Idaho Supreme Court - Civil Decisions 2022
Date: December 14, 2022
Docket Number: 48335
Justia Opinion Summary: This issue this appeal raised for the Idaho Supreme Court's review centered on the proper legal standards for assessing discovery sanctions against trial counsel, and for proving the character of property during divorce…
Date: December 8, 2022
Docket Number: 49173
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2019, an Idaho district court granted Respondents Matthew and Bonnie Latvalas’ claim for a prescriptive easement over a road known as “South Camp Bay Road” to reach their property located on the shores of Lake Pend…
Date: December 7, 2022
Docket Number: 48978
Justia Opinion Summary: Wade Chapman (“Wade”) and his six siblings (“Siblings”) were the children of Wilford (“Bill”) Chapman. Bill had a life insurance policy for $7,000,000 that named the Chapman Family Multiple Power Liquidity Trust…
Date: November 25, 2022
Docket Number: 48810
Justia Opinion Summary: Deborah Dorr requested to reopen an unemployment appeal hearing that was to address Dorr’s appeal of the Idaho Department of Labor’s (“IDOL”) decision denying Dorr’s request to backdate her Pandemic Unemployment…
Date: November 3, 2022
Docket Number: 49067
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from an Idaho district court decision affirming a declaratory ruling issued by Respondent Dave Jeppesen (the Director) in his capacity as Director of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (the…
Date: November 3, 2022
Docket Number: 49777
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother Jane Doe appealed a magistrate court's judgment granting a petition to terminate her parental rights to her two minor children, Jane Doe I and John Doe I (the children). The magistrate court determined that Mother…
Date: November 2, 2022
Docket Number: 48926
Justia Opinion Summary: Nathaniel Sheehan lost his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. He applied for and began receiving unemployment benefits. This appeal arose out of the Idaho Department of Labor’s (“IDOL”) later determination that Sheehan…
Date: November 1, 2022
Docket Number: 48853
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Fulfer, while making a delivery, exited his truck and stepped down into a nine-inch-deep pothole, resulting in serious personal injuries. He was working for Ruan Logistics Corporation (“RLC”), which was contracted…
Date: October 31, 2022
Docket Number: 48363
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this case presented for the Idaho Supreme Court's review centered on the scope of a statutory ditch right-of-way, whether a prescriptive easement could be obtained for overspray from an irrigation pivot, and…
Date: October 31, 2022
Docket Number: 48785
Justia Opinion Summary: Neurosurgeon Donald Blaskiewicz, M.D. went to work for the Spine Institute of Idaho (the “Spine Institute” or the “Institute”) in 2018. The Spine Institute entered into a Professional Services Agreement (the PSA) with…
Date: October 27, 2022
Docket Number: 48636
Justia Opinion Summary: Karen and Keith Hood owned real property in Washington County, near Cambridge, Idaho. The Hoods’ property was near property owned by Gayle and Paul Poorman and Rusty Anderson. The Hoods’ property had three decreed…
Date: October 21, 2022
Docket Number: 48381
Justia Opinion Summary: Donald and Marjorie Woodfin married in 1997. At the time, Donald had two adult children, Kathleen (Kathy) Gestner and Ray Woodfin, and Marjorie had two adult children, Julie Divine and Colleen Shiras. Donald and Marjorie…
Date: October 19, 2022
Docket Number: 49243
Justia Opinion Summary: A dispute over attorney fees arose from the probate proceedings of Eric Milo Hirning’s estate. Appellants challenged the district court’s affirmance of the magistrate court’s decision to allow the personal…
Date: October 18, 2022
Docket Number: 49320
Justia Opinion Summary: Erin Carver alleged that her ex-husband, William Hornish, consented to the marriage of their 16-year-old daughter (“Daughter”) in order to legally emancipate her and circumvent custody provisions in the parties’ divorce…
Date: October 18, 2022
Docket Number: 49666
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal concerned a divorced parent’s decision to unilaterally relocate her child across international borders without: (1) prior notice to the other parent; or (2) leave of the court. Carla Gray appealed an Idaho…
Date: October 3, 2022
Docket Number: 48224
Justia Opinion Summary: Desiree Horton served Andrew Horton with an Amended Complaint for Divorce in December of 2016. On June 15, 2017, in lieu of a trial, Desiree and Andrew entered into an oral stipulation on the record specifying how their…
