Montana Supreme Court Decisions 2016
Date: December 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 348
Docket Number: DA 15-0533
Justia Opinion Summary: In Montana’s ongoing water rights claims adjudication proceedings, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) filed six water right claims related to one natural pothole and five reservoirs. The water sources were located…
Date: December 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 350
Docket Number: DA 15-0805
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was two oral contracts entered into between Ryffel Family Partnership, Ltd. (Ryffel Partnership) and Alpine Construction (Alpine). The first agreement was entered into in January 2007, and the…
Date: December 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 349
Docket Number: DA 16-0103
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants attempted to execute judgments obtained against Robert Fitte in their respective underlying lawsuits by attaching the proceeds of a commercial liability policy issued to Fitte by joined party Mountain West…
Date: December 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 347
Docket Number: DA 16-0139
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case disagreed over the ownership and operation of an irrigation system on a ranch. Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendants, arguing that Defendants had converted his property by exercising…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 346
Docket Number: DA 15-0428
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony theft. Defendant was sentenced to ten years in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing, among several other arguments, that the prosecutor committed plain error requiring…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 344
Docket Number: DA 15-0510
Justia Opinion Summary: Charlotte Suzor injured her knees in a workplace accident in 1982 and settled her workers’ compensation claims in 1987 with her self-insured employer, reserving the right to seek future medical benefits for ongoing…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 340
Docket Number: DA 15-0791
Justia Opinion Summary: Child was adjudicated a youth in need of care. Temporary legal custody was granted to the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Child and Family Services Division, and Child was placed with Jared and Cindy…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 342
Docket Number: DA 16-0150
Justia Opinion Summary: Following a trial of the marriage dissolution proceeding between Wife and Husband, a standing master issued a report with a decree of dissolution. The master awarded Wife the family home, required Husband to pay Wife…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 345
Docket Number: DA 16-0162
Justia Opinion Summary: After the Cascade County Board of Commissioners terminated Stacey Bird from her position as the County’s human resources director, Bird filed a wrongful discharge claim against the County and the Board. The district…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 341
Docket Number: DA 16-0168
Justia Opinion Summary: This appeal was part of an ongoing parenting and child support proceeding that has been before the district court for more than a decade. Mother and Father had a child together. In 2014, Mother and Father entered into…
Date: December 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 343
Docket Number: DA 16-0181
Justia Opinion Summary: JEM Contracting, Inc. (JEM) and Ohio Farmers Insurance Company (OFIC) executed two indemnity agreements so that JEM could obtain bonding from OFIC for construction projects. Thereafter, OFIC executed and delivered two…
Date: December 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 335
Docket Number: DA 14-0636
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony obstructing justice. Defendant appealed, claiming (1) the district court improperly instructed the jury regarding the “knowing” element of obstructing justice, thus…
Date: December 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 332
Docket Number: DA 15-0478
Justia Opinion Summary: After the conclusion of a bench trial, Defendant was found guilty of aggravated driving under the influence with a breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.239. Defendant appealed to the district court and filed a motion…
Date: December 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 331
Docket Number: DA 15-0645
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with his fifth Partner Family Member Assault (PFMA) felony for conduct occurring in 2014. The State filed a notice to classify Defendant as a persistent felony offender (PFO) based on two previous…
Date: December 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 330
Docket Number: DA 16-0041
Justia Opinion Summary: J.W. was designated a delinquent youth and serious juvenile offender and placed on probation, subject to several conditions. On June 30, 2014, the Youth Court issued a disposition order revoking J.W.’s probation,…
Date: December 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 336
Docket Number: DA 16-0234
Justia Opinion Summary: 623 Partners, LLC obtained a judgment against R. Larry Hunter and Larry Hunter Development Co. (collectively Larry). In its effort to satisfy the judgment, 623 Partners alleged that properly originally owned by Hunter…
Date: December 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 333N
Docket Number: DA 16-0325
Date: December 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 325
Docket Number: DA 15-0582
Date: December 14, 2016
Citation: 2007 MT 334
Docket Number: AF 07-0157
Date: December 13, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 323
Docket Number: DA 14-0641
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony assault with a weapon. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in instructing the jury on the affirmative defense of justifiable force use of force.…
Date: December 13, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 325
Docket Number: DA 15-0582
Justia Opinion Summary: Two zoning actions were at issue in this proceeding - the “Text Amendment” and the “Map Amendment.” Citizens for a Better Flathead and Sharon DeMeester (collectively, Citizens) initiated this action challenging the Board…
Date: December 13, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 329
Docket Number: DA 15-0679
Justia Opinion Summary: The Yellowstone County Attorney’s Office filed a petition to involuntarily commit R.H., who suffers from bipolar disorder and general anxiety disorder. After a hearing, the district court found that R.H. suffered from a…
Date: December 13, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 322
Docket Number: DA 15-0797
Justia Opinion Summary: Less than one year after N.M.V. was born to Erin Verploegen, Dustin Cross and Verploegen began dating. Verploegen and N.M.V. later moved into Cross’s home. Cross and Verploegen broke up several years later, and…
Date: December 13, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 324
Docket Number: DA 16-0014
Justia Opinion Summary: S&P Brake Supply, Inc. and STEMCO LP entered into an alleged oral contract for a five-year arrangement to produce and sell remanufactured brakes. S&P later sued STEMCO for breach of contract, among other claims, arguing…
Date: December 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 317
Docket Number: DA 15-0167
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with two counts of theft and two counts of deceptive practices in the City Court of Red Lodge on March 26, 2014. The court ultimately set Defendant’s jury trial for October 31, 2014, nearly one…
Date: December 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 318
Docket Number: DA 15-0575
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with partner or family member assault (PFMA) for physically assaulting his girlfriend. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the PFMA charge, arguing that the statute under which he was charged…
Date: December 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 316
Docket Number: DA 16-0170
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute and criminal possession of dangerous drugs/opiates. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence found in his vehicle during a…
Date: December 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 321N
Docket Number: DA 16-0332
Date: November 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 308
Docket Number: DA 14-0071
