Wyoming Supreme Court Decisions 2013
Date: December 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 163
Docket Number: S-13-0027
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged and convicted of felony driving while under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving, driving with a suspended license, and driving without an interlock device. On appeal, Appellant argued (1) his…
Date: December 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 161
Docket Number: S-13-0081
Justia Opinion Summary: When Mother and Father divorced, Mother was awarded primary custody of the parties’ child. Father later field a petition for modification of custody and time-sharing. The district court found there had been a substantial…
Date: December 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 162
Docket Number: S-13-0147
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to two counts of failure to register as a sex offender. The district court sentenced Appellant to concurrent sentences of two to four and four to six years but suspended the sentences and imposed…
Date: December 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 160
Docket Number: S-13-0091
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Family Services filed a petition to terminate Mother’s rights to her son. A default was entered against Mother after she failed to answer the Department’s petition. During a recess in the default…
Date: December 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 159
Docket Number: S-13-0140
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of several criminal offenses, including attempted second-degree murder. The district court sentenced Appellant to thirty to forty years for the attempted murder conviction with…
Date: December 23, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 158
Docket Number: S-12-0252
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered Alford pleas to two felony counts of obtaining public welfare benefits by misrepresentation. Appellant initially pled not guilty to the charges. Appellant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the…
Date: December 20, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 157
Docket Number: S-13-0038
Justia Opinion Summary: When the Union and the City entered into negotiations regarding the 2012-2013 wages and other employment terms for the City's fire department members, the City included in its negotiating team the mayor, one city council…
Date: December 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 156
Docket Number: S-12-0187
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of attempted first-degree murder, kidnapping, and aggravated assault and battery after he attacked the victim and hit her in the face and body with a sledgehammer. The Supreme…
Date: December 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 155
Docket Number: D-13-0008
Date: December 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 153
Docket Number: S-13-0018
Justia Opinion Summary: After his conviction, Appellant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment. After Appellant was sentenced, the State successfully filed a motion to correct Appellant's sentence, which was illegal, by increasing the maximum…
Date: December 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 154
Docket Number: S-13-0126
Justia Opinion Summary: After entering a construction contract with Appellants, Appellee filed a breach of contract and unjust enrichment action against Appellants. Appellants counterclaimed for breach of contract. The Supreme Court (1)…
Date: December 11, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 152
Docket Number: S-12-0246
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of violating Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-2-303(a)(vi) and 6-2-303(a)(viii), each proscribing, in the disjunctive, sexual assault in the second degree. The district court sentenced…
Date: December 11, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 151
Docket Number: S-13-0109
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to an oral agreement with Defendant, Plaintiff kept his beefalo cattle herd on Defendant's ranch. After a dispute arose between the parties regarding the oral agreement, Defendant asserted a lien for payments…
Date: December 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 150
Docket Number: S-13-0036
Justia Opinion Summary: After Joan Marusich died, the State ex rel. Department of Health, Office of Healthcare Financing/Equalitycare (Department) filed a lien against the home Joan owned as tenants by the entirety with her husband, William…
Date: December 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 149
Docket Number: S-13-0076
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother, a U.S. citizen, and Father, a citizen of both France and the U.S., were married in Teton County after executing a prenuptial agreement. The parties subsequently became the parents of twins. In 2011, Mother filed…
Date: December 4, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 148
Docket Number: D-13-0007
Date: November 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 147
Docket Number: S-13-0123
Date: November 26, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 146
Docket Number: S-13-0006
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Defendant appealed, contending that the trial court erred in refusing his request to introduce Chauncey…
Date: November 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 145
Docket Number: S-13-0056
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned Merit Energy Company's 2006 natural gas severance and ad valorem tax liability for wells located in several counties. Merit was a take-in-kind interest owner, which is a party who elects to take a…
Date: November 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 144
Docket Number: S-13-0100
Justia Opinion Summary: Richard Reynolds filed a complaint against Christopher Bonar, claiming personal injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident. Bonar later filed a motion for sanctions for Reynolds' failure to comply with discovery,…