Date: September 26, 2022
Docket Number: 47506
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Luck, as legal guardian and conservator for Ethel Luck, appealed a district court’s dismissal of Ethel’s negligence claim against Sarah Rohel for injuries Ethel sustained in a car accident. On March 13, 2019,…
Date: September 26, 2022
Docket Number: 48591
Justia Opinion Summary: Brandon and Brandi Kelly married on April 20, 2015, and had a child on June 9, 2015. Brandon filed for divorce on May 30, 2017. This appeal primarily concerned their disputes regarding the division of property and…
Date: September 19, 2022
Docket Number: 49529
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this appeal was a question of the due process rights of an unwed biological father who had established a relationship with his two-month-old child through frequent visits before the child’s maternal…
Date: September 19, 2022
Docket Number: 49570
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from an Idaho Industrial Commission (“Commission”) order deeming Agar Livestock, LLC (“Agar”), a category one statutory employer of Jason Eldridge under Idaho’s Worker’s Compensation Act. Agar appealed…
Date: September 16, 2022
Docket Number: 48353
Justia Opinion Summary: Access Behavioral Health appeals from the district court’s judgment upholding an order of the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare that demanded recoupment of Medicaid payments made to Access. The Department sought to…
Date: September 16, 2022
Docket Number: 49233
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2017, Dennis and Linda Nelson, the maternal grandparents of C.E., S.E., and A.E., filed a petition at magistrate court relying on Idaho Code section 32-719 to establish visitation rights after Stephanie and Brian…
Date: September 9, 2022
Docket Number: 48790
Justia Opinion Summary: In October 1998, Andrea and Brad Hall, together with Linda and Frank Exler, purchased real property in Roberts, Idaho. The Halls owned a two-thirds interest in the property and the Exlers owned one-third. In September…
Date: September 2, 2022
Docket Number: 48359
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal involved a dispute over the division of a personal injury settlement between a predecessor law firm, a successor law firm, and a client who was subjected to unfair and deceptive trade practices. Litster Frost…
Date: August 31, 2022
Docket Number: 48457
Justia Opinion Summary: After receiving reminder notices by mail, the insureds failed to pay a renewal premium for a rented home by the due date. Fourteen days after payment was due, the insureds mailed a check to the insurance company for the…
Date: August 30, 2022
Docket Number: 48492
Justia Opinion Summary: Jana Mortensen sought treatment from Dr. Jeffrey Baker at The Healing Sanctuary, LLC, after a hysterectomy failed to resolve symptoms for ongoing pelvic pain. Mortensen alleged Dr. Baker prescribed Mortensen a 14-day…
Date: August 24, 2022
Docket Number: 49356
Justia Opinion Summary: The Idaho Board of Pharmacy (“Board”) filed an administrative complaint against pharmacist Cindy Chambers, alleging that she dispensed a controlled substance without a valid prescription. Chambers prevailed before the…
Date: August 23, 2022
Docket Number: 48567
Justia Opinion Summary: Gerald Neeser, in his capacity as trustee of the Gerald E. Neeser Revocable Living Trust (Neeser), owned two adjacent parcels of land, Lots 3 and 4, on the south shore of Spirit Lake in Kootenai County, Idaho. Inland…
Date: August 22, 2022
Docket Numbers: 48489, 48703
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew Ashmore, agent for appellant Breckenridge Property Fund 2016, LLC, (“Breckenridge”) arrived at a foreclosure sale with endorsed checks to support Breckenridge’s bid. Jesse Thomas, agent for Cornerstone Properties,…
Date: August 22, 2022
Docket Number: 48538
Justia Opinion Summary: Olive Fountain Land Company, LLC (“Olive Fountain”), and Greenfield Family Trust (“Greenfield Trust”), owned neighboring properties along Lake Coeur d’Alene in Kootenai County, Idaho. Olive Fountain had permission to…
Date: August 22, 2022
Docket Number: 48731
Justia Opinion Summary: Canyon County employed William Hartman as a heavy equipment operator at the Pickles Butte landfill in Nampa, Idaho, from 2012 until 2017. In February 2017, Hartman reported to Canyon County’s Human Resources Office that…
Date: August 12, 2022
Docket Numbers: 49615, 49817, 49899
