Utah Supreme Court Decisions 2021

Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce case, the Supreme Court primarily affirmed in part the decision of the court of appeals reversing the judgment of the district court holding Ronald Rosser in contempt for deliberately deceiving Holly…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part the restitution order of the district court in connection with Defendant's conviction of theft and theft by deception and otherwise affirmed, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court compelling arbitration in this suit alleging breach of contract and breach of the covenant of good faith and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that compliance with Utah Code 10-2-421 was the only precondition to three cities' taking over service to electric customers in annexed areas of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to two job site operators during the 1960s and 1970s for indirectly exposing his wife to asbestos dust, holding that job site…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court determining that Gina Kirkland, Garret Heater (Garret), and John Carlon were the heirs to the estate of John Clifford Heater (Heater), holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' lawsuit filed against the employer of Kasey Christiansen, who was killed at work, holding that the district court did not err. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the district court denying Defendant's motion for summary judgment in this lawsuit over a work-related ailment, holding that remand was required. Plaintiff contracted lead…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the district court's dismissal of Defendant's motion to suppress, holding that there was no error. Testing of a buccal swab of Defendant's cheek…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiffs' claims against Intermountain GeoEnvironmental Services, Inc. (IGES), holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court in this criminal case repudiated the sweeping language of its opinion in State v. James, 13 P.3d 576 (Utah 2000), and held that it can no longer be said that it makes no constitutional difference, as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of distribution of or arranging to distribute a controlled substance, holding that the trial court did not err in denying Defendant's challenge brought under Batson v.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of dealing in material harmful to a minor, a third degree felony under Utah Code 76-10-1206, holding that Defendant's argument that the statute was unconstitutional as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed in part Plaintiff's appeal from the decision of the district court declining to overturn the results of the election for the office of San Juan County Commissioner, holding that Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this personal injury action, holding that, under the circumstances of this case, Defendants were not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of driving under the influence, holding that law enforcement officers' touch of Defendant's vehicle was supported by probable cause and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court in this case involving a challenge to one party's failure to abide by a provision in the parties' contract, holding that Plaintiff was not entitled to relief.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the determination of the court of appeals that R. Scott National, Inc. (RSN) was an "agent" of Pacific Life Insurance Company (Pacific Life) based on Utah Code 31A-1-301(88)(b), and therefore…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Petitioner's post-conviction challenge to his convictions of child sex abuse and other offenses as time-barred under the Post-Conviction Remedies…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals ruling that the Post-Conviction Remedies Act (PCRA), Utah Code 78B-9-101-110, barred Appellant's claims because they "could have been" brought on appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the interlocutory order of the district court denying Cathy McKitrick's motion to dismiss Kerry Gibson's petition for judicial review of the decision of the Ogden City Records Review Board…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this personal injury action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to the United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) and concluding that the negligence of KNS International,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's conviction of lewdness by a sex offender and vacated the conviction, holding that the court of appeals erred in upholding the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's claims against the University of Utah for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and negligence,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying a wellness company's motion to dismiss this breach of contract action brought by an independent distributor, holding that the distributor's allegation…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of distributing or arranging to distribute a controlled substance, holding that Defendant's trial counsel was not constitutionally deficient in not requesting a jury…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction of accomplice to aggravated robbery, a first degree felony, under a theory of accomplice liability, holding that the trial court gave an erroneous mens rea instruction to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this case to the district court for further proceedings, holding that, as a matter of law, a boat manufacturer or supplier owes a duty to adequately warn passengers of dangers associated with…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court ruling that it lacked jurisdiction over this challenge to the rejection of a referendum application, holding that the district court erred in its…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case alleging that Larry Boynton's wife, Barbara, was exposed to asbestos dust from several job sites that Larry worked at during the 1960s and 1970s, the Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss this complaint alleging negligence and reckless conduct against a physician who performed an independent medical…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals rejecting Defendant's claim for ineffective assistance of counsel, holding that a factfinder may consider extrinsic evidence of the sexual purpose of a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to vacate his felony discharge of a firearm convictions under the doctrine of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that the termination of Mother's parental rights was not against the clear weight of the evidence, holding that the court of appeals did not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court setting aside a default certificate under Utah R. Civ. P. 55(c), holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in setting aside the default…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court held that the equitable estoppel doctrine offers a discrete basis for tolling a statute of limitations in Utah. Owners executed a trust deed note with Alpine East Investors, LLC for certain property…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the trial court convicting Defendant of two counts of sexual battery, holding that the victim's testimony was materially…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting judgment on the pleadings in favor of Nebo School District on Plaintiff's negligent employment claim, holding that the district court erred in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court granting Defendant's renewed motion for judgment as a matter of law and vacating the jury's general damages verdict in favor of Plaintiff on her negligence claim, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's sentence for aggravated kidnapping and aggravated sexual assault and remanded with resentencing instructions to merge the two charges and affirmed his convictions, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part and vacated in part the judgment of the district court denying Plaintiff's request for a civil stalking injunction against Defendant, holding that the district court erred. Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a certified question posed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit regarding the reach of the Utah Health Care Malpractice Act (Act), Utah Code 78B-3-401 through 426, by…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the court of appeals reversing on summary disposition the denial of Appellant's appeal from the denial of unemployment benefits, holding that following the plain language of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in this trust and estate dispute, holding that, under certain circumstances, a party may assert a claim for intentional…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case in which in which a sales representative of Alarm Protection Technology (APT) sought to challenge a set of steps taken by APT to insulate itself from claims for unpaid compensation, the Supreme Court held…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case in which a sales representative of Alarm Protection Technology (APT) sought to challenge a set of steps taken by APT to insulate itself from claims for unpaid compensation, the Supreme Court held that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying doTERRA International, LLC's motion for partial summary judgment asserting that Jessica Kruger, who sought, among other things, punitive damages based…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing Shree Ganesh, LLC's contract and tort claims against Weston Logan, Inc., and Matthew Weston, an individual, holding that there remained a genuine…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the court of appeals concluding that the divorce decree at issue included provisions that, taken as a whole, could be interpreted to suggest that the parties contemplated that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal from the entry of a final order of adoption the Supreme Court reversed the entry of summary judgment against the child's putative father, J.S.P., holding that the district court erred in dismissing J.S.P.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court terminating Mother and Father's parental rights based on years of dysfunctionality, substance abuse, and criminal conduct, holding that the juvenile court did…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the district court concluding that the adjudication of Plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim against a church must be dismissed on the grounds that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court awarding Appellees attorney fees pursuant to a provision of a contract under which they sued, holding that the claim for contractual attorney fees was…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this civil action for reimbursement of attorney fees incurred in the successful defense of criminal charges the Supreme Court held that Utah Code 52-6-201 did not require Bret Rawson P.C. to subtract a donation made…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the judgment of the district court finding Yvonne Martin in unlawful detainer and entering a judgment that included a substantial award, holding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the court of appeals affirming the denial of post conviction relief sought by Defendant, holding that Defendant's claims failed. Defendant was convicted of sexually molesting…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Appellants' petitions to change their legal sex designations because the designations did not reflect their identities, holding that Appellants met…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this case in which Petitioner filed a petition for extraordinary relief challenging the decision of the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole rescinding Petitioner's parole date based on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to reinstate his right to appeal, holding that this Court lacked appellate jurisdiction. Defendant was convicted and sentenced for…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute over a Nibley City ordinance approving a development project on property owned by Return Development LLC the Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court finding that a referendum petition…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court vacated Defendant's conviction of child abuse and remanded the case to the district court to enter findings about whether the punishment that Defendant gave his son was "reasonable…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying the State's motion in limine to admit unsworn statements witnesses made to officers shortly after the shooting in which they defined Defendant as the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court's dismissal of this complaint brought by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) alleging that the San Juan County Commission violated SUWA's rights under Utah's Open…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing this complaint brought by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) alleging that the Kane and Garfield County Commissions violated Utah's Open…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Alexie Kamoe's petition for extraordinary relief, holding that an appeal from a negotiated plea in justice court under Utah Code 78A-7-118(3) does not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court dismissing this wrongful death suit against Salt Lake City on the grounds that the action was barred by Utah's Limitations on Landowner Liability Act's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of felony driving under the influence (DUI) and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, holding that the exclusionary rule does not apply where law enforcement relied…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed on all but one issue the judgment of the court of appeals affirming Defendant's convictions for violation of a protective order, three counts of aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary,…