North Dakota Supreme Court Decisions 2011
Date: December 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 242
Docket Number: 20110203
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Andrew and Ricky Mittleider appealed a district court's judgment entered on their conditional guilty pleas relating to to illegal hunting, taking (or attempting to take) possession of big game, and hunting in…
Date: December 20, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 241
Docket Number: 20110261
Date: December 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 240
Docket Number: 20110045
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellant Leah Richard appealed the dismissal of her claims for negligent hiring, supervision and retention, and assault and battery against Washburn Public Schools (the District). Petitioner, a…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 232
Docket Number: 20100416
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Veronica Trevino appealed a criminal judgment entered after she conditionally pled guilty to reckless driving. The trial court held that reckless driving is a strict liability offense and that…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 223
Docket Number: 20110014
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-Appellant Todd Dailey appealed a district court order denying his application for post-conviction relief. In 2005, Petitioner was convicted after a jury verdict found him guilty of manslaughter and of driving…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 229
Docket Number: 20110030
Justia Opinion Summary: JB Mineral Services, LLC (JB), appealed the grant of summary judgment declaring an oil and gas lease terminated and awarding statutory damages, costs, and attorney fees to Dahn P. Beaudoin and J. Willard Beaudoin, as…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 233
Docket Number: 20110047
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Dale Gress appealed a district court order that denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. In 2006, Defendant pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault, one count of burglary, two counts of…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 231
Docket Number: 20110067
Justia Opinion Summary: "J.T.N." appealed a district court order which found he remained a sexually dangerous individual and that denied his petition for discharge from the North Dakota State Hospital. On appeal to the Supreme Court, J.T.N.…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 227
Docket Number: 20110076
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-Appellant Ernest Coppage appealed an order dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. Petitioner argued the district court erred in dismissing his application and he was entitled to an evidentiary…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 238
Docket Number: 20110082
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Kari Ann Schmidt appealed a criminal judgment entered after a bench trial that found her guilty of criminal attempt to possess methamphetamine. Defendant raised the defense of entrapment. The court…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 239
Docket Number: 20110085
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1979, Plaintiffs-Appellees James and Betty Van Berkom executed a contract for deed for the purchase of certain real estate from Arlo and Garoldine Van Berkom, James Van Berkom's uncle and aunt. The contract for deed…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 228
Docket Number: 20110089
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Reginald Tweed appealed a district court's order that summarily dismissed his second application for post-conviction relief. Petitioner argued the district court erred in dismissing his application because the…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 230
Docket Number: 20110115
Justia Opinion Summary: Ransom County appealed a grant of summary judgment that awarded Plaintiffs-Appellees Tracy and Lisa Jund the $250,000 coverage limit of Ransom County's underinsured motorist coverage. The issue in this appeal involved…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 236
Docket Number: 20110123
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a district court order suppressing evidence discovered during a vehicle search following an alert by a drug detection dog. During routine patrol on December 17, 2010, a North Dakota Highway Patrol…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 234
Docket Number: 20110128
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Robert Doyle Jones Jr. appealed a district court order denying his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas. He was arrested in March 2011 and charged with three class A misdemeanors: interference with a…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 226
Docket Number: 20110162
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 235
Docket Number: 20110166
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-Appellant John Engstrom appealed a district court judgment affirming the administrative revocation of his driver's license for four years after his arrest for being in actual physical control of a vehicle…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 237
Docket Number: 20110185
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Daniel Humann appealed a district court order requiring sexual offender registration, arguing the district court's findings were insufficient. In 2008, Defendant was charged with possessing child…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 214
Docket Number: 20100230
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Darl Hehn appealed a district court order that denied his petition for release from civil commitment as a sexually dangerous individual. Petitioner argued on appeal that clear and convincing evidence did not…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 213