Date: November 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 143
Docket Number: S-13-0053
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Appellant was convicted of indirect criminal contempt, a common law crime, for failure to comply with an injunction and a nunc pro tunc amendment that allowed the county to enter Appellant's property…
Date: November 14, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 142
Docket Number: S-13-0175
Date: November 12, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 141
Docket Number: S-13-0046
Justia Opinion Summary: After stepping into a hole drilled in the gutter of a street in the City of Lander, Appellant fell, injuring her hip and back. Appellant sued the City, claiming (1) the City was negligent in the operation of a public…
Date: November 8, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 139
Docket Number: S-13-0009
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first degree sexual assault on a physically helpless woman. Appellant was sentenced to not less than seven nor more than twenty-two years confinement. On appeal, Defendant…
Date: November 8, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 140
Docket Number: S-13-0071
Justia Opinion Summary: After Appellant suffered a workplace injury to his knees in 1993, the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division (Division) awarded him benefits. In 2009, Appellant sought payment for a left knee arthroscopy,…
Date: November 4, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 138
Docket Number: S-13-0057
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant received a low back injury during the course of his employment and sought worker's compensation benefits. The Wyoming Worker's Safety and Compensation Division denied the claim but subsequently issued a…
Date: October 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 137
Docket Number: S-13-0044
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a plea of nolo contendere to the charge of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine. After the district court accepted the plea and scheduled a sentencing hearing, Appellant retained new counsel, who filed…
Date: October 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 136
Docket Number: S-13-0114
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife filed a complaint for divorce from Husband, and the matter proceeded to trial. Neither party, however, timely requested the official court reporter to report and transcribe the proceeding as prescribed by Rule 904…
Date: October 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 135
Docket Number: S-13-0035
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sustained a second to third-degree burn to his foot while working for Employer. Appellant's injury was found to be compensable. Appellant subsequently experienced foot pain and difficulty standing and wearing…
Date: October 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 134
Docket Number: S-13-0101
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine. The district court sentenced Appellant to fifteen to twenty years imprisonment and recommended that Appellant complete intensive treatment for substance…
Date: October 22, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 133
Docket Number: S-13-0073
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to three burglary charges and was sentenced to terms in prison, with the sentences being suspended in lieu of one year in jail and seven years supervised probation. One of the conditions of…
Date: October 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 131
Docket Number: S-13-0042
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, Husband and Wife were divorced pursuant to a stipulated property settlement, child custody, child support agreement. In 2010, Husband petitioned to reopen the divorce decree, alleging that Wife had…
Date: October 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 132
Docket Number: S-13-0063
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother was the primary residential custodian of Daughter under Mother and Father's divorce decree. Father subsequently filed a motion seeking primary residential custody of Daughter. Mother opposed the change of custody…
Date: October 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 129
Docket Number: S-13-0005
Justia Opinion Summary: Gary Hopkins and Randal Burnett formed a LLC and financed the project with a small business administration (SBA) loan. Bank 1 loaned the remainder of the total project costs. Hopkins secured the SBA portion of the loan…
Date: October 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 128
Docket Number: S-13-0012
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary. Defendant appealed, contending that the district court erred by refusing to order one of his co-conspirators to submit handwriting exemplars…
Date: October 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 130
Docket Number: S-13-0135
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with first degree sexual assault. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of third degree sexual assault. Appellant appealed, arguing that the jury should not have been instructed on third…
Date: October 11, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 126
Docket Number: S-12-0276
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife had four children, one of whom was a disabled adult daughter. Upon the parties' divorce, the district court ruled (1) no support was necessary for the adult daughter because she received Social Security…
Date: October 11, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 127
Docket Number: S-13-0020
Justia Opinion Summary: While working on a road paving project Plaintiff was hit and dragged by an asphalt paving machine being driven by a co-employee. Plaintiff suffered serious injuries, including brain damage and amputation of a leg.…
Date: October 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 125
Docket Number: S-12-0270
Justia Opinion Summary: The sentence at issue in this case was one of four imposed for unrelated crimes by three district courts between 2007 and 2010. The disputed judgment and sentence was filed in 2011. Later that year, Defendant filed a…
Date: October 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 124
Docket Number: S-12-0160
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with burglary and attempted sexual assault. After the attorney Defendant engaged to represent him was severely injured in a motorcycle accident and was unable to continue representing Defendant, the…
Date: October 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 123
Docket Number: S-12-0283
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was arrested for driving under the influence of a controlled substance (DUI) after he was stopped for failing to use his turn signal. Appellant refused to submit to chemical testing. The Wyoming Department of…
Date: October 4, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 122
Docket Number: S-12-0230
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, two individuals, were arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol (DWUI). Each appellant's blood-alcohol content was determined in accordance with the procedures set forth in Wyo. Stat. Ann.…
Date: October 2, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 120
Docket Number: S-12-0163
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of a single count of felony larceny. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence, holding (1) any deficiency in Defendant's trial attorney's failure to challenge a…
Date: October 2, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 121
Docket Number: S-13-0011
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a divorce decree, the tribal court awarded Father, who lived in Wyoming, primary custody of the parties' child and liberal visitation to Mother, who lived in New Mexico. Father later filed a motion seeking…
Date: October 2, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 119
Docket Number: S-13-0080
Date: October 1, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 118
Docket Number: S-11-0199
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery. Defendant appealed both convictions and requested remand for a hearing on his claim that trial counsel was…
Date: September 30, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 117
Docket Number: S-12-0278
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of eleven counts of burglary. At his arraignment, Appellant peremptorily disqualified Judge Kalokathis and the case was assigned to a different judge. After Defendant was convicted, the case was…
Date: September 30, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 116
Docket Number: S-13-0047
Justia Opinion Summary: While she was working as a nurse at a hospital, Appellant suffered a heart attack. The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division denied Appellant's claim for benefits. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)…
Date: September 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 114
Docket Number: S-12-0232
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide while driving under the influence of alcohol and two related DUI misdemeanors. On appeal, Defendant alleged, among other things, that her…
Date: September 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 112
Docket Number: S-13-0028
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife were married for seventeen years at the time they decided to divorce. After a trial, the district court (1) valued the total assets to be divided between the parties at approximately $4.5 million; (2)…
Date: September 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 115
Docket Number: S-13-0033
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother divorced a decade after they married. Custody of the parties' three children was awarded to Wife. Father subsequently filed a petition seeking a modification awarding him custody of the children. The…
Date: September 27, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 113
Docket Number: S-13-0054
Justia Opinion Summary: In KMO I, the district court terminated Mother's parental rights, and the Supreme Court affirmed. Mother's appointed attorney on appeal (Attorney) filed a fee motion requesting $121,530 in fees. The district court…
Date: September 20, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 111
Docket Number: S-13-0030
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged with three crimes for his sexually-charged attack on his sister-in-law. The morning trial was to begin, the district court allowed the State to amend to Information to clarify that one of the…
Date: September 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 110
Docket Number: D-13-0006
Date: September 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 108
Docket Number: S-13-0062
Date: September 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 109
Docket Number: S-13-0064
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered an unconditional guilty plea to one count of incest for having sexual intercourse with his adult daughter. The district court sentenced Appellant to thirteen and a half to fifteen years imprisonment.…
Date: September 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 107
Docket Number: S-12-0267
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled no contest to one felony count of aggravated assault and battery and one count of misdemeanor battery. Appellant appealed, claiming that he should be permitted to withdraw his plea because he was not…
Date: September 13, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 106
Docket Number: S-12-0237
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants purchased property that was subject to a Master Plan that restricted the use and development of the property. Appellants obtained title insurance from Insurer, but the policy did not mention the Master Plan.…
Date: September 13, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 105
Docket Number: S-13-0024
Date: September 4, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 104
Docket Number: S-13-0074
Justia Opinion Summary: MF was adjudicated a child in need of supervision (CHINS) shortly before his sixteenth birthday. Four months before MF's seventeenth birthday and after MF twice violated his probation, the juvenile court ordered that MF…
Date: August 29, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 102
Docket Number: S-12-0263
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of aggravated assault and battery. On appeal, Appellant argued that the district court erred by denying his motion to continue his jury trial to allow newly retained counsel…
Date: August 29, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 103
Docket Number: S-12-0271
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a conditional plea to felony possession of methamphetamine. Appellant appealed, contending that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress the results of a vehicle inventory that…
Date: August 28, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 101
Docket Number: S-12-0269
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon Father's and Mother's divorce, the parties executed a settlement agreement that awarded Mother primary residential custody of the two children. The agreement was incorporated into the parties' divorce decree. Father…
Date: August 22, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 100
Docket Number: S-12-0268
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1988, Appellant injured his lower back while working for a paving company. Appellant underwent lumbar surgery in 1989 and, afterward, did not require additional treatment for his back surgery for several years. In…
Date: August 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 99
Docket Number: S-12-0235
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to burglary and attempted assault on a peace officer and nolo contendere to four counts of interference with custody. Appellant received suspended sentences in favor of supervised probation.…
Date: August 14, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 98
Docket Number: S-12-0253
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of obtaining property by false pretenses and one count of wrongful disposing of that property. Appellant was sentenced to terms of imprisonment on each count, to…
Date: August 13, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 96
Docket Number: S-12-0280
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, was employed as a police officer when he broke his hand during a training session. About a month later, Appellant was admitted to the hospital, where he was treated for…
Date: August 13, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 97
Docket Number: S-13-0031
Justia Opinion Summary: Father filed suit to establish his paternity of ARF. Father sought custody of ARF and asked the district court to order Mother to pay child support. After Mother admitted Father's paternity and asked the district court…
Date: August 12, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 95
Docket Number: S-12-0234
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996, Appellant suffered a work-related back injury and sought benefits from the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division. In 2009, Appellant began to experience significant lower back pain after shoveling…
Date: August 7, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 94
Docket Number: S-12-0191
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Appellant appealed, raising four separate allegations of error, including the allegation that the district court erred…
Date: July 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 92
Docket Number: D-13-0004
Date: July 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 93
Docket Number: S-12-0258
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant sued his former employer (Employer) in district court, alleging claims for fraud and wrongful termination. Employer, however, had been sold to a foreign corporation (Corporation), which was not a resident of…
Date: July 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 91
Docket Number: S-12-0256
Justia Opinion Summary: Lisa Kisling, the legal guardian of two children with special needs, applied for and received child care assistance benefits up until the time she enrolled in law school. At that time, the Department of Family Services…
Date: July 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 90
Docket Number: S-12-0194
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant owned and operated two mobile home parks. In 2000, Appellant changed its practice of including in the rent it charged tenants the cost of water it purchased from the City for the tenants' use. Instead,…
Date: July 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 88
Docket Number: D-13-0005
Date: July 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 89
Docket Number: S-12-0240
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual assault in the first degree. Defendant appealed, asserting that the district court abused its discretion by allowing a sexual assault nurse examiner to testify as to…
Date: July 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 86
Docket Number: S-12-0254
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was employed as an iron worker when he injured his neck. Appellant received temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for thirty-six months, after which he underwent shoulder surgery. Appellant subsequently…
Date: July 16, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 87
Docket Number: S-12-0273
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled no contest to one count of felony property destruction pursuant to a plea agreement. In accordance with the plea agreement, Appellant received first offender treatment and was placed on supervised…
Date: July 12, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 85
Docket Number: S-12-0239
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, who was fifteen at the time of the crimes, was charged as an adult with nine felonies. Prior to trial, Petitioner filed a motion to transfer his case from district court to juvenile court, which the district…
Date: July 11, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 84
Docket Number: S-12-0229
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony interference with a peace officer. The conviction arose from an incident in which Defendant kicked an officer in the chest, causing him to fall backward onto asphalt…
Date: July 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 82
Docket Number: S-12-0227
Justia Opinion Summary: Jerry Herling Construction, Inc. (JHCI) contracted with Plaintiff for rental and service of earthmoving equipment but defaulted on the payments due under the contract. Plaintiff sued Jerry Herling, JHCI's CEO, seeking to…
Date: July 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 83
Docket Number: S-12-0279
Justia Opinion Summary: After Father failed to pay Mother's attorney's fees in accordance with a district court order in Jensen I, the district court held Father in contempt. As a sanction for contempt, the court ordered Father to pay Mother an…
Date: July 9, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 81
Docket Number: S-12-0238
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Appellant suffered an injury to his lumbar spine while in the course and scope of his employment. Appellant applied for and received workers' compensation benefits for the injury. In 2005, Appellant accepted…
Date: July 2, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 80
Docket Number: S-13-0022
Date: June 28, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 79
Docket Number: S-12-0221
Date: June 26, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 78
Docket Number: S-13-0017
Date: June 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 77
Docket Number: S-12-0223
Date: June 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 76
Docket Number: S-12-0233
Date: June 18, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 75
Docket Number: S-12-0250
Date: June 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 74
Docket Number: S-12-0166
Date: June 12, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 72
Docket Number: S-12-0078
Date: June 6, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 71
Docket Number: S-12-0219
Date: June 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 70
Docket Number: S-12-0161
Date: June 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 69
Docket Number: S-12-0188
Date: June 5, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 68
Docket Number: S-12-0222
Date: May 31, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 67
Docket Number: S-12-0190
Date: May 28, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 66
Docket Number: S-12-0054
Date: May 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 65
Docket Number: S-12-0202
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners petitioned to be appointed permanent guardians of their elderly uncle, Thomas Lankford. The district court dismissed the guardianship petition after finding Petitioners were not qualified to serve as…
Date: May 22, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 64
Docket Number: S-12-0164
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs owned property that was conveyed by warranty deed to J.A. Reed. In 1968, Reed conveyed the property to Julianne Biggane, and in 2006, the Biggane Trust transferred the property to Plaintiffs. Prior to Reed's…
Date: May 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 63
Docket Number: S-12-0193
Justia Opinion Summary: Western Wyoming Construction Company (WWC) submitted a bid for a highway project in Sublette County. The Board of County Commissioners of Sublette County (Commissioners) awarded the contract to another resident…
Date: May 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 61
Docket Numbers: S-12-0216, S-12-0217
Date: May 17, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 62
Docket Number: S-12-0220
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division awarded benefits to Appellant after he experienced a workplace injury. The Division denied Appellant's claim for payment for prescription medication he alleged was…
Date: May 15, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 60
Docket Number: S-12-0209
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, the director of the Wyoming Guardianship Corporation filed a petition for emergency appointment of a temporary guardian for Robert Sands, who was then seventy years old and suffered from dementia and other…
Date: May 13, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 59, 300 P.3d 879
Docket Number: S-12-0213
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was charged while driving under the influence. The Wyoming Department of Transportation suspended Appellant's driver's license. Appellant appealed, arguing that she had not been properly advised as to implied…
Date: May 10, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 57, 300 P.3d 864
Docket Number: S-12-0085
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to attempted second degree murder in an oral plea agreement and was sentenced to a term of twenty-five to fifty years in prison. The district court also awarded restitution. Appellant later removed…
Date: May 10, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 58
Docket Number: S-12-0195
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of felony stalking. Appellant appealed, contending (1) the amended information did not allege sufficient facts to constitute the offense of felony stalking and did not…
Date: May 9, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 56, 300 P.3d 858
Docket Number: S-12-0192