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual intercourse without consent and sexual assault. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion for discovery sanctions, specifically…
Date: November 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 307
Docket Number: DA 15-0316
Justia Opinion Summary: The Dawson County Attorney petitioned for the involuntary commitment of C.V. alleging that, due to her mental disorder, she was unable to provide for her own basic needs of safety and there was an imminent threat of…
Date: November 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 305
Docket Number: DA 15-0371
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested and charged with felony criminal possession. The district court granted the State’s motion for a continuance and reset Defendant’s trial for a day 285 days after his arrest. Defendant filed a…
Date: November 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 306
Docket Number: DA 15-0498
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in violation of Mont. Code Ann. 61-8-401. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the results of a blood test taken at Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital, conceding…
Date: November 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 309
Docket Number: DA 16-0113
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court terminated Mother’s parental rights to one of her three children after holding a final parental rights termination hearing. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its…
Date: November 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 312N
Docket Number: DA 16-0191
Date: November 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 300
Docket Number: DA 15-0534
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of disorderly conduct in the Bozeman Municipal Court. Defendant was sentenced to pay a $100 fine and $135 in surcharges and fees. Defendant appealed his sentence to the district court, asserting…
Date: November 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 302
Docket Number: DA 16-0013
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were both insured by USAA Casualty Insurance Company under auto insurance policies that provided medical payments coverage. Plaintiffs filed a complaint against USAA arguing that USAA’s practice of sending…
Date: November 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 301
Docket Number: DA 16-0051
Justia Opinion Summary: J & C Moodie Properties, LLC hired Haynie Construction, owned by Kyle Haynie, as general constructor to construct a building for Moodie’s farm equipment dealership. Scottsdale insured Haynie under a policy that was in…
Date: November 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 299
Docket Number: DA 16-0085
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the district court entered a decree dissolving the marriage of John and Emily Brown. The decree incorporated by reference a separation agreement that provided a parenting plan and child support for the parties’…
Date: November 15, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 288
Docket Number: DA 15-0287
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the State charged Defendant with felony driving under the influence (DUI). The probable cause affidavit alleged that Defendant had three prior DUI convictions, one from North Dakota in 1988. Defendant filed a…
Date: November 15, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 290
Docket Number: DA 15-0705
Justia Opinion Summary: At dispute in this case was the existence and use of an easement along Turk Road, a private road that ran through multiple properties. All parties in this case owned property accessed via Turk Road, which passed through…
Date: November 15, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 292
Docket Number: DA 15-0716
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, three individuals, alleged that Appellees, a newspaper and its editor, published defamatory statements about the group concerning an incident at a rest area near Conrad, Montana. The district court ruled that…
Date: November 15, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 289
Docket Number: DA 15-0734
Justia Opinion Summary: Cory Patterson and Jesse Alma King each pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary. As part of his sentence, Patterson was ordered to pay, jointly and severally with King, $28,592 in restitution. Patterson challenged the…
Date: November 15, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 291
Docket Number: DA 16-0282
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Crawford was pulled over by Flathead Tribal Police Officer Casey Couture on the Flathead Reservation. Crawford was allowed to leave but was then informed that he was in violation of his parole because he did not…
Date: November 14, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 287
Docket Number: DA 16-0038
Justia Opinion Summary: This case related to circumstances surrounding a data entry error that resulted in a significant sum of money being deposited into the wrong bank account. Grizzly Security Armored Express (Grizzly Security) filed suit…
Date: November 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 284
Docket Number: DA 14-0753
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of criminal possession of dangerous drugs after police officer discovered Oxycodone residue on a spoon in Defendant’s possession. During trial, the court instructed the jury that Defendant could…
Date: November 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 283
Docket Number: DA 15-0732
Justia Opinion Summary: The Montana Department of Revenue (DOR) informed Alpine Aviation, Inc. that it would be centrally assessed pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. 15-23-101 and 15-6-145. The DOR denied Alpine’s request for reclassification. After…
Date: November 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 282
Docket Number: DA 16-0068
Justia Opinion Summary: After she was demoted from her position with the Montana Department of Transportation, Sheila Cozzie filed a grievance. Following a contested case proceeding, the hearing examiner recommended that Cozzie’s grievance be…
Date: November 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 285
Docket Number: DA 16-0097
Justia Opinion Summary: Peter Lee and three other passengers were injured in a single vehicle accident. The driver held an insurance policy issued by USAA Casualty Insurance Company and United States Automobile Association (collectively, USAA),…
Date: November 3, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 281
Docket Number: DA 16-0126
Date: November 3, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 281
Docket Number: DA 16-0126
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from Appellant’s objection to three water right claims owned by Granite County. Appellant objected to the County’s water right claims in proceedings before the Water Court, arguing that the 1906 decree in…
Date: November 1, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 280
Docket Number: DA 14-0299
Justia Opinion Summary: This in rem forfeiture proceeding brought under Mont. Code Ann. 44-12-201 (2013), et seq. arose from Mike Chilinski’s alleged use of real property to manufacture dangerous drugs. The proceeding was unconnected to a state…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 266
Docket Number: DA 15-0009
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of reckless driving and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle. Defendant appealed, arguing that the victim’s in-court identification was impermissibly suggestive and…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 268
Docket Number: DA 15-0577
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal endangerment. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in refusing to instruct the jury on negligent endangerment as a lesser included offense of…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 272
Docket Number: DA 15-0621
Justia Opinion Summary: Holly and Robert Labair filed a legal malpractice claim for Steve Carey and Carey Law Firm (collectively, Carey) related to Carey’s representation of them in a medical malpractice action. The district court granted…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 271
Docket Number: DA 15-0707
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of five felony charges stemming from his illegal baiting, killing, and transportation or assistance in illegal baiting, killing, and transportation of nine black bears. The district court imposed…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 270
Docket Number: DA 16-0023
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying claim in this case, which had been appealed on three previous occasions, concerned an exclusion in the State’s health benefit insurance plan, which allowed the State to coordinate benefits in violation of…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 267
Docket Number: DA 16-0050
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee filed an action against Missoula Electric Cooperative (MEC), asserting age discrimination in the hiring process. A Human Rights Bureau Investigator granted summary judgment for MEC, concluding that, as a matter…
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 274N
Docket Number: DA 16-0118
Date: October 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 269
Docket Number: DA 16-0226
Justia Opinion Summary: In a period of approximately three years, Masonry by Muller, Inc. (Masonry) and Flathead Bank entered into four promissory notes. William Muller signed the promissory notes individually and as president of Masonry and…
Date: October 18, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 261
Docket Number: DA 15-0479
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal production or manufacture of dangerous drugs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in instructing the jury on the…
Date: October 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 255
Docket Number: DA 15-0589
Justia Opinion Summary: Tina McColl filed a complaint against Michael Lang, N.D., a licensed naturopathic physician, after Lang used black salve to remove a blemish on Lang’s nose, which resulted in an infected third degree burn on McColl’s…
Date: October 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 256
Docket Number: DA 15-0696
Justia Opinion Summary: Citizens for a Better Flathead brought this lawsuit challenging Flathead County’s 2012 Revised Growth Policy, asserting that the Flathead County Planning Board and the County Commission violated Montana statutes, the…
Date: October 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 254
Docket Number: DA 16-0018
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants owned property adjacent to Whitefish Lake, which the City of Whitefish has annexed. In 2005, Appellants petitioned the City for annexation of the property, and their petition was granted. In 2010, Appellants…
Date: October 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 257
Docket Number: DA 16-0100
Justia Opinion Summary: James Raulston started a fire while cutting scrap metal on Bernice McPhillips’ property. The fire spread, burning several structures and a variety of equipment on Gabriel Pearson’s property. Pearson filed a complaint…
Date: October 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 Mt 253
Docket Number: DA 16-0143
Justia Opinion Summary: After John McClure’s death, his widow (Ellie) and his children (collectively, Siblings) embarked on contentious litigation regarding the McClure Family Trust. Ellie filed suit seeking to enforce an amendment to the…
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 252N
Docket Numbers: DA 13-0840, DA 15-0667
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 244
Docket Number: DA 14-0417
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not violate Defendant’s constitutional right to…
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 244
Docket Number: DA 14-0417
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not violate Defendant’s constitutional right to…
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 246
Docket Number: DA 14-0491
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of attempted sexual abuse of children (referred to as “attempted possession of child pornography”). Defendant appealed, arguing that there was insufficient…
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 243
Docket Number: DA 15-0127
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of threats and other improper influence in official matters, criminal trespass, and disorderly conduct. The Supreme Court affirmed the improper influence conviction and…
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 247
Docket Number: DA 15-0690
Justia Opinion Summary: Jason Talbot was seriously injured in Montana when he was struck by a vehicle driven by an employee of WMK-Davis, LLC. At the time of the accident, Talbot was employed by Cudd Pressure Control, Inc. Talbot, who was a…
Date: October 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 245
Docket Number: OP 16-0335
Justia Opinion Summary: After Lisa Warrington accepted an offer of employment with Great Falls Clinic (the Clinic), she signed a written employment contract. On Warrington’s last day at her former job, the Clinic informed her it would not…
Date: September 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 242
Docket Number: DA 15-0554
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned three retirement plans established by the Montana Legislature under the Montana Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). Plaintiffs, who elected to participate in the Defined Contribution Retirement…
Date: September 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 239
Docket Number: DA 15-0612
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter involved a challenge to the final order of the Montana Public Service Commission disallowing $1,419,427 in claimed excess electric regulation costs and adjusted energy efficiency savings calculations.…
Date: September 27, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 240
Docket Number: DA 15-0613
Justia Opinion Summary: Carbon County Resource Council and Northern Plains Resources Council (collectively, Resource Councils) challenged the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation’s (the Board) approval of well stimulation activities at an…
Date: September 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 231
Docket Number: DA 14-0674
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of six felony offenses of incest, sexual intercourse without consent, and sexual assault. During closing argument by Defendant’s attorney, an audience member interrupted and…
Date: September 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 237
Docket Number: DA 15-0261
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary, elder abuse, and failure to comply with licensing requirements. Defendant was sentenced to twenty-five years in prison for aggravated burglary, ten years in prison for…
Date: September 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 238
Docket Number: DA 15-0499
Justia Opinion Summary: David and Alana Folsom filed a complaint against Eagle’s Rest, LLC and the City of Livingston claiming breach of contract, negligence, unjust enrichment, and quantum meruit. After a jury trial, the district court entered…
Date: September 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 232
Docket Number: DA 15-0721
Justia Opinion Summary: Sean Melton purchased four parcels of property from Len Wallace. Lee Foss represented Wallace. The parties contractually agreed that Melton would pay Foss $112,000 in commission. Foss later filed suit against Melton for…
Date: September 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 230
Docket Number: DA 15-0502
Justia Opinion Summary: Jon Krakauer, a journalist and resident of Colorado, published a book chronicling instances of alleged sexual misconduct on or near the Missoula campus of the University of Montana. This case involved Krakauer’s request…
Date: September 13, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 229
Docket Number: DA 14-0813
Justia Opinion Summary: The Water Use Act permits certain groundwater appropriations to be exempt from the permitting process. An exception to one exemption is when a “combined appropriation” from the same source by two or more wells or springs…
Date: September 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 226
Docket Number: DA 14-0553
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of partner or family member assault, third or subsequent offense. Defendant appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion…
Date: September 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 220
Docket Number: DA 14-0684
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute with a persistent felony offender designation. Defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized in the search of his…
Date: September 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 219