Docket Number: 20110010
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Dickey Joseph Cain appealed a district court's criminal judgment and finding of habitual offender status entered after a jury convicted him of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault. Defendant argued the…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 216
Docket Number: 20110015
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-Appellant Tim Sorenson appealed an amended judgment that awarded primary residential responsibility of his son to Respondent-Appellee Jana Slater, the child's mother. Sorenson and Slater, who were never…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 212
Docket Number: 20110023
Justia Opinion Summary: David Brian Warnke appealed a district court order that denied his motion to vacate a default divorce judgment from Joan Marie Warnke. On appeal, David Warnke argued the district court abused its discretion in denying…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 217
Docket Number: 20110038
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Michael Nakvinda appealed a criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of murder, robbery, burglary, and theft in connection with the death of Philip Gattuso, Jr., and the theft of Gattuso's…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 218
Docket Number: 20110080
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant John Wetzel appealed the revocation of his probation. In 2008, Defendant was convicted of two counts of terrorizing, one count of aggravated assault, one count of reckless endangerment, and one count of…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 219
Docket Number: 20110114
Justia Opinion Summary: Neil Bartelson and Diane Fischer appealed a district court order that concluded the court did not have jurisdiction to decide whether funds expended prior to the appointment of a guardian and conservator were…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 215
Docket Number: 20110142
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs John and Lori Finstad appealed a district court judgment which granted summary judgment in favor of Defendant Ransom-Sargent Water Users, Inc., n/k/a Southeast Water Users District, and its board members…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 211
Docket Number: 20110151
Date: October 20, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 206
Docket Number: 20110083
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Alvin Peterson appealed and the State Engineer, Todd Sando, cross-appealed a district court judgment affirming in part and reversing in part a State Engineer order that determined there was an unauthorized dam…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 202
Docket Number: 20100360
Justia Opinion Summary: Caryn Weber appealed two district court orders and a fourth amended divorce judgment. When Weber and Duane Sall divorced in 2003, Weber received custody of the parties' two minor children. The divorce judgment ordered…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 203
Docket Number: 20100377
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kyle Mackey appealed a district court order that amended his sentence and denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Defendant argued on appeal to the Supreme Court that the district court's original…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 197
Docket Number: 20100401
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Chase Wisness appealed the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Nodak Mutual Insurance Company (Nodak), finding its Farm and Ranch Excess Liability Policy did not provide coverage for his…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 198
Docket Numbers: 20100407, 20110027, 20110061
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 200
Docket Number: 20100410 - 20100412
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed three orders that dismissed several controlled substance-related charges against Defendant William Joseph Nickel. After receiving the Governor's approval of its request to engage in emergency…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 201
Docket Number: 20110088
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-Appellant Alman Wong appealed a district court order that denied his application for post-conviction relief. In August 2009, Wong pled guilty to gross sexual imposition and aggravated assault. After he entered…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 205
Docket Number: 20110113
Justia Opinion Summary: The Marcil Group, Inc. (TMGI), Michael J. Marcil, and Arthur S. Rosenberg appeal from a judgment awarding Alerus Financial, N.A., $2,520,383.07 based on guaranties they had given Alerus for a commercial real estate loan…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 204
Docket Number: 20110127
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Wanda Gottus appealed a district court judgment that affirmed a decision of Job Service North Dakota denying her unemployment benefits and concluding she was discharged for actions constituting misconduct. In…
Date: September 19, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 194
Docket Number: 20100385
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Claud Sloan appealed a district court judgment that affirmed a Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) order awarding him additional permanent impairment benefits. In December 1985, Sloan sustained a compensable…
Date: September 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 182
Docket Number: 20100289 & 20100326
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendants Timothy Deviley and Ryan Lee appealed the criminal judgments entered on their conditional guilty pleas for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and reserving the right to appeal the order denying…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 192