Justia Opinion Summary: The Idaho Supreme Court held a hearing on August 3, 2022 to address specific procedural matters. The only issues in dispute were whether the Court should stay the enforcement of Idaho Code section 18-622(2) (“Total…
Date: August 9, 2022
Docket Number: 48558
Justia Opinion Summary: The Jefferson County, Idaho Board of Commissioners (“the County”) granted Appellant Tina Gilgen a conditional use permit that allowed her to place a mobile home on real property she owned with her husband, Kelly Gilgen.…
Date: August 2, 2022
Docket Number: 49375
Justia Opinion Summary: John Doe (Father) appealed a magistrate court’s decision to terminate his parental rights to his three children: John Doe I (age 12), Jane Doe (age 11), and John Doe II (age 7). The children and their biological mother…
Date: July 8, 2022
Docket Number: 48720
Justia Opinion Summary: Black Diamond Compost, LLC (“Black Diamond”), filed a “Claim of Ownership” with the Ada County, Idaho Recorder’s Office to notify the public of its ownership of compost and humus located on real property in Ada County.…
Date: July 6, 2022
Docket Number: 48701
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from an action in which the personal representative of the Estate of Victoria Smith (the “Personal Representative”) sought to eject Riverside Farms, LLC, (“Riverside”) from its real property, referred…
Date: July 1, 2022
Docket Number: 48980
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from conflicting interpretations of the statutory provisions that govern the Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho (“PERSI”) and the administration of employer contributions to the Firefighters’…
Date: June 30, 2022
Docket Number: 48418
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2017, Appellant Shoshone County assessed properties owned by Respondents S&W OPS, LLC; POWDER, LLC; H2O, LLC; GOLF, LLC; APARTMENT, LLC; F&B, LLC; and VILLAGE MANAGEMENT, LLC (collectively “Taxpayers”). Taxpayers…
Date: June 29, 2022
Docket Number: 48722
Justia Opinion Summary: Patricia Allen appealed the Idaho Industrial Commission’s (the “Commission”) decision denying unemployment benefits. Allen was employed by Partners in Healthcare, Inc., doing business as North Canyon Medical Center…
Date: June 29, 2022
Docket Number: 49372
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal arose from the dismissal of a stepfather’s petition for custody and support of a child filed three years after the stepfather and mother divorced. The stepfather based his petition on the underlying divorce…
Date: June 2, 2022
Docket Number: 48338
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-appellant Melvin Savage was convicted of first-degree arson. He filed a post-conviction petition alleging his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him of his right against self-incrimination…
Date: May 18, 2022
Docket Number: 47652
Justia Opinion Summary: S Bar Ranch owned approximately 3000 acres of land in rural Elmore County, Idaho. S Bar purchased the land in 2015. There were very few structures on S Bar’s property, save for an airplane hangar that included a…
Date: May 18, 2022
Docket Number: 48568
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Sharp suffered an injury to his lower back from an accident at work in 2015. After surgery, he was repeatedly advised to lose weight by the medical providers treating his injury. However, Sharp gained considerable…
Date: May 18, 2022
Docket Number: 48769
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal centered around the Idaho Department of Water Resources' (“IDWR”) denial of Application 83160, brought by Jeffrey and Chana Duffin (“Duffin”), to transfer the licensed ground water right 35-7667 to a…
Date: May 3, 2022
Docket Number: 48773
Justia Opinion Summary: Miguel and Janice Aizpitarte sued their neighbors Michael and Laura Minear to quiet title to what they contended was an established easement for an access driveway, and sought a declaratory judgment to recognize their…
Date: April 29, 2022
Docket Number: 49171
Justia Opinion Summary: After a 21-year career as a firefighter with the City of Pocatello, Richard Nelson was diagnosed with leukemia. Nelson brought a workers’ compensation claim against the City. The Industrial Commission determined that the…
Date: April 19, 2022
Docket Number: 47950
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal stemmed from a family dispute concerning ownership interests in Nelsen Farms, LLC (“LLC”). The LLC, as originally established, included equal ownership for two of the Nelsen’s sons, Jack S. and Jonathan.…
Date: April 6, 2022
Docket Number: 49072