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother divorced in 1990. The parties agreed that each parent would have custody of one child. In 1999, the parties stipulated to a modification of their divorce decree, agreeing that Father would have primary…
Date: May 8, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 55, 300 P.3d 487
Docket Number: S-12-0165
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of aggravated assault and battery. The jury found Defendant guilty of threatening to use a drawn deadly weapon on another person, which was one of the State's two theories…
Date: May 8, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 54, 300 P.3d 852
Docket Number: S-12-0177
Justia Opinion Summary: Debtor borrowed money to finance a real estate purchase. Debtor signed a promissory note and secured the loan with a mortgage. Bank of America (BANA) became the owner of the note. After the mortgage was recorded, an…
Date: May 8, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 53, 300 P.3d 850
Docket Number: S-12-0210
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2005, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) hired Plaintiff. In 2007, the DEQ terminated Plaintiff on the ground that he improperly incurred $2,500 in personal charges on a state-issued cell phone. Plaintiff…
Date: May 1, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 52, 299 P.3d 1183
Docket Number: D-13-0004
Date: April 30, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 50, 299 P.3d 683
Docket Number: S-12-0173
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of larceny. Defendant appealed, claiming that the factual basis provided by the State for his guilty plea was inadequate as a matter of law because it did not establish the "taking"…
Date: April 30, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 51, 299 P.3d 689
Docket Number: S-12-0179
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties to the dispute were two rural landowners who owned easements crossing a parcel of ranchland. When Appellant improved the common roadway and asked his neighbor, Appellee, to contribute to the cost of the…
Date: April 25, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 48, 299 P.3d 1176
Docket Number: S-12-0119
Justia Opinion Summary: The manager of the Wyoming Universal Service Fund (WUSF) filed confidential reports with the Wyoming Public Service Commission (PSC) containing his recommendations for the WUSF assessment level for fiscal years 2009 and…
Date: April 25, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 49, 299 P.3d 673
Docket Number: S-12-0154
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition in juvenile court alleging that SWM, a minor, had committed two delinquent acts. SWM's counsel filed a motion to suspend proceedings for evaluation under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 7-11-303 and Wyo. Stat.…
Date: April 24, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 47
Docket Number: S-11-0151
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of first-degree felony murder, aggravated burglary, and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. Defendant appealed, challenging his convictions on a number of grounds and…
Date: April 19, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 46, 299 P.3d 97
Docket Number: S-12-0150
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of numerous charges, including false imprisonment, felonious restraint, and aggravated assault and battery. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the prosecutor did not…
Date: April 17, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 44, 299 P.3d 88
Docket Number: S-12-0176
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court granted Father a divorce from Mother. The divorce decree granted Father primary physical and residential custody of the parties' two children, while Mother was granted "reasonable and liberal…
Date: April 17, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 45, 299 P.3d 95
Docket Number: S-12-0196
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife filed a complaint for divorce from Husband. The district court granted Wife a divorce and distributed all of the property between Husband and Wife. Wife subsequently appealed the property distribution in the divorce…
Date: April 12, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 43, 299 P.3d 75
Docket Number: S-12-0199
Justia Opinion Summary: After an adjudicatory hearing in this abuse and neglect case, Appellant was found to have neglected her three children. Appellant appealed, arguing that she was denied fundamental due process rights because the trial…
Date: April 11, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 42, 299 P.3d 68
Docket Number: S-12-0138
Justia Opinion Summary: The Thornhocks filed an action against the Esterholdts and others seeking to quiet title to certain lands in Lincoln County. The district court granted summary judgment to the Thornocks as to some of the land but denied…
Date: April 9, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 41, 298 P.3d 825
Docket Number: S-12-0107
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of first degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second degree sexual abuse of a minor upon his three daughters. Defendant appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1)…
Date: April 4, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 40, 298 P.3d 173
Docket Number: S-12-0205
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant injured her neck and shoulder in a work-related accident. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Division approved Appellant's application for temporary total disability benefits but denied payments of two…
Date: April 3, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 39, 298 P.3d 170
Docket Number: S-12-0185
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of four counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. Appellant appealed, complaining that the prosecutor engaged in improper misconduct and that he was denied a fair…
Date: April 2, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 38, 298 P.3d 163
Docket Number: S-12-0096
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Teton County voters approved a Teton County Housing Authority (TCHA) sponsored ballot initiative enabling a specific purpose excise tax (SPET) to raise $5 million for TCHA's affordable housing program. In 2007,…
Date: March 27, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 37, 298 P.3d 161
Docket Number: S-12-0174
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Plaintiff offered to purchase a commercial property. Defendant was the real estate agent who prepared the offer. The sellers accepted the offer to purchase and prepared a property disclosure statement in…
Date: March 20, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 36
Docket Number: S-12-0108
Justia Opinion Summary: Sheridan Fire Fighters Local No. 276 filed suit against the City of Sheridan alleging that the City breached the parties' collective bargaining agreement when it failed to provide pay raises to five firefighters who had…
Date: March 20, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 35, 297 P.3d 121
Docket Number: S-12-0145
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to unlawful use of a credit card (a misdemeanor) and forgery (a felony). The district court denied Appellant's motions to modify his sentence, correct an illegal sentence, and reduce his sentence.…
Date: March 19, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 34
Docket Number: S-12-0038
Justia Opinion Summary: Greencore Pipeline Company filed an action seeking to condemn easements across property owned by Barlow Ranch for a pipeline to transport carbon dioxide. The parties reached an agreement on the terms of possession and…
Date: March 19, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 33, 297 P.3d 117
Docket Number: S-12-0130
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to multiple search warrants the Cheyenne Police Department seized property from Appellant's residence in 1999. Subsequent to that search, Appellant was arrested and convicted on six counts of sexual assault. For…
Date: March 15, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 32, 297 P.3d 782
Docket Number: S-12-0140
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission approved Cimarex Energy Company's plan to reinject waste carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide into a producing natural gas formation in southwest Wyoming over the objection…
Date: March 14, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 31, 297 P.3d 110
Docket Number: S-12-0118
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants purchased Mom's Malt Shop (Mom's) from Meisinger Investments, which was subsequently dissolved. Six years later, Appellants filed a complaint against Meisinger Investments and one of its owners, Richard…
Date: March 13, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 30, 297 P.3d 104
Docket Number: S-12-0157
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant conditionally pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver marijuana. On appeal, Defendant challenged the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence discovered during a search of his…
Date: March 13, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 29, 297 P.3d 97
Docket Number: S-12-0183
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual assault in the first degree and sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree. Defendant appealed the district court's denial of a continuance motion and the court's…
Date: March 12, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 28, 297 P.3d 82
Docket Number: S-12-0172
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, who worked for the Wyoming Department of Corrections, sustained significant injuries during a vehicle rollover while driving to pick up a prisoner. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Division awarded…
Date: March 7, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 27, 297 P.3d 768
Docket Number: S-12-0080
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother divorced in 2007. In the litigation that followed the divorce, the district court granted Mother's motion to modify the visitation schedule, denied Father's request to present expert testimony, denied…
Date: March 6, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 26, 296 P.3d 939
Docket Number: S-12-0169
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee sustained a compensable neck injury and, despite four separate surgeries to address it, never returned to work. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Division paid Appellee temporary total disability (TTD)…
Date: March 5, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 25, 295 P.3d 1245
Docket Number: S-12-0153
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife and Husband were divorced by decree. Husband appealed, claiming that the district court (1) abused its discretion in imputing his monthly income and ordering him to pay child support for several months when he was…
Date: February 26, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 24, 295 P.3d 847
Docket Number: S-12-0105
Justia Opinion Summary: While a lawsuit by Appellees David and Elizabeth Speaks was pending against Rosemary and Byron Baker for damages related to poor construction workmanship, the Bakers transferred two parcels of real property to their son,…
Date: February 22, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 23, 295 P.3d 844
Docket Number: S-12-0137
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division determined that Appellant suffered a compensable injury while employed by Employer. The lodge filed an objection to that determination and requested a hearing with…
Date: February 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 22
Docket Number: D-13-0002
Date: February 21, 2013
Citation: 2013 WY 21
Docket Number: D-13-0003
Date: February 20, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 20, 294 P.3d 904
Docket Number: S-12-0155
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was the mother of LNP. After Grandparents took LNP into their care, they petitioned for temporary guardianship of LNP, which the district court granted. Grandparents subsequently moved to convert the temporary…
Date: February 14, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 19, 297 P.3d 762
Docket Number: S-12-0111
Justia Opinion Summary: In a shareholder meeting of a corporation (Corporation), Appellee was the only shareholder present at the meeting. Appellee concluded that a quorum existed and thus voted upon and passed several resolutions, including…
Date: February 8, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 18, 294 P.3d 36
Docket Number: S-11-0102
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered guilty pleas to aggravated burglary, first-degree murder, and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment on the first-degree murder conviction. At the time of…
Date: February 8, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 17, 296 P.3d 934
Docket Number: S-12-0076
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was injured in a work-related accident in 1996. In 2009, Appellant was diagnosed with a labral tear in his left shoulder. The Workers' Safety and Compensation Division denied Appellant's request for payments…
Date: February 8, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 16, 295 P.3d 837
Docket Number: S-12-0114
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, the district court entered a default judgment and order establishing Father's paternity of a child and ordering him to pay child support. In 2011, the Department of Family Services (DFS) filed a petition for an…
Date: February 6, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 15, 294 P.3d 25
Docket Number: S-12-0141
Justia Opinion Summary: After RB, a middle-aged man, was emergently detained as a suicide risk at West Park Hospital, the district court involuntarily hospitalized RB at the Wyoming State Hospital, where he was detoxified of opiates and other…
Date: February 1, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 14, 294 P.3d 895
Docket Number: S-12-0084
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, the secretary of state, filed a declaratory judgment action challenging the constitutionality of Wyoming's term limit statute. Plaintiff contended that the statute was prevented from exercising his…
Date: January 31, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 12, 294 P.3d 888
Docket Number: S-12-0123
Justia Opinion Summary: After Appellant was terminated from his employment with Employer, Appellant applied for and was granted unemployment benefits. Employer appealed. After a hearing, a hearing examiner affirmed and found that Appellant was…
Date: January 31, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 13, 293 P.3d 459
Docket Number: S-12-0134
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses and was sentenced to a prison term of eight to ten years. Defendant appealed, challenging the admission of uncharged…
Date: January 30, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 11, 296 P.3d 926
Docket Number: D-12-0007
Date: January 30, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 10, 295 P.3d 833
Docket Number: D-13-0001
Date: January 25, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 9, 294 P.3d 879
Docket Number: S-12-0067
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court appointed Attorney to represent an indigent parent in a termination of parental rights action filed by the Wyoming Department of Family Services (DFS). State law required DFS to pay for the costs of…
Date: January 17, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 8, 292 P.3d 165
Docket Number: S-11-0232
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed suit against a paragliding company and the company's employees, owners, and agents (collectively, Appellees) after he sustained injuries during a paragliding training clinic conducted by Appellees. At the…
Date: January 17, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 7, 292 P.3d 174
Docket Number: S-12-0055
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of taking a controlled substance into a jail. Defendant appealed, contending (1) the district court erred by seating an unqualified juror; and (2) the court erred in sentencing…
Date: January 16, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 5, 297 P.3d 77
Docket Numbers: D-12-0009, S-12-0009
Date: January 16, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 6, 292 P.3d 165
Docket Number: S-12-0100
Date: January 11, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 4, 294 P.3d 13
Docket Number: S-12-0072
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of felony larceny after taking a pickup truck without the owner's permission. After the verdict was accepted, Appellant moved for a new trial, alleging that jurors or potential jurors overheard…
Date: January 9, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 2, 294 P.3d 866
Docket Number: S-12-0139
Justia Opinion Summary: While Mother was living in Texas with her two girls, aged four and three, Mother contacted her mother (Grandmother), who lived in Wyoming, to report that her boyfriend (Boyfriend) had bitten her children. Grandmother…
Date: January 9, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 3, 291 P.3d 947
Docket Number: S-12-103
Justia Opinion Summary: Landowners' neighbors filed with the Board of County Commissioners a petition for establishment of a county road along an unsurveyed legal description that closely equated to Landowners' driveway. The Board dismissed the…
Date: January 3, 2013
Citations: 2013 WY 1, 291 P.3d 313
Docket Number: S-12-0151
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled no contest to first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The district court imposed a penitentiary sentence of not less than fifteen nor more than twenty years. Approximately one year after his conviction,…
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