Wyoming Supreme Court Decisions 2021

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part two district court orders in this divorce case - a custody order and a visitation order, holding that the district court abused its discretion in requiring Father…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the child custody modification order entered by the district court awarding Father primary physical custody of the parties' two children, holding that the district court did not abuse its…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company and dismissing Plaintiffs' claim alleging that they were entitled to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dividing marital property between Wife and Husband upon granting Husband a divorce, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion by dividing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court denying Appellant's motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that Appellant's claim of an illegal sentence based on the facts supporting his conviction was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Sweetwater County School District No. 1 and dismissing Plaintiff's negligence claim, holding that genuine issues of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to transfer his case to juvenile court, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion to…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this property dispute, the Supreme Court reversed in part the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to the Hogback Ranches Property Owners Improvement and Service District (HRISD) on the issue of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upholding the decision of the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) suspending Defendant's driver's license and operating…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of aggravated assault and battery, holding that prosecutorial misconduct did not prejudice Defendant. At trial, Defendant requested that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of eight counts of forgery, holding that the district court did not err or abuse its discretion. On appeal, Defendant argued that the evidence was insufficient to show…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, holding that the district court did not violate Defendant's right to a speedy trial. The State originally charged Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court terminating Kevin and Darcy Guilles' co-guardianship of DEP, the child of Diona Palu, holding that the Guilles failed to provide an adequate record to review the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's denial of Defendant's pre-sentence motion to withdraw guilty plea, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below. In 2020, the State filed a third petition to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court holding Mother in contempt for denying Father visitation with their child during summer and for the Thanksgiving holiday, holding that there was no error. On…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the juvenile court ordering that a permanency plan for minor siblings IM, NM, and AM be changed to adoption and finding that the Department of Family Services (DFS) be relieved…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the determination of the Medical Commission Hearing Panel that Scott Triplett failed to meet his burden to show entitlement to a right hip…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming Defendant's license suspension, holding that law enforcement officers did not deprive Defendant of his right to an independent chemical test of his…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court in this divorce case awarding Husband all of the interest in his business and ordering him to pay Wife $100,000 to equalize the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting the State's petition to revoke Defendant's probation, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion. Defendant pled guilty to…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of second-degree murder, holding that Defendant's trial counsel was not ineffective for failing adequately to advise Defendant regarding his right to testify and in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree murder, holding that there was no prejudicial error in the proceedings below. After a four-day trial, a jury convicted Defendant of first-degree murder.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of obtaining property by false pretenses and ordering her to pay restitution, holding that there was no error in the restitution…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court determining that ASM, a middle-aged woman, needed to be involuntarily hospitalized pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. 25-10-110 because she was mentally ill, as…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court modifying the court's divorce decree and awarding Father primary physical custody of the parties' son, holding that there was no error. In the divorce…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Security State Bank (SSB) and dismissing Plaintiff's complaint asserting a first priority equitable lien on certain ranch property,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court denied Wyoming Cardiopulmonary Services's (WCS) motion to dismiss this appeal of the district court's confirmation of the decision of an arbitration panel concluding that the parties' non-compete…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions of one count of aiding and abetting attempted second-degree murder, one count of reckless endangering, and one count of misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court to grant Father's petition to modify child support, holding that the district court did not improperly impute Mother's net monthly income at $3,975. In 2018,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court clarifying an order it entered in 2017 dividing the Aimone Ranch into two parcels, holding that the district court properly clarified its 2017 order under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court ordering the guardianship of ARB, a minor child, to terminate, holding that the district court did not err when it determined that exceptional circumstances…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of one count of felony strangulation of a household member and one count of misdemeanor domestic battery, holding that there was no…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the child support order requiring Father to pay post-majority support for his child, Zao, while Zao was attending college, holding that the district court abused its discretion when it ordered…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgments of the district court granting in part and denying in part Mother's fifth motion for order to show cause and finding Father in contempt of court upon…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendant Gerald James on his quiet title claim and granting both Defendants summary judgment on Plaintiffs' remaining claims,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of third-degree sexual assault and sentencing him to a sentence of five to eight years in prison, holding that there was no error in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting the Wyoming Department of Family Service's petition to terminate Father's and Mother's parental rights under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 14-2-309(a)(iii) and…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for attempted second-degree murder, felony property destruction, and other offenses, holding that the district court did not err when it denied Defendant's motion for…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of strangulation of a household member, holding that there was no error in the district court's evidentiary rulings. On appeal, Defendant argued, among other things,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of three counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor between the ages of thirteen and fifteen years, holding that the district court did not improperly instruct the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree murder, holding that the opinion testimony of a forensic pathologist did not materially prejudice Defendant's defense. On appeal, Defendant argued that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court entering an order requiring shared custody of a child between Mother and Father, holding that the district court erred. Father and Mother shared a child.…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from an order of the probate court authorizing the sale of two vehicles owned by Darren and Deidra Rowe after Darren shot and killed both Deidra and himself, holding that there was…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court striking a lien filed by Excel Concrete & Excavation, LLC against Douglas Schrier's Teton County property, holding that the expedited and limited proceeding…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the juvenile court adjudicating three minor children as neglected and the order changing the permanency plan for the adoption from reunification of the family to termination of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of two counts of aggravated assault and battery, holding that the district court abused its discretion in allowing the hearsay testimony…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting a preliminary injunction sought by Best Home Health & Hospice, LLC (Best Home) to prohibit three registered nurses (collectively, the Nurses) who…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the juvenile court's order changing the permanency plan for Mother and Father's four children from reunification to adoption, holding that the juvenile court did not abuse its discretion when…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court finding Defendant guilty of four counts of sexual abuse of a minor, holding that Defendant knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights and that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Father's petition for modification of alimony, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Father's request to modify…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's denial of Defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence and the issuance of a nunc pro tunc judgment conforming Defendant's written sentence to the court's oral…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court reversing in part and affirming in part the decision of the Wyoming Board of Medicine to suspend Dr. Rebecca Painter's medical license, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the juvenile court dismissing this juvenile case, holding that Mother's opening brief misstated the record and failed to comply with the Wyoming Rules of Appellate…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellants' motion to intervene in this wrongful death action, holding that heirs of the decedent cannot intervene in a wrongful death action brought…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's claims for negligent misrepresentation and intentional interference with a contract,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court denying Plaintiff's motion to amend and dismissing her survival action against Westview Health Care Center for injuries her…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's Wyo. R. App. P. 21 motion asserting that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance when he failed to raise a challenge under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court deciding that Plaintiffs failed to establish the elements required to establish an implied easement, holding that the district court did not err. Plaintiffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court awarding Father custody of the parties' minor child subject to Mother's visitation, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of attempted second-degree murder, holding that the overwhelming evidence of guilt precluded a conclusion that any alleged errors were prejudicial. On appeal, Defendant…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Father's petition to modify custody and support of the parties' children, holding that there was no due process violation or abuse of discretion. Two…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered in the affirmative a question certified to it by the United States Court of Appeals asking whether an insurance policy is "issued for delivery" or "delivered" under Wyo. Stat. Ann.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this eminent domain dispute, the Supreme Court reversed the first order of the district court allowing EME Wyoming, LLC access to approximately 52,000 acres of land located primarily in Goshen County and affirmed the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained at the end of a traffic stop, holding that the traffic stop was unlawfully extended after its initial…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court setting aside an investigative subpoena served by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Wyoming Office of Attorney General, holding that there was no error or…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court denying KA's unopposed petition for adoption of minor child under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 1-22-101 et seq., holding that the adoption statutes did not prohibit KA…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Father's Wyo. R. Crim. P. 60(b)(4) motion seeking relief from the district court's child custody and support order, holding that Rule 60(b)(4) could…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court terminating Mother's parental rights to Child, holding that the district court did not err or abuse its discretion. The Wyoming Department of Family Services…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting Defendants' motion to dismiss this legal malpractice complaint and to compel arbitration based on the arbitration provision in the parties' engagement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's sentence imposed in connection with his plea of guilty to escape, holding that the district court properly found that Defendant was not entitled to any credit in this…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Plaintiff on his complaint seeking reinstatement of his employment and damages for his wrongful…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce case, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court holding that Appellant's claim for recoupment was barred by res judicata, holding that the district court did not err. Under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal for want of jurisdiction, holding that no final order had been entered in this matter. The co-personal representatives of the Estate of Gale S. Iverson sued Cheri Eaton, Iverson's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of second-degree murder and aggravated assault, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress statements he made at the scene of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and dismissed part the judgment of the district court denying summary judgment in favor of the Wyoming State Hospital on Plaintiffs' claims asserting various claims of negligence under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court denying Plaintiff attorney fees and costs after dismissing this declaratory judgment action as moot, holding that the court erred in concluding that Plaintiff…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court remanded this criminal case to the district court sentencing Defendant for methamphetamine possession, holding that this Court could not reach the issue on appeal of whether the district court erred…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the orders of the district court denying Appellant's motions to correct an illegal sentence and to withdraw his guilty pleas, holding that the district court did not err. Appellant was serving…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for possession of a controlled substance, holding that the district court did not err in denying Defendant's motion to suppress under the Fourth Amendment to the United…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of first-degree sexual assault, holding that there was no error in the proceedings below but that remand was required for correction of a clerical error contained in the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court concluding that Defendant was eligible to petition for relief from the duty to register as a sex offender only if he had been registered for twenty-five…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in all respects the district court's findings, conclusions, and decree of divorce in the proceedings between Father and Mother, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court holding that BJ lacked standing bring his petition to establish paternity and dismissing the petition, holding that a man claiming to be the biological father…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court denying Defendant's motion to suppress evidence discovered after law enforcement entered Defendant's apartment without a warrant to arrest him after he failed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for aggravated animal cruelty and reckless endangering, holding that there was no error and that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions. Defendant's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court affirming the decision of the Board of Trustees of Laramie County School District Number Two (the Board) dismissing Appellant from his teaching contract with…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Defendant's conviction of being an accessory to both involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault and battery, holding that the district court erred when it refused to instruct the jury on…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Mother's motion to set aside entry of default and vacate default hearing and modifying the parties' decree of divorce to award Father primary custody…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of felony attempted interference with a peace officer and misdemeanor child endangerment, holding that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions. On appeal,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court modifying Father's child support obligation to Mother, holding that the court did not err by modifying Father's child support obligation without requiring Mother…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's Wyo. R. Crim. P. 35(b) motion for a sentence reduction, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion. Defendant pled…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce action, the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court establishing joint custody of the children and failing to require Father to pay Mother retroactive child support, temporary alimony,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court revoking Defendant's probation, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it concluded that Defendant willfully violated his probation…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the order of the juvenile court relieving the State of Wyoming's Department of Family Services (DFS) from its statutory responsibility to make reasonable efforts to reunify Father with Child,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the Laramie County Planning Commission denying Asphalt Specialities Co., Inc.'s (ASCI) site plan application for a hard rock quarry operation in Laramie County, holding that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the final judgments against Plaintiffs, Australian investors, who sued Gas Sensing Technology Corporation (GSTC), a Wyoming-based oil and gas service company, for payment of loans Plaintiffs…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting Defendant summary judgment and dismissing Plaintiff's legal malpractice claim, holding that collateral estoppel and in pari delicto barred Plaintiff's…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's convictions for three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor, holding that the district court did not commit prejudicial error in admitting evidence of prior bad acts under…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court declaring that Scott Smithson and Elena Morozova (the Smithsons) did not have the right to fish in the Little Laramie River, holding that a 1965 warranty deed…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed this appeal from the judgment of the district court accepting Defendant's plea of no contest to stalking but declining to enter a conviction on the plea, deferring the proceedings, and placing…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Plaintiff's pro se complaint filed under the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act alleging that the Wyoming Department of Corrections (WDOC) inmate…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this wrongful death action, holding that Defendants did not owe a common law duty to Tyler Burns, who was killed by a…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's motion to correct an illegal sentence, holding that Defendant's claim was barred by res judicata. Defendant pled guilty to two counts of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court granting summary judgment for Plaintiff on his claim to quiet title in his window wells that encroached on Defendant's property based on adverse possession,…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court in favor of Saratoga Inn Overlook Homeowners Association, Inc. (HOA2) on its claim for breach of fiduciary duty and awarding punitive damages, holding that…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction for first-degree sexual assault, holding that the State's delay in bringing charges against him did not violate due process and that the prosecutor's comments during…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant's conviction of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, TM, holding that the district court did not commit plain error by admitting evidence of TM's out-of-court statements about the…