Docket Number: DA 15-0278
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to felony theft for stealing a car. The threshold value for stolen property to support a charge of felony theft was $1,500. At a sentencing and restitution hearing, the district court imposed…
Date: September 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 218
Docket Number: DA 15-0605
Justia Opinion Summary: Junkermeir, Clark, Campanella, Stevens, P.C. (Junkermeir) was a Montana accounting firm with offices in several Montana cities. Junkermeir lost its Bozeman branch office after the majority of its Bozeman shareholders…
Date: September 6, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 225N
Docket Number: DA 15-0760
Date: August 30, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 216
Docket Number: DA 14-0770
Justia Opinion Summary: In September 2013, Defendant was arrested for possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia and was jailed for more than ten months while he awaited testing results from the State Crime Lab. Trial was finally held at the…
Date: August 30, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 215
Docket Number: DA 15-0448
Justia Opinion Summary: Chris Wagner sued MSE Technology Applications, Inc. and related MSE entities (collectively, the MSE entities) and Butte Local Development Corporation (BLDC), alleging that they had improperly interfered with his attempt…
Date: August 24, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 214
Docket Number: DA 14-0696
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of felony incest against his minor child, T.W. Prior to trial, the State obtained T.W.’s medical records but failed to disclose the medical records to the defense. After the trial, Defendant…
Date: August 23, 2016
Docket Number: DA 14-0053
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with seven sex offenses and one offense of tampering with evidence. Less than one week before trial, Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, contending that several motions…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 207
Docket Number: DA 14-0676
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged by information with numerous sex offenses. Defendant filed a motion to change venue based on the amount of pretrial publicity surrounding the case. The district court denied the motion. The court…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 213
Docket Number: DA 15-0141
Justia Opinion Summary: A.M.M.’s two children - Timothy McCann and Genet McCann (together, Appellants) - appealed from three groups of orders entered by the district court during actions it took to oversee the guardianship and conservatorship…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 206
Docket Number: DA 15-0569
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was given a citation for violating Mont. Code Ann. 61-6-301(4), which prohibits operating a motor vehicle without liability insurance. At a bench trial before the justice court, Defendant’s attorney moved to…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 201
Docket Number: DA 15-0583
Justia Opinion Summary: In Tidyman’s I, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s finding that National Union Fire Insurance breached its duty to defend its insured, David and Maxwell. The Court, however, reversed the district court’s…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 204
Docket Number: DA 15-0600
Justia Opinion Summary: The Macks and the Andersons owned adjacent properties. When the Macks discovered that a dam existed on the Mack Ditch, which crossed the Andersons’ property to the Mack property, that diverted water to a pond on the…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 203
Docket Number: DA 15-0769
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Health and Human Services filed a petition to terminate Father’s parental rights to his two minor children, a girl and a boy. After a termination hearing at which Father failed to appear, the district…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 202
Docket Number: DA 15-0799
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. The district court affirmed Defendant’s conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Defendant was not denied his right to a…
Date: August 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 205
Docket Number: DA 16-0015
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Mandell and Bayliss Ward and Bayliss Architects, P.C. (Bayliss) agreed that Bayliss would provide architectural and construction services for Mandell’s home. Mandell refused to pay Bayliss’s final invoice, and…
Date: August 18, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 200
Docket Number: OP 16-0453
Justia Opinion Summary: Initiative No. 181 (I-181) proposed to enact the “Montana Biomedical Research Authority Act.” The Secretary of State determined that sufficient signatures had been submitted to qualify I-181 for the November 8, 2016…
Date: August 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 195
Docket Number: DA 15-0391
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with escape in Powell County. The State later stipulated that venue was proper in Yellowstone County. The Powell County District Court subsequently granted the State’s motion to dismiss the escape…
Date: August 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 198N
Docket Number: DA 15-0513
Date: August 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 196
Docket Number: DA 15-0529
Justia Opinion Summary: When David Goldan began working as an independent contractor insurance agent for Farmers Insurance Exchange, Farmers and Goldan entered into an Agency Appointment Agreement defining the parties’ rights and obligations.…
Date: August 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 194
Docket Number: DA 15-0639
Justia Opinion Summary: After a hearing at which all parties were represented by counsel, the district court terminated Mother’s parental rights to her two children and granted Stepmother’s petition for adoption. The Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: August 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 197
Docket Number: DA 16-0035
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of attempted deliberate homicide, three counts of felony criminal mischief, and six counts of misdemeanor criminal mischief. After unsuccessfully seeking…
Date: August 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 189
Docket Number: DA 15-0393
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Appellant pled guilty to robbery. Since then, the district court revoked Appellant’s sentence three times. The third petition to revoke was filed in 2015. Appellant moved to dismiss the petition on the grounds…
Date: August 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 189
Docket Number: DA 15-0393
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Appellant pled guilty to robbery. Since then, the district court revoked Appellant’s sentence three times. The latest revocation occurred in 2015. Appellant appealed, asserting that the district court erred in…
Date: August 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 190
Docket Number: DA 15-0727
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Mother and Father divorced. In 2015, Father made a second attempt to modify his child support obligation for the two children he had with Mother. After a hearing, the district court stayed Father’s child support…
Date: August 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 188
Docket Number: DA 15-0796
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, Paul Kurth, who never married or had children, died at the age of eighty-two. In 2013, Sinda and Marty Puryer, Kurth’s niece and her husband, petitioned to probate a document entitled “Instructions and Last Will…
Date: August 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 183
Docket Number: DA 15-0375
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Missoula filed a complaint to condemn, pursuant to Montana’s law of eminent domain, the water system that provided potable water to the residents of the City. The water system was owned and operated by…
Date: August 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 184
Docket Number: DA 15-0618
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the Bozeman City Commission adopted the Nondiscrimination Ordinance 1890, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender expression by landlords, providers of public accommodations,…