Docket Number: 20100334 - 20100337
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a district court order granting Defendant Michael Woodrow's motion to dismiss five counts of gross sexual imposition, class A felonies, based on a lack of jurisdiction. Because the Supreme Court…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 186
Docket Number: 20100389 & 20100390
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Johnathan Vondal appealed criminal judgments entered against him after a jury found him guilty of aggravated assault and continuous sexual abuse of a child. Defendant argued on appeal that it was obvious error…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 190
Docket Number: 20110012
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Ben Simons appealed a district court judgment that affirmed an order of the Department of Human Services which found that he had abused his two-year-old child and that services were required. Defendant and his…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 187
Docket Number: 20110018
Justia Opinion Summary: The City of Dickinson appealed a district court order that granted Defendant Lola Hewson's motion to suppress evidence obtained after a law enforcement officer stopped her vehicle. In August 2010, Rodney Hewson called…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 188
Docket Number: 20110024
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Toni Weeks appealed a district court judgment that affirmed a decision by Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) that reduced her disability benefits. Petitioner was injured at work after being exposed to…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 184
Docket Number: 20110025
Justia Opinion Summary: Benz Farm, LLP ("Benz") appealed a summary judgment dismissing its action against Cavendish Farms, Inc. ("Cavendish") for breach of contract and violation of the Unlawful Sales or Advertising Practices Act, and awarding…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 185
Docket Number: 20110039
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Lee Brandvold, Steve Bigelow, Dwight Johnson, Nikki Johansen, and Bruce Peterson (collectively "Brandvold") appealed a district court judgment dismissing their petition for declaratory and injunctive relief.…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 183
Docket Number: 20110087
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota certified a question to the Supreme Court on whether North Dakota applies the "apparent manufacturer" doctrine to N.D.C.C. ch. 28-01.3. Plaintiffs Ruth…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 191
Docket Number: 20110091
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Chadley Overlie appealed a district court order dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. In 2009, Overlie pled guilty to one count of violation of a domestic violence protection order--second or…
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 173
Docket Number: 20110112
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 176
Docket Number: 20110135
Date: September 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 189
Docket Number: 20110174-20110177
Justia Opinion Summary: R.G., father of A.L., appealed a juvenile court order confirming a judicial referee's decision to terminate his parental rights to four minor children. In 2003, R.G. was placed on criminal probation, and in March 2009,…
Date: September 7, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 172
Docket Number: 20100404
Justia Opinion Summary: Patricia Saltsman appealed a district court summary judgment and dismissal of her case against Ed Hasche. Saltsman argued the district court erroneously decided Hasche did not owe a duty toward Saltsman as a lawful…
Date: September 2, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 171
Docket Number: 20100347
Justia Opinion Summary: K & L Homes appealed a district court judgment based upon a jury verdict in favor of Neal Leno and Susan Leno ("the Lenos"). On appeal, K & L Homes argued: (1) the district court erred by deciding K & L Homes had not…
Date: August 26, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 170
Docket Number: 20100294
Justia Opinion Summary: Steve Wolt appealed from an order denying his motion to amend a divorce judgment. In January 2010, the juvenile court found the two oldest Wolt children deprived because of Steve Wolt's "intentional and systematic…
Date: August 23, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 169
Docket Number: 20100275 & 20100276
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondents-Appellants Mary Reichert, Jo Anne Dalhoff, and James Gassmann appealed a district court judgment that reformed the terms of their parents' revocable living trusts and determined that John T. Gassmann was to…
Date: August 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 168
Docket Number: 20100318 & 20100319
Justia Opinion Summary: Gerald Carlson appealed, and Gary Carlson cross-appealed, a district court judgment dissolving their farming and ranching partnership and settling their capital accounts in the partnership. The Supreme Court affirmed in…
Date: August 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 167
Docket Number: 20100388
Justia Opinion Summary: Karol Kelly appealed a judgment in a divorce action brought by Richard Kelly in which the district court granted her custody of the parties' minor child, restrained her from interfering with Richard Kelly's insurance…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 165
Docket Number: 20100292
Justia Opinion Summary: Respondent-Appellant Larry Rubey appealed a district court order committing him as a sexually dangerous individual. After a March 2010 preliminary hearing, the court found probable cause that Respondent was a sexually…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 162
Docket Number: 20100312
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Dennis Gaede appealed an order that denied his application for post-conviction relief. In 2006 a jury convicted Petitioner of murdering Timothy Wicks in Gardner, and the district court sentenced him to life…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 161
Docket Number: 20100315 - 20100317
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Randy Holkesvig appealed a judgment that dismissed his malicious prosecution action against Defendants Peter Welte, Meredith Larson, and Chris Smith, and awarded the defendants costs, disbursements, and…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 156
Docket Number: 20100339
Justia Opinion Summary: Aimee Martinson appealed an order upon remand that denied her additional attorney fees and costs in connection with her motions for a protective order and to modify the visitation provisions of a divorce judgment. Aimee…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 155
Docket Number: 20100364 & 20100365
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kyle Pederson appealed a district court order that denied his motion to suppress evidence. Defendant became a suspect in multiple armed robberies in the Grand Forks area. Police officers decided to arrest…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 157
Docket Number: 20100372 & 20100373
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Branden Clark appealed an order that denied his motion for correction of sentence. Defendant argued his sentences were illegal because they merged with his sentences in two other cases and his due process…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 158
Docket Number: 20100396
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Leverson appealed an order denying his motion to terminate or reduce his spousal support obligation to Karen Leverson. Upon review of the divorce court record and the applicable settlement agreement, the Supreme…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 159
Docket Number: 20100399
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Mark Paulson appealed an amended divorce judgment ordering him to pay spousal support to Defendant Cheryl Paulson. The parties began living together in 1987 and married in 1994. They separated in 2006, and Mark…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 163
Docket Number: 20110006
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Paul Smestad appealed an order that denied his application for post-conviction relief. In December 2003, Petitioner pled guilty in Burleigh County to one count of theft by deception and one count of forgery.…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 166
Docket Number: 20110020
Justia Opinion Summary: Julie Mees appealed a judgment granting Clint Miller primary residential responsibility of the parties' minor child. Ms. Mees argued on appeal that the court erred in basing its decision on Miller's affidavits, which…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 164
Docket Number: 20110036
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1996 the State sued Defendant Troy Wolff, seeking to establish his paternity and obtain a child support order after the mother and child began receiving public assistance. The court also established a child support…
Date: August 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 160
Docket Number: 20110050
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Loren David appealed a district court's judgment confirming an arbitration panel's award of damages to James Valley Grain, LLC. In July 2007, James Valley and Defendant contracted to sell James Valley…
Date: August 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 154
Docket Number: 20100211 & 20110016
Justia Opinion Summary: Brigham Oil and Gas, L.P. ("Brigham"), appealed a partial judgment that dismissed its action against Lario Oil & Gas Company ("Lario") and Murex Petroleum Corporation ("Murex") which sought oil and gas production…
Date: August 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 153
Docket Number: 20100391
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a district court order that granted Defendant Kevin Gefroh's motion to suppress evidence. Defendant was stopped for traffic violations. Officers had a drug-sniffing dog walk around the vehicle during…
Date: August 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 151
Docket Number: 20100348
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Adam Timothy Sommer appealed a criminal judgment entered on his conditional plea of guilty to three drug offenses. An informant told members of the Fargo Police Department Defendant was transporting marijuana…
Date: August 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 152
Docket Number: 20110092-20110095
Justia Opinion Summary: N.M. and M.M. appealed a juvenile court order terminating their parental rights to their four minor children, arguing that the juvenile court erred in finding two of the children, K.B. and P.M., were deprived. N.M. and…
Date: August 10, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 150
Docket Number: 20100277
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Linus Poitra appealed a default judgment entered by the district court regarding a lease between Plaintiff Darrel Gustafson as lessee and Leon and Linus Poitra as lessors. Linus Poitra argued the district court…
Date: July 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 148
Docket Number: 20110054
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Melvin Mertz appealed a district court order affirming the decision by the City of Elgin ("Elgin") that denied his application for a permit to build a fence on the edge of his property. Plaintiff argued Elgin's…
Date: July 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 147
Docket Number: 20100062 & 20100327
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Richard Starke appealed the district court's criminal judgment after a jury found him guilty of terrorizing and sentenced him to three years in prison with one year suspended. He also appealed the district…
Date: July 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 146
Docket Number: 20100295
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Calvin and Laurie Wahl ("the Wahls") appealed the district court's amended judgment entered after a jury found Defendants Northern Improvement Company and United Rentals Highway Technologies, Incorporated were…
Date: July 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 145
Docket Number: 20100260
Justia Opinion Summary: Julie Glass appealed a judgment changing primary residential responsibility of her three children from her to their father, Darin Glass. The parties lived together in Bismarck at the time of their divorce in 2005. Julie…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 139
Docket Number: 20100157
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Joshua Stroh appealed his conviction following a jury verdict that found him guilty of driving under the influence. Specifically, Defendant argued that the arresting officer had failed to ascertain a 20-minute…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 131
Docket Number: 20100170
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Ivan Aabrekke appealed a jury's verdict that found him guilty of gross sexual imposition and the denial of his motions for a new trial and for a judgment of acquittal. The State charged Defendant with gross…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 134
Docket Number: 20100264
Justia Opinion Summary: Gregory Krueger appealed a district court's order that denied his motion to enforce visitation along with the court's subsequent order that increased his child support obligation. Gregory and Deborah Krueger (now known…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 132
Docket Number: 20100309
Justia Opinion Summary: Dominique Smith appealed a district court judgment that granted Angie Martinez primary residential responsibility of the parties' child. Smith and Martinez have never been married to each other. They have one child,…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 141
Docket Number: 20100354 & 20110029
Justia Opinion Summary: In consolidated cases, Defendant Harlan Kleppe appealed from a criminal judgment entered on his conditional guilty plea to the charge of unlawfully hunting and shooting big game. Defendant William Dethloff appealed from…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 135
Docket Number: 20100375
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Maria Willits appealed the decision of the Job Service North Dakota ("Job Service") that denied her application for unemployment benefits after Job Service found she voluntarily left her employment without…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 140
Docket Number: 20100393-20100395
Justia Opinion Summary: Stephen and Jane Silbernagel appealed a judgment entered upon a motion by John M. and Tom Silbernagel to enforce a prior stipulated judgment in consolidated cases involving the estates of John P. Silbernagel and Marcella…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 144
Docket Number: 20100400
Justia Opinion Summary: Rose Morgan appealed a district court's judgment that denied the probate of Maxine Vestre's will after a jury found Maxine Vestre lacked testamentary capacity to make a will and that the will was the product of undue…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 136
Docket Number: 20100402
Justia Opinion Summary: Chad Crandall appealed and Heidi Crandall cross appealed a divorce judgment that distributed the parties' marital property, awarding Mr. Crandall primary residential responsibility for the parties' three minor children…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 142
Docket Number: 20100403
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a juvenile court order that adopted a judicial referee's decision that minor child D.J. was not required to register as a sexual offender. In March 2009, the State filed a petition in juvenile court,…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 138
Docket Number: 20110017
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Lee Vanlishout appealed from a district court judgment that affirmed the Department of Transportation's suspension of his driver's license for one year. Plaintiff was arrested for actual physical control of a…
Date: July 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 143
Docket Number: 20110051
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Garron Gonzalez appealed from a second amended criminal judgment and order that revoked his probation and re-sentenced him to twenty years' imprisonment each on two counts of gross sexual imposition, to run…
Date: June 28, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 127
Docket Number: 20100308
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Charles Blunt appealed a district court order that denied his motion for a new trial. He argued the court erred in denying his motion for a new trial because the State violated procedural discovery rules.…
Date: June 27, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 126
Docket Number: 20100281
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Kenneth Murchison appealed a district court order that summarily denied his application for post-conviction relief. Defendant was convicted of assaulting a correctional institution employee, and judgment was…
Date: June 24, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 124
Docket Number: 20100379
Justia Opinion Summary: The Department of Human Services appealed a judgment reversing the Department's calculations of Appellees David and Sarah Kaspari's monthly recipient liabilities for their nursing home costs. In 1996, the Kasparis…
Date: June 24, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 125
Docket Number: 20110096
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner David Allen Day sought a supervisory writ from the Supreme Court to direct the district court to vacate its order denying his motion to dismiss. In April 2010, Petitioner was charged by complaint with driving…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 113
Docket Number: 20100167
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellant Lesa Kensmoe appealed a district court order granting F/S Manufacturing a renewal by affidavit of its 1998 judgment against her. In 1998, F/S Manufacturing obtained a default judgment in the amount of…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 116
Docket Number: 20100218
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellee Salome Hinojosa appealed a jury verdict finding him guilty of delivering methamphetamine within one thousand feet of a university. The incident was alleged to have occurred in June 2009, in an…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 107
Docket Number: 20100225
Justia Opinion Summary: Ricky Becker appealed a divorce judgment that awarded his ex-wife Jill spousal support and established her child support obligation. Ricky and Jill Becker married in 1989 and had four children together. Mr. Becker is a…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 112
Docket Number: 20100278
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellant Richard Varriano appealed an order denying his motion to terminate his child support and spousal support obligations. Mr. Varriano and Defendant-Appellee Denise Varriano were divorced in 2001. A…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 114
Docket Number: 20100286
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed from a district court order dismissing a charge of gross sexual imposition against Defendant-Appellee Willie Midell. At the preliminary hearing, the complaining witness, S.D.W., testified on behalf of…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 118
Docket Number: 20100322
Justia Opinion Summary: C.S. appealed from a juvenile court's order that found his child T.S., a delinquent and unruly child for committing disorderly conduct. At the hearing, the State presented evidence about the two alleged acts of…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 120
Docket Number: 20100329
Justia Opinion Summary: B.T., the father of L.T., appealed the juvenile court's order that adopted a judicial referee's findings of fact and order committing L.T. to the care of the Division of Juvenile Services following his admissions to…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 119
Docket Number: 20100343
Justia Opinion Summary: R.A. appealed a juvenile court order that transferred its jurisdiction to the district court and the district court's order affirming the transfer. In March 2010, a delinquency petition and notice of intent to transfer…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 121
Docket Number: 20100356
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellant Kathleen Godon appealed the district court's judgment dismissing her complaint for breach of contract against the Defendant-Appellee Kindred Public School District. Plaintiff entered into a teaching…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 109
Docket Number: 20100358
Justia Opinion Summary: On April 7, 2010, officers entered Tucker Payne's residence under the authority of Mr. Payne's probation. The officers limited their search to the living room area and to Mr. Payne's bedroom, which he shared with his…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 122
Docket Number: 20100359
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs-Appellants Doug Zink and Ted Keller appealed a district court judgment that dismissed their complaint, denied their motions, and awarded Enzminger Steel attorney's fees and costs. Enzminger Steel contracted…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 108
Docket Number: 20100374
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Richard Landrum appealed a district court judgment affirming an order of Appellee Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) which denied him benefits. Appellant received pain management care sporadically for a…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 115
Docket Number: 20100381
Justia Opinion Summary: G.K.T. appealed the district court's judgment granting T.L.T.'s motion for summary judgment and dismissing his complaint against T.L.T. and T.K. for intentional infliction of emotional distress. T.M.T. was born in 1997…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 117
Docket Number: 20110008
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Lonnie Howard appealed a district court order denying his motion to withdraw his plea of guilty to delivery of methamphetamine. On two occasions, a confidential police informant bought methamphetamine…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 111
Docket Number: 20110066
Justia Opinion Summary: F.T. (the Father) appealed a district court judgment that granted the State's petition to involuntarily terminate F.T.'s parental rights. In September 2009, the State filed a petition to terminate F.T.'s parental rights,…
Date: May 20, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 95
Docket Number: 20100268
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1953, Standard Oil Company owned a refinery in Mandan, and the Northern Pacific Railway Company owned land between the refinery and the Heart River. Northern Pacific executed a written permit granting Standard Oil…
Date: May 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 94
Docket Number: 20100266
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff Richard Spratt appealed a district court summary judgment that dismissed his age discrimination claim against MDU Resources Group, Inc. ("MDU"). In 2001, Plaintiff was hired as the vice president of human…
Date: May 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 93
Docket Number: 20100330
Justia Opinion Summary: Claimant Cynthia Auck appealed the district court’s order that found Respondent Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) acted with substantial justification when it refused to pay her benefits on the death of her husband.…
Date: May 12, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 92
Docket Number: 20100232
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner Jonathan Kasowski appealed the revocation of his driving privileges by the North Dakota Department of Transportation (DOT) and the district court judgment affirming the revocation. Petitioner’s privileges were…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 91
Docket Number: 20100216
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Bruce Harris appealed a judgment that awarded Plaintiff Linda Smestad over $30,000 for loans she claimed she made to Harris during an eighteen-month business and personal relationship. Harris operated a…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 87
Docket Number: 20100280
Justia Opinion Summary: Duane Peterson, Mid Am Group, LLC, and Mid Am Group Realty (collectively “Mid Am”), Village Homes at Harwood Groves, LLC (Village Homes), and First International Bank and Trust (First International) all had a stake in…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 90
Docket Number: 20100297
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff-Appellant David Locken appealed a grant of summary judgment that dismissed his action to determine who owned a tract of land in Dickey County. In 1973, Mr. Locken purchased the tract. He put money down and…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 84
Docket Number: 20100310
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Ryan Zottnick violated a restraining order that prohibited contact with Katie Abt. The order specified, in bold print, “consent of [Abt] does not invalidate this order.” Evidence at trial showed he had sent…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 85
Docket Number: 20100323
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Shane Duncan appealed his sentence stemming from domestic violence charges. He argued that judgment should be reversed and that he should be acquitted because of prosecutorial misconduct. Defendant’s wife…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 86
Docket Number: 20100345
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Randall Peterson appealed the district court order that denied his motion for reconsideration of a judgment entered against him for credit card debt owed to Plaintiff-Appellee Citibank (South Dakota),…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 88
Docket Number: 20100355
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Billy Joe Kinsella appealed the jury verdict that found him guilty of sexual assault and the order that denied him a new trial. Defendant argued that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support…
Date: May 11, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 83
Docket Number: 20110002
Date: April 12, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 77
Docket Number: 20100263
Date: March 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 55
Docket Number: 20100189
Date: March 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 50
Docket Numbers: 20100197, 20100202
Date: March 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 65
Docket Number: 20100198
Date: March 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 48
Docket Numbers: 20100240, 20100241, 20100242
Date: March 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 54
Docket Number: 20100257
Date: March 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 43
Docket Number: 20100283
Date: February 18, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 39, 794 N.W.2d 746
Docket Number: 20100029
Date: February 14, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 38, 794 N.W.2d 741
Docket Number: 20100220
Date: February 11, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 37, 794 N.W.2d 733
Docket Number: 20100118
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 22, 794 N.W.2d 715
Docket Number: 20100064
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 20, 793 N.W.2d 765
Docket Number: 20100085
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 27, 794 N.W.2d 204
Docket Number: 20100095
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 21, 793 N.W.2d 460
Docket Number: 20100114
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 30, 793 N.W.2d 774
Docket Number: 20100121
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 25, 793 N.W.2d 778
Docket Number: 20100137
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 31, 794 N.W.2d 435
Docket Number: 20100149
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 28, 794 N.W.2d 448
Docket Number: 20100165
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 36, 793 N.W.2d 797
Docket Number: 20100254
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 33, 793 N.W.2d 799
Docket Number: 20100256
Date: February 8, 2011
Citation: 2011 ND 15
Docket Number: 20100287
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 34, 793 N.W.2d 804
Docket Number: 20100314
Date: February 8, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 32, 794 N.W.2d 454
Docket Number: 20100320
Date: January 12, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 7, 793 N.W.2d 371
Docket Number: 20100108
Date: January 12, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 11, 793 N.W.2d 185
Docket Numbers: 20100175, 20100176
Date: January 12, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 10, 793 N.W.2d 192
Docket Number: 20100246
Date: January 12, 2011
Citations: 2011 ND 8, 793 N.W.2d 196
Docket Numbers: 20100250, 20100251
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