Justia Opinion Summary: Lisa and Mark Weaver married in 2016, and had one minor child, A.W., born January 2017. In November 2020, The parties agreed between themselves to split physical custody of A.W. on a roughly 60/40 basis, with Mark having…
Date: March 24, 2022
Docket Number: 48687
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue this appeal presented for the Idaho Supreme Court's review concerned whether a prescriptive easement existed on a road accessing property owned by Shelley and Roger Cook near the Bingham and Bonneville County…
Date: March 15, 2022
Docket Number: 48220
Justia Opinion Summary: Curt and Dara Von Lossberg filed this suit against the State of Idaho and the Idaho State Police after their son, Bryan Von Lossberg, ended his life with an unlawfully purchased handgun. The Von Lossbergs alleged that…
Date: March 15, 2022
Docket Number: 48601
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2017, Ronald Van Hook was declared a vexatious litigant pursuant to Idaho Court Administrative Rule 59; this declaration was upheld by he Idaho Supreme Court. In 2021, “on behalf of his minor son” G.V.H., Van Hook…
Date: March 9, 2022
Docket Number: 48195
Justia Opinion Summary: The case arose when four Micron Technology, Inc. employees filed a class action complaint against Micron in 2019, asserting violations of the Idaho Wage Claim Act. At the time, Micron had in place a compensation plan…
Date: March 9, 2022
Docket Number: 48512
Justia Opinion Summary: The issue in this appeal concerned a dispute among stepsiblings over the remnant of their parents’ estates, which consisted of approximately 26 acres of real property in Canyon County, Idaho. Alva and Thelma Garrett…
Date: March 3, 2022
Docket Number: 48654
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of a dispute over provisions in a written contract for sewer drainage and treatment services between Groveland Water and Sewer District (“GWSD”) and the City of Blackfoot (“the City”). Individuals…
Date: March 2, 2022
Docket Number: 48042
Justia Opinion Summary: Stephan Byrd and Erika Mullins jointly filed an application for an encroachment permit with the Idaho Department of Lands to add boat lifts to their existing two-family dock on Priest Lake. Neighbors Cal Larson and…
Date: March 1, 2022
Docket Number: 47835
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher and Debra James appealed a district court order granting summary judgment in favor of the Idaho State Tax Commission (“Tax Commission”), reversing the decision of the Board of Tax Appeals (“BTA”). The…
Date: March 1, 2022
Docket Numbers: 49261, 49267, 49295, 49353
Date: February 25, 2022
Docket Number: 48289
Justia Opinion Summary: While incarcerated in the Ada County jail, Appellant Tom Williamson fell from the upper bunk bed during a request that he stand for roll call. Williamson suffered a head injury and sued Respondents Ada County and the Ada…
Date: February 11, 2022
Docket Number: 49351
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from a petition asserting the Idaho Commission for Reapportionment (“the Commission”) violated Idaho Code section 72-1506 when it adopted Plan C03, the congressional reapportionment plan, following the…
Date: February 3, 2022
Docket Number: 48997
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father married in 2016. In May 2020, Child was born in Utah County, Utah. Following Child’s birth, Mother and Father lived in Utah with Child until July 21, 2020, when Mother and Child relocated to Rigby,…
Date: February 1, 2022
Docket Number: 48379
Justia Opinion Summary: Erick Pena filed a declaratory action against Viking Insurance Company of Wisconsin (“Viking”), alleging the automobile insurance policy he purchased was illegal because it provided illusory minimum limits of UIM…
Date: January 27, 2022
Docket Numbers: 49261, 49267, 49295, 49353
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of multiple petitions challenging the constitutionality of Plan L03, the legislative redistricting plan adopted by the Idaho Commission for Reapportionment (“the Commission”) following the 2020…
Date: January 6, 2022
Docket Number: 48380
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert, David, and Troy Taylor were partners in a commercial fire prevention business based in Alaska. Troy later formed his own business that directly competed with the partnership. In January 2015, Robert, David, and…
Date: January 5, 2022
Docket Number: 48419
Justia Opinion Summary: Taleetha Fuentes filed a worker's compensation complaint against her employer Cavco Industries and Cavco’s surety, Sentry Casualty Company (collectively, Defendants). Fuentes filed her complaint in July 2019, and the…
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