Date: August 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 185
Docket Number: DA 15-0662
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with thirty-five counts of violating an order of protection. Defendant moved to dismiss thirty-four of the thirty-five counts on the grounds that the offenses were a continuing course of…
Date: July 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 177
Docket Number: DA 15-0040
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs, endangering the welfare of children, and incest for giving methamphetamine to his daughter, S.K., allowing her to ingest…
Date: July 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 178
Docket Number: DA 15-0072
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to an amended charge of criminal endangerment for having sexual intercourse with A.C., a fourteen-year-old, which resulted in A.C. becoming pregnant and giving birth to twins. The district court…
Date: July 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 179
Docket Number: DA 15-0786
Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute involved multiple water right holders on the mainstream of the Teton River in Teton and Chouteau Counties. Teton Prairie owned property upstream from Appellees’ properties. Appellees held water rights for…
Date: July 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 180
Docket Number: DA 16-0010
Justia Opinion Summary: Kenneth Woody died after the vehicle in which he was a passenger crashed following a high-speed chase by a Big Horn County Sheriff’s deputy. The Estate submitted a claim letter to the County seeking $750,000 for wrongful…
Date: July 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 174
Docket Number: DA 14-0749
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the Lincoln County Attorney’s office filed a second petition alleging that C.C. suffered from a mental disorder and required commitment. After an adjudicatory hearing, the district court committed C.C. to the…
Date: July 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 175
Docket Number: DA 15-0441
Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Reinlasoder, the former chief of police for the City of Colstrip, sued Colstrip for wrongful discharge. In its defense, Colstrip contended that it had fired Reinlasoder for good cause. The jury returned a verdict…
Date: July 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 173
Docket Number: DA 15-0528
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, a large boulder dislodged from a hillside and fell into J. Russell Parker’s unoccupied vacation cabin, causing substantial damage. Parker submitted a claim to his insurer, Safeco Insurance Company. Safeco denied…
Date: July 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 176
Docket Number: DA 15-0748
Justia Opinion Summary: Matt Wagenman and Tammy Wagenman filed a pro se joint petition for dissolution to dissolve their marriage and divide up their property and debt. In their petition, the parties stated that their real property should be…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 168
Docket Number: DA 14-0365
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with aggravated kidnapping, burglary, intimidation and escape. During the ensuing jury trial, Defendant appeared wearing a security leg brace. Defendant requested that the sheriff’s deputies remove…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 163
Docket Number: DA 15-0053
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to felony burglary. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained pursuant to a search warrant and erred in denying his motion to…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 164
Docket Number: DA 15-0559
Justia Opinion Summary: Z, the twelve-year-old son of Mother and Father, was born in 2003 when the parents were unmarried and in high school. In 2007, the parents filed a stipulated first amended parenting plan providing that Z would reside…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 167
Docket Number: DA 15-0641
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs and Defendants owned real property on a peninsula in Echo Lake. Defendants owned a parcel on the southern end of the peninsula, through which the sole vehicular road granting access to the northern lots owned…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 166
Docket Number: DA 15-0688
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Defendants owned adjoining properties. Defendants’ property held an easement that ran through Plaintiff’s land. When Defendants began to build a road on their easement to access their property, Plaintiff…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 165
Docket Number: DA 15-0722
Justia Opinion Summary: When Chrysler Group, LLC filed with the Montana Department of Justice, Motor Vehicle Division a notice of intent to establish an additional Chrysler-Jeep dealership in Billings, Lithia Motors, Inc. filed an…
Date: July 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 169
Docket Number: DA 16-0021
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered a no-contest plea to felony incest and, in 2004, received a twenty-year suspended sentence. Appellant later pleaded guilty to two counts of felony sexual assault and, in 2007, was sentenced to twenty…
Date: July 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 161N
Docket Number: DA 15-0712
Date: June 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 157
Docket Number: DA 14-0307
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated assault, criminal endangerment, and assault on a minor. Defendant was sentenced to thirty-five years in the Montana State Prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that…
Date: June 28, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 156
Docket Number: DA 15-0643
Justia Opinion Summary: In two separate proceedings, the district court adjudicated A.S. and A.M., the biological children of Mother and Father, as youths in need of care. The district court subsequently filed a petition for termination of…
Date: June 21, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 152
Docket Number: DA 15-0352
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1990, Gregg and her four-year-old son, Aaron, moved into Hanson’s home. They moved out in 1992. After they broke up, Gregg became concerned about Aaron's nightmares and anger, bed-wetting, locking the door when he…
Date: June 21, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 154
Docket Number: DA 15-0504
Justia Opinion Summary: Stephanie filed for dissolution of her four-year marriage with John in 2002. Following a November 2003 dissolution hearing, the court approved a stipulated Final Parenting Plan and Property Settlement Agreement, under…
Date: June 21, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 153
Docket Number: DA 15-0564
Justia Opinion Summary: At 1:37 a.m., Haddad reported to Missoula 911 that he was driving on Hillview when a black Acura 2.0 CL with gold badging pulled out in front of him; that the driver was swerving; that he could not describe the driver…
Date: June 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 151
Docket Number: DA 15-0156
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count each of sexual intercourse without consent, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of children. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court abused its…
Date: June 14, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 145
Docket Number: DA 15-0576
Justia Opinion Summary: The Water Court is adjudicating the existing water right claims of all appropriators in the Teton River Basin and issued a temporary preliminary decree for Basin 41O. Eldorado, which distributes water to shareholders…
Date: June 14, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 146
Docket Number: DA 15-0695
Justia Opinion Summary: Zabrocki began receiving Teachers Retirement System (TRS) retirement benefits in 2007. In 2012 TRS notified Zabrocki that he did not qualify for those benefits and was liable to reimburse TRS for the amounts it paid.…
Date: June 8, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 143
Docket Number: DA 15-0246
Justia Opinion Summary: Maggie Petaja was terminated from her position with Lewis and Clark County when she was age fifty-nine. After unsuccessfully pursuing relief on the administrative level, Petaja, a member of a collective bargaining unit…
Date: June 7, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 137
Docket Number: DA 14-0777
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition to involuntarily commit S.H. based upon a psychiatrist’s recommendation. The district court appointed counsel to represent S.H. After a hearing on the petition, the district court ordered S.H.…
Date: June 7, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 137
Docket Number: DA 14-0777
Justia Opinion Summary: S.H. appealed a court order committing her to the Montana State Hospital. In late 2014, S.H. sought help from the emergency department at the Billings Clinic. S.H. complained she was suffering from food poisoning, that…
Date: June 7, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 138
Docket Number: DA 15-0254
Justia Opinion Summary: Jeffry Weber appealed after a jury convicted him of felony theft. Weber was a janitor at Sidney High School. A Thermal Dynamics Cutmaster 82 plasma cutter, a tool used to cut metal and steel, went missing from the high…
Date: June 7, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 136
Docket Number: DA 15-0469
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants (“the Silvertip Landowners”) were a group of private landowners in Carbon County who initiated a petition to establish a “Part 1” zoning district pursuant to 76-2-101, MCA, et seq. Appellees were the Board of…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 126
Docket Number: DA 14-0825
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, plaintiffs Robert Nelson and Kelli Tyrrell, as Special Administrator of the Estate of Brent Tyrrell (Brent), pled violations of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), for injuries allegedly…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 126
Docket Number: DA 14-0825
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated appeals, plaintiffs Robert Nelson and Kelli Tyrrell (Tyrrell), as Special Administrator of the Estate of Brent Tyrrell, pled violations of the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) for injuries…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 127
Docket Number: DA 15-0349
Justia Opinion Summary: O.F. Mossberg & Sons, Inc., and Burns Auction & Appraisal, LLC (collectively “Mossberg”), appealed a District Court order granting Luke and Stephanie Keuffers’ motion to disqualify Mossberg’s counsel. The District Court…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 129
Docket Number: DA 15-0373
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed an order granting Daniel Colvin's motion to dismiss. In 2014, the State charged Colvin by information with attempted deliberate homicide in the September 4, 2014 shooting of Michael Aja. At the time of…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 128
Docket Number: DA 15-0551
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Brunette appealed an order denying his petition for reinstatement of his driver’s license. Brunette argued the arresting officer lacked probable cause for a stop of his vehicle, and therefore the ensuing…
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 131N
Docket Number: DA 15-0736
Date: May 31, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 130
Docket Number: DA 15-0782
Justia Opinion Summary: Anne Hislop appealed the denial of a motion to dismiss an aggravated DUI charge. In 2007, Hislop’s license was suspended because she declined to submit to the preliminary alcohol screening test after being arrested for…
Date: May 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 125N
Docket Number: DA 15-0330
Date: May 24, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 121
Docket Number: DA 15-0458
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose out of claims asserted by multiple people against Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, now known as Caring for Montanans, Inc. (CFM) and Montana Comprehensive Health Association (MCHA). The claimants…
Date: May 24, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 119
Docket Number: DA 15-0580
Justia Opinion Summary: The Denturist Association of Montana (Association), on behalf of denturist Carl Brisendine, filed suit against the Board of Dentistry, challenging the validity of A.R.M. 24.138.2302(1)(j) (Rule J), the latest in a long…
Date: May 24, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 120
Docket Number: DA 15-0637
Justia Opinion Summary: Ray Ramberg appealed the dismissal of his motion to modify the parenting plan regarding his child (“C.M.R.”) with Amber Massey, and the denial of his motion to change venue from Toole to Hill County. Ramberg and Massey…
Date: May 17, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 112N
Docket Number: DA 15-0236
Date: May 17, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 115
Docket Number: DA 15-0241
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs (the Friedmans) purchased a professional archery retail sporting goods business owned by Aaron and Constance Lasco. The Lascos entered a covenant not to compete with the Friedmans that was incorporated into…
Date: May 17, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 114
Docket Number: DA 15-0503
Justia Opinion Summary: Pacific Steel & Recycling entered into a contract with Emineth Custom Homes to build four duplex apartment units. The contract specified that Pacific would advance a $474,625 down payment to Emineth upon execution of the…
Date: May 17, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 113
Docket Number: DA 15-0574
Justia Opinion Summary: In the underlying litigation, the Estate of Ronny Groff filed suit against Jake Weitzel alleging that Weitzel wrongful absconded with Ronny’s property and assets, causing economic loss to the Estate. Weitzel tendered…
Date: May 11, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 111
Docket Number: DA 15-0205
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Ibsen, Inc., the owner and operator of the Urgent Care Plus medical clinic in Helena, purchased health insurance coverage for its employees from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana (BCBSMT) through a Chamber of…
Date: May 10, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 102
Docket Number: DA 14-0525
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of driving under the influence, second offense. Defendant appealed, demanding a trial de novo. Defendant also filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that his constitutional…
Date: May 10, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 104
Docket Number: DA 15-0213
Date: May 10, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 104
Docket Number: DA 15-0213
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Montana voters passed Legislative Referendum 121 (LR 121). The referendum denied certain state services to “illegal aliens.” Before the law went into effect, Montana Immigrant Justice Alliance (MIJA) filed a…
Date: May 10, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 103
Docket Number: DA 15-0400
Justia Opinion Summary: After Plaintiff’s employment with Butte-Silver Bow County was terminated, Plaintiff filed a complaint against the County alleging several counts. The district court granted summary judgment to the County on most of…
Date: May 10, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 105
Docket Number: DA 15-0526
Justia Opinion Summary: Property owners (Petitioners) appealed the Department of Revenue’s valuation of their residential lot for the tax year 2012. The Flathead County Tax Appeal Board (County Board) reduced the value of the land and the value…
Date: May 4, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 101
Docket Number: DA 15-0108
Justia Opinion Summary: Sometime after loan servicing duties on Robin and Kathleen Jacobsens’ loan was transferred to Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, Bayview initiated foreclosure proceedings. The Jacobsens filed this action to enjoin the sale of…
Date: May 3, 2016
Citations: 2016 MT 46, 2016 MT 46A
Docket Number: DA 14-0478
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wayne S. Hansen Trust acquired tax deeds to three tracts of real property previously owned by Douglas Johnson. The Trust filed three quiet title actions for the respective properties. Johnson responded by filing his…
Date: May 3, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 98
Docket Number: DA 15-0354
Justia Opinion Summary: Roger and Carrie Peters and Daggin’ Y Cattle Company (collectively, Peters) filed a complaint against Junkermier, Clark, Campanella, Stevens, P.C. and Larry Addink (collectively, Junkermeir) alleging multiple counts…
Date: April 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 96
Docket Number: DA 14-0207
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of criminal possession. The district court sentenced him as a persistent felony offender to a term of twenty years, with ten of those years suspended. The Supreme Court…
Date: April 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 94
Docket Number: DA 15-0034
Justia Opinion Summary: This case was the second segment of Water Court Case 41O-129. Case 41O-129A was limited to the issues involving the use of the Bateman Ditch. Here, the Supreme Court reviewed the parties’ appeals of the Water Court’s…
Date: April 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 95
Docket Number: DA 15-0543
Justia Opinion Summary: Jerry Ray filed suit against Martin Connell alleging defamation. Defendant sought punitive damages, general damages based on a lost real estate commission, damages for tortious interference with business interests, and…
Date: April 20, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 93
Docket Number: DA 15-0542
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father, who never lived together, had a child together. After the child’s birth, Father filed a petition for establishment of an interim parenting plan and then a petition for an “emergency de facto” parenting…
Date: April 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 91
Docket Number: DA 15-0429
Justia Opinion Summary: Jerry and Karen Slack hired Jeffrey Fisher and his construction company, Fisher Builders, to build a remodeled home. During the project, the deck collapsed, and the Slacks’ construction permit was revoked. The Slacks…
Date: April 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 86
Docket Number: DA 15-0410
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs worked within the Child Support Enforcement Division of the Department of Public Health and Human Services and constituted the majority of Compliance Specialists, Pay Band 6, employed by the State. Plaintiffs,…
Date: April 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 90
Docket Number: DA 15-0464
Justia Opinion Summary: For more than a century, Asarco LLC and its predecessors operated a lead smelting facility (the Site). For almost fifty years, Atlantic Richfield Company’s predecessor operated a zinc fuming plant on land leased from…
Date: April 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 80
Docket Number: DA 15-0252
Justia Opinion Summary: Julia Fenwick and the State, Department of Military Affairs and Emergency Services Division (Department) executed a Severance Agreement whereby the Department agreed to lay off Fenwick, as opposed to discharging her, in…
Date: April 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 81
Docket Number: DA 15-0524
Justia Opinion Summary: When Child was just over a year old, Mother executed a power of attorney in favor of Appellant to allow her to care for Child. Mother later recovered physical custody of Child and moved with Child and her new husband to…
Date: March 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 77
Docket Number: DA 14-0529
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties to this appeal were Gene Curry, Cheryl Curry, and Curry Cattle Co. (collectively, Curry) and Pondera County Canal & Reservoir Company (Pondera). Both Curry and Pondera owned rights to divert waters from Birch…
Date: March 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 78
Docket Number: DA 15-0139
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was seriously injured while working for Employer. Plaintiff’s injury was caused by the use of her personal vehicle. Plaintiff was able to recover benefits under her auto insurance policy but also sought…
Date: March 29, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 73
Docket Number: DA 15-0549
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Public Health and Human Services filed a petition to terminate Father’s parental rights to K.B. Father opposed his termination but did not argue that he should be given custody of K.B. After a…
Date: March 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 69
Docket Number: DA 14-0584
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony murder, aggravated assault, and related charges. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction for aggravated assault because it was an included offense of the charge of…
Date: March 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 66
Docket Number: DA 14-0815
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of deliberate homicide and related felonies and misdemeanors. Appellant was sentenced to life imprisonment for the deliberate homicide conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions on…
Date: March 22, 2016
Docket Number: DA 15-0077
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a severe alcoholic, consented to his initial commitment to the Montana State Hospital. When Appellant’s commitment was extended, he was transferred to the Montana Mental Health Nursing Care Center. A…
Date: March 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 68
Docket Number: DA 15-0356
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother took Child, who was only a few weeks old at the time, shoplifting at a department store. The shoplifting turned into a robbery. Thereafter, the district court granted the petition of the Department of…
Date: March 22, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 67
Docket Number: DA 15-0538
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with one count of arson, a felony. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded no contest to arson. Defendant subsequently filed a motion to withdraw his no contest plea, asserting that the…
Date: March 15, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 63
Docket Number: DA 14-0511
Justia Opinion Summary: Three defendants (jointly, Appellants) were convicted in municipal court of various traffic violations, including driving with a suspended license. The district court affirmed the convictions. Appellants appealed…
Date: March 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 62
Docket Number: DA 15-0263
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants (collectively, the Teisingers) claimed a 3/5ths royalty interest in oil, gas, and minerals located on several sections of land in Richland County. The Teisingers’ assert that their 3/5ths royalty interest was…
Date: March 8, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 61
Docket Number: DA 14-0747
Justia Opinion Summary: Roy Volk and Pamela Dee Volk had a son, RBV, in the fall of 2000. In 2011, the marriage was dissolved. At the time of the divorce, Roy owned two term life insurance policies. While a statutorily-mandated temporary…
Date: March 8, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 51
Docket Number: DA 15-0381
Justia Opinion Summary: The marriage of Creed Evans and Dava Bliss was dissolved in 2015. The day before the parties were married, they signed an antenuptial agreement providing that all property held by individually by a party before and…
Date: March 8, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 52
Docket Number: DA 15-0619
Justia Opinion Summary: When Daughter was two years old, Mother and Father dissolved their marriage. The district court approved a stipulated parenting plan entered into by the parties providing that Daughter would split her time equally…
Date: March 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 50
Docket Number: DA 15-0301
Justia Opinion Summary: Facing more than $40,000 in unsecured debt that she owed to Discover Bank and other banks, Susan Ossello enrolled in a debt reduction program and signed a contract with Global Client Solutions. Ossello subsequently…
Date: March 1, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 48
Docket Number: DA 14-0255
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of incest, sexual assault, and sexual intercourse without consent against a child age sixteen or younger, sexual intercourse without consent against a child age twelve or…
Date: March 1, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 46
Docket Number: DA 14-0478
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wayne S. Hansen Trust acquired tax deeds to three tracts of real property located in Powell County, which were previously owned by Douglas Johnson. The Trust filed three quiet title actions for the respective…
Date: March 1, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 47
Docket Number: DA 15-0328
Justia Opinion Summary: The dispute in this case centered on the ownership of subsurface mineral rights to coal-rich land located in Musselshell County. Plaintiffs filed this action against Musselshell County to quiet title to the property. The…
Date: March 1, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 45
Docket Number: DA 15-0392
Justia Opinion Summary: Fellows filed the underlying complaint challenging the Water Commissioner’s administration of water under the Perry v. Beattie decree. The district court dismissed Fellows’s complaint for failure to state a claim. The…
Date: February 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 44
Docket Number: DA 15-0055
Date: February 25, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 44
Docket Number: DA 15-0055
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court granted a permanent injunction against the enforcement of certain provisions of the 2011 Montana Marijuana Act. The State appealed the grant of the injunction, and Plaintiffs cross-appealed the…
Date: February 23, 2016
Docket Number: DA 14-0181
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of incest, sexual intercourse without consent, and sexual assault. The district court sentenced Defendant to terms of imprisonment on each of the convictions. The Supreme Court…
Date: February 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 42
Docket Number: DA 15-0403
Justia Opinion Summary: After a warranted search of Defendant’s home, law enforcement officers seized sixty-seven live marijuana plants and numerous miscellaneous paraphernalia. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence seized during the search…
Date: February 23, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 43
Docket Number: DA 15-0530
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2001, Kurt Heigis executed and a notary notarized a quitclaim deed purportedly conveying certain real property to Frances Emmert. Heigis personally delivered the deed to Emmert at her home and told her not to record…
Date: February 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 33
Docket Number: DA 15-0177
Justia Opinion Summary: JAS, Inc. purchased certain property at a trustee’s sale. JAS later filed a quiet title action, naming several defendants, including Mortgage Electronic Systems, Inc. (MERS), Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., and OneWest…
Date: February 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 34
Docket Number: DA 15-0361
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sought disclosure of a settlement agreement entered into by a Cascade County detention officer, Cascade County, and the officer’s collective bargaining unit (the Union). The only barrier to disclosure of the…
Date: February 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 35
Docket Number: DA 15-0368
Justia Opinion Summary: J.H. was the minor child of Mother and Father. The district court granted the petition of the Department of Public Health and Human Service for temporary legal custody of J.H. The Department later filed a permanency plan…
Date: February 16, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 40N
Docket Number: DA 15-0491
Date: February 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 30
Docket Number: DA 14-0544
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of criminal possession of dangerous drugs. Defendant was sentenced to five years in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motions…
Date: February 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 28
Docket Number: DA 15-0345
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff initiated this action against Defendant alleging that Defendant defrauded her out of $100,000. Plaintiff alleged claims of unjust enrichment, constructive trust, and fraud. The district court ultimately granted…
Date: February 9, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 29
Docket Number: DA 15-0420
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, the Department of Public Health and Human Services, Child Support Enforcement Division (CSED) entered an order requiring Samuel Shelhamer to pay Tamara Hodges $74 per month in child support. In 2014, CSED…
Date: February 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 27
Docket Number: DA 15-0160
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) filed a petition seeking emergency protective authority, adjudication of Father’s three minor children as youth in need of care, and temporary legal…
Date: February 2, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 25
Docket Number: DA 15-0305
Justia Opinion Summary: This was the third of three lawsuits arising from the development of condominiums at Lakeside Village on Hauser Lake in Lewis and Clark County. Cherrad, LLC (Cherrad) was the project’s developer and Mountain West Bank…
Date: January 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 21
Docket Number: DA 14-0596
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged by information with driving under the influence of alcohol fourth or subsequent offense (DUI). The information provided that Defendant had been convicted of DUI on three previous occasions,…
Date: January 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 22
Docket Number: DA 15-0218
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother were the biological parents of three minor children. Mother and Grandfather filed a joint petition for termination of Father’s parental rights and for Grandfather to adopt the children. When Father…
Date: January 26, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 20
Docket Number: DA 15-0472
Justia Opinion Summary: Morgen Farm and Ranch, Inc., which owned surface rights to certain property, leased oil and gas rights on a portion of its property to a corporation. The corporation later assigned its interest in the lease to Interstate…
Date: January 19, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 14
Docket Number: DA 13-0856
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent. The victim was four years old at the time of the offenses. Defendant was sentenced to 100 years in prison and was not eligible for…
Date: January 14, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 13N
Docket Number: DA 15-0337
Date: January 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 6
Docket Number: DA 14-0278
Justia Opinion Summary: Keller Transport, Inc. leased a tanker truck from Wagner Enterprises, LLC to transport gasoline. The truck’s trailer overturned and spilled 6,380 gallons of gasoline, which flooded several homeowners’ properties. Keller…
Date: January 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 8
Docket Number: DA 14-0551
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant in Ravalli County with felony theft by common scheme for double-cashing seven paychecks issued by an employment agency located in Ravalli County. The paychecks were issued for Defendant’s work…
Date: January 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 10
Docket Number: DA 15-0123
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was involved in a vehicle collision with Defendant. Defendant admitted that she was negligent, and Plaintiff filed suit for damages. After a trial, the jury returned a verdict for Plaintiff. The district court…
Date: January 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 9
Docket Number: DA 15-0208
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, the Montana Environmental Information Center (MEIC) filed suit challenging the decision of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to approve the expansion of Golden Sunlight Mines, Inc.’s (GSM)…
Date: January 12, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 7
Docket Number: DA 15-0353
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife filed a petition for dissolution of her marriage to Husband. After a bench trial, the district court entered written findings of fact, conclusions of law, and decree of dissolution, ordering that certain properties…
Date: January 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 1
Docket Number: DA 13-0623
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of seven counts of attempted deliberate homicide. The district court sentenced Defendant to serve a life term in prison on each count and declared him ineligible for parole.…
Date: January 5, 2016
Citation: 2016 MT 2
Docket Number: DA 15-0386
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the district court adjudicated Mother’s two minor children youths in need of care. In 2015, the district court terminated Mother’s parental rights, concluding that Mother’s conduct or condition rendering her…
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