In re S.W.  
Date: July 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 37
Docket Number: 20160295

Justia Opinion Summary: Ten years after the parents of B.W.D. and her younger sisters divorced, B.W.D. filed an amended petition alleging that Father had abused and neglected her younger sisters. B.W.D. petitioned the juvenile court to transfer…

State v. Mooers  
Date: June 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 36
Docket Number: 20150996

Justia Opinion Summary: An order of complete restitution that is part of a plea in abeyance is a final order for purposes of appeal. The two underlying cases in this appeal both turned on the same issue regarding whether orders of restitution…

In re Estate of Womack  
Date: June 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 35
Docket Number: 20160544

Justia Opinion Summary: The district court correctly construed the petitioner’s petition as an attempt to modify a final estate order, making his petition untimely. Twenty-two years after the estate of Gordon Warren Womack (the Decedent) was…

Butt v. State  
Date: June 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 33
Docket Number: 20141121

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Petitioner’s conviction for dealing materials harmful to minors, holding that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to assert a free speech First Amendment defense and that such a defense…

Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment v. Executive Director of Utah Department of Environmental Quality  
Date: June 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 32
Docket Number: 20150344

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reaffirmed its decision in Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment v. Executive Director of Utah Department of Environmental Quality, 391 P.3d 148 (Utah 2016) (Utah Physicians I) and dismissed the…

State v. Lowther  
Date: June 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 55
Docket Number: 20150803

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was entitled to withdraw his plea of guilty to rape because the district court abused its discretion by mechanically applying the factors set forth in State v. Shickles, 760 P.2d 291 (Utah 1988) to assess the…

Eagle Mountain City v. Parsons Kinghorn & Harris, P.C.  
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 31
Docket Number: 20150915

Justia Opinion Summary: Legal malpractice claims are presumed to be voluntarily assignable. Eagle Mountain City entered into a contractual arrangement with Cedar Valley Water Association to share in recovery from a legal malpractice action…

State v. Outzen  
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 30
Docket Number: 20150953

Justia Opinion Summary: The plain language of Utah Code 41-6a-517, does not require a showing of impairment, and the statute does not violate the federal or state constitutions. Defendant was charged under section 41-6a-517 with operating a…

2010-1 RADC/CADC Venture, LLC v. Dos Lagos, LLC  
Date: June 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 29
Docket Number: 20160436

Justia Opinion Summary: Dos Lagos, LLC and Mellon Valley, LLC defaulted on a loan in which Utah First Federal Credit Union owned a fifty-two percent interest and RADC/CADC Venture, LLC (RADC) owned a forty-eight percent interest. Utah First…

Jordan Construction, Inc. v. Federal National Mortgage Ass’n  
Date: May 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 28
Docket Number: 20160474

Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerning a general contractor’s attempt to recover on a mechanic’s lien involved two phases. In the first phase, Jordan Construction, Inc. prevailed on its counterclaims against Scott Bell. In the second…

State v. Robertson  
Date: May 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 27
Docket Number: 20140268

Justia Opinion Summary: Utah Code prohibits subsequent state prosecution of the “same offense” for which defendant was convicted in federal court. Robertson was convicted by the federal government for possession of child pornography. The state…

State v. Martinez  
Date: May 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 26
Docket Number: 20141043

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s order granting Defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence obtained after a law enforcement officer stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation and searched Defendant, a…

Truck Insurance Exchange v. Rutherford  
Date: April 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 25
Docket Number: 20150858

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that, under Utah Code 31A-22-305.3, a underinsured motorist (UIM) insurer must fully compensate its insured within its policy limits but only for damages in excess of what was paid by workers’…

State v. Mohamud  
Date: April 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 23
Docket Number: 20140844

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of possessing a shank in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because the State lost or destroyed a video recording of the discovery of…

State v. DeJesus  
Date: April 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 22
Docket Number: 20150460

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to one count of assault by a prisoner. Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the district court erred in denying her motion to dismiss because a video recording of the assault was…

State v. Lowther  
Date: April 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 24
Docket Number: 20150803

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with the alleged rape or object rape of four women. During Defendant’s trial for the rape of K.S., the State moved to introduce the testimony of the other women, including A.P., under Utah R. Evid.…

State v. Rushton  
Date: April 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 21
Docket Number: 20150737

Justia Opinion Summary: The mandatory joinder statute, Utah Code 76-1-401, prohibits the State from prosecuting a defendant in separate actions for conduct that may establish separate offenses under a “single criminal episode.” A “single…

State v. Hummel  
Date: April 4, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 19
Docket Number: 20130281

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged and tried on four counts of theft and one count of attempted theft. After a jury trial, all jurors found Defendant guilty on all five counts. Defendant challenged his conviction under the Unanimous…

State v. Wadsworth  
Date: April 4, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 20
Docket Number: 20150507

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a claim for restitution by the victim of a sex crime committed by Defendant. The State alleged that Defendant’s crimes led to the victim’s depression, which impacted her ability to work and required…

Tesla Motors UT, Inc. v. Utah Tax Commission  
Date: April 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 18
Docket Number: 20150792

Justia Opinion Summary: The administrator of the Utah Motor Vehicle Enforcement Division denied Tesla Motors UT, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of a motor vehicle manufacturer, an application for a license to sell new motor vehicles,…

Compton v. Houston Casualty Co.  
Date: March 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 17
Docket Number: 20150837

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was the scope of the “covered profession” clause of a professional liability errors and omissions insurance policy issued to Utah County Real Estate, LLC (Prudential) by Houston Casualty Company.…

Stichting Mayflower Mountain Fonds v. United Park City Mines Co.  
Date: March 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 16
Docket Number: 20150047

Justia Opinion Summary: At dispute in this case was a mining road built on Flagstaff Mountain over a century ago. Stichting Mayflower Mountain Fonds and Stichting Mayflower Recreation Fonds (collectively, Mayflower) asserted a right to use the…

Friends of Great Salt Lake v. Utah Department of Natural Resources  
Date: March 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 15
Docket Number: 20131050

Justia Opinion Summary: Friends of Great Salt Lake (Friends) challenged the decision of the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands (Division) granting a mining lease covering a small portion of the Great Salt Lake. Friends made three…

Salt Lake City Corp. v. Haik  
Date: March 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 14
Docket Number: 20160019

Justia Opinion Summary: In 1997, Paul Haik argued before the federal district court that Salt Lake City and Alta’s refusal to extend adequate municipal water services to his undeveloped land in the Albion Basin Subdivision was a violation of…

State v. Prater  
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 13
Docket Number: 20130748

Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated murder, obstructing justice, and five counts of discharging a firearm from a vehicle. On appeal, Defendant asked that his convictions be set aside based on an…

Crapo v. Zions First National Bank  
Date: February 24, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 12
Docket Number: 20160218

Justia Opinion Summary: Shayne Crapo defaulted on a $250,000 loan from Zions First National Bank. After the expiration of a three-year period with no payments being made on the loan, Zions Bank issued Mr. Crapo a Form 1099-C - a reporting tool…

In re Abraham Bates
Date: February 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 11
Docket Number: 20150483
State v. Thornton  
Date: February 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 9
Docket Number: 20150029

Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of multiple counts of rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse of a twelve-year-old victim. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that the district court erred in admitting evidence of Defendant’s past…

Discip. of Joseph Barrett
Date: February 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 10
Docket Number: 20150190
Lancer Insurance Co. v. Lake Shore Motor Coach Lines, Inc.  
Date: February 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 8
Docket Number: 20160244

Justia Opinion Summary: Debra Jarvis was driving a bus owned by Lake Shore Motor Coach Lines, Inc. when she experienced a sudden and unforeseeable loss of consciousness. Her loss of consciousness caused the bus to roll over, injuring several…

Johnson v. OPC
Date: February 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 7
Docket Number: 20150948
Kelly v. Utah State Bar
Date: February 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 6
Docket Number: 20160094
Heslop v. Bear River Mutual Insurance Co.  
Date: January 24, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 5
Docket Number: 20150697

Justia Opinion Summary: Natalie Heslop overdosed on prescription drugs. The next day, Natalie rolled her truck down an embankment. Natalie informed the responding police officer, medical personnel, her family, and an insurance adjuster that the…

Snyder v. Hertzske  
Date: January 18, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 4
Docket Number: 20150735

Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was (1) how Utah Code 30-3-5(1)(e) should be interpreted in correlation with Utah Code 75-2-804, and (2) the proper interpretation of “express terms” in section 75-2-804(2). Tyler Hertzske and Linda…

Bank of America v. Adamson  
Date: January 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 2
Docket Number: 20140861

Justia Opinion Summary: Utah Code 57-1-21 requires the trustee of a nonjudicial foreclosure sale to maintain a physical office location within the state. In this case, Samuel Adamson refinanced his home through a deed of trust and then…

Brown v. Cox  
Date: January 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 3
Docket Number: 20160669

Justia Opinion Summary: Melvin Brown, who lost his Republic Primary election for the Utah House of Representatives by nine votes, contested the results of the primary election under Utah Code 20A-4-403(2) - Utah’s election contest statute -…

Jordan v. Jensen  
Date: January 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 UT 1
Docket Numbers: 20150257, 20150647

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Uintah County conducted a tax sale but failed to provide the record mineral interest owners notice of the sale. More than a decade later, the individuals who were the record owners of the mineral interest prior…

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