North Dakota Supreme Court Decisions 2017
Date: December 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 291
Docket Number: 20170195
Justia Opinion Summary: Timothy Betz appealed a district court order under N.D. Sup. Ct. Admin. R. 58, prohibiting him from filing any new litigation or documents in existing litigation without first obtaining leave of court. In 1994, the…
Date: December 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 290
Docket Number: 20170249
Justia Opinion Summary: Cody Michael Atkins appealed a district court's order summarily dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. In 2015, Atkins plead guilty to gross sexual imposition and was sentenced to 20 years with the North…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 285
Docket Number: 20170032
Justia Opinion Summary: Mