Wyoming Supreme Court Decisions 2024

Justia Opinion Summary: James Corley, as the representative of his deceased son's beneficiaries, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wyoming Rents, LLC. His son had died in a work-related accident while operating a manlift rented from…

Justia Opinion Summary: Solomon Bolen was convicted of multiple offenses, including attempted second-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery. Bolen appealed, arguing that the district court violated his due process rights by not…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Katrina Danforth and Ryan Hansen, who share a child, SLD. Hansen filed a petition to terminate Danforth's parental rights to SLD, which Danforth answered pro se, requesting the appointment of a guardian…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Travis No'Mana Gonsalves, who was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor, third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, and sexual exploitation of children. The charges stemmed from an incident…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Gracie and Jeff Richardson, the legal guardians of their adult son, JMR, who suffers from severe developmental and intellectual disabilities. JMR requires full-time care and receives the highest…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a legal malpractice claim brought by Patricia Kappes against Diana Rhodes and Rhodes Law Firm, LLC. Kappes alleges that Rhodes' negligence resulted in the loss of a legal action against a defendant. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around a dispute between Sharon Ann Koch, a member of the Buffalo Trail Ranch subdivision, and Melissa R. Gray, who was purchasing a tract in the subdivision. Koch, along with other members and the…

Justia Opinion Summary: Forrest “Timber” Tuckness filed a quiet title action against the Town of Meeteetse, claiming adverse possession of Lot 5, a property adjacent to his own. Tuckness had been storing personal items on Lot 5 without…

Justia Opinion Summary: A group of residents from the Rafter J Ranch Subdivision in Teton County, Wyoming, appealed the Teton County Board of County Commissioners' approval of a petition by Stage Stop, Inc. to amend the Rafter J Planned Unit…

Justia Opinion Summary: Wesley de Sousa Soares, a Brazilian national and professional jiu jitsu fighter, was charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault. The charges stemmed from an encounter with a woman, KB, whom he met through an…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal, John Gustke (Father) contests a decision by the District Court of Natrona County, Wyoming, which partially denied several motions to set aside the forfeiture of a $100,000 surety bond. The bond was linked…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case in question concerns the termination of parental rights and involves Chelsey Marie Smith (the Mother) who appealed the decision of the district court granting the Wyoming Department of Family Services’ (the…

Justia Opinion Summary: An automobile accident in Idaho resulted in Emily Fairbanks receiving severe injuries while a passenger in a vehicle driven by Holly Galbraith. Fairbanks filed two lawsuits: one against the Idaho Transportation…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard by the Supreme Court of Wyoming, the appellant, Benjamin David Wilson, was charged with second-degree sexual abuse of a minor and third-degree sexual abuse of a minor, following allegations involving…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Wyoming heard an appeal by Rodger William Dillard, who contested the termination of his parental rights to his three minor children. Dillard had initially adopted his grandchildren…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case certified by the United States District Court for the District of Wyoming, the Supreme Court of Wyoming was tasked with two questions regarding the duty of care owed by law enforcement officers to suspects…

Justia Opinion Summary: During her employment as an administrative assistant, Judy Valencia suffered a right knee injury, which was covered by workers' compensation. Following the knee injury, she altered her gait and started experiencing pain…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute between the Teton County Assessor and Aspen S, LLC along with the Kelvin and Nancy Stirn Trusts. The landowners in Teton County contested the reclassification of their property from…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a mother appealing against a juvenile court's ruling that she neglected her infant son, AE. The infant was born prematurely and consistently underweight. Despite numerous hospitalizations and health…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Wyoming, a case involving minor children was brought forward by their parents, MK and JP-W, against the State of Wyoming. The parents challenged the juvenile court's decision to change the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Wyoming, Jerry Peterson brought a case against the Laramie City Council, alleging that the council violated the Wyoming Public Meetings Act by holding its meetings remotely during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the State of Wyoming, Jonathon Tyson Blair, representing himself, appealed the denial of his motion for sentence reduction by the District Court of Sweetwater County. Blair had been sentenced to a term of eight to ten…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around the defendant, Daniel A. Chace, who appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained through a search warrant executed after 10:00 p.m. The incident began when law enforcement…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed a lower court's decision, finding that David Spurlock's lawsuit to remove the Wyoming Trust Company as the trustee of the C.E. Spurlock Revocable Trust did not trigger the trust's…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of Wyoming, an appeal by Ronald Pinther, a former insurance agent, was dismissed. Pinther had worked for American National Property and Casualty Insurance Company (ANPAC) and American National…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Wyoming upheld the conviction of Charles Anthony "Tony" Santistevan for multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of voyeurism. The court found that the district court did not abuse its…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of Wyoming, State Representatives Rachel Rodriguez-Williams and Chip Neiman, and Right to Life of Wyoming, Inc., attempted to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the appellant, Bjay Nagel, who was employed as a caretaker by Sand Creek Country Club, broke his ankle while working. He had been drinking alcohol prior to the accident. The Wyoming Department of Workforce…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the City of Laramie, Wyoming, sued the University of Wyoming and its Board of Trustees, challenging the drilling and operation of certain water wells. The city argued that the university was in violation of…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case from the Supreme Court of Wyoming, LFP Consulting, LLC (LFP), a financial advisory company, sued former employee David Edward Leighton for breach of contract and various torts after his resignation. The key…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court, State of Wyoming, the Petitioners, Kenneth Carson and Anna Leigh Anderson, parents of two children living in a remote family ranch in Wyoming, sought to compel the Albany County…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Shaun T. Kobielusz appealed his convictions of three counts of voyeurism. Kobielusz contended that there was insufficient evidence of the element of “looking” for the jury to convict him of voyeurism, that…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Wyoming, Darrell R. Turcato and Robbin D. Wilkins (Appellants) and Jan Frady and Larry Turcato (Petitioners) were beneficiaries of two trusts created by their parents. The Appellants sought to appeal the district…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Leopoldo Alvarado, who sought to terminate his duty to register as a sex offender after having registered for at least ten years, pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 7-19-304 of the Wyoming Sex…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the Supreme Court of the State of Wyoming, the appellant, Rachel E. Bennett, appealed a district court decision that held her in contempt of court for failing to adhere to several provisions of a divorce decree. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the State of Wyoming, the Supreme Court examined a dispute between Tony R. Testolin, Tim Karlberg, and Thirty-One Bar Ranch Company about the use of an access easement. The defendants (Testolin and Karlberg) owned an…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Wyoming affirmed the lower court's decision to grant Mrs. Tokowitz the right to a spousal election against her late husband's will. The late Mr. Tokowitz had left his estate to a…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Wyoming, Remi Larsen was facing a misdemeanor charge for possession of a controlled substance. Larsen moved to suppress evidence obtained during a warrantless search of her apartment. The trial court granted Larsen's…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case heard by the Supreme Court of the State of Wyoming, the plaintiff, Scherri Hacker, made a conversion claim against Hacker Oil, Inc., which had paid premiums on a whole life insurance policy on her husband,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case before the Supreme Court of Wyoming, Todd Andrew Domenico and Josie Daniel, formerly married, were in a dispute over custody of their two children. The couple divorced in 2018, with the court awarding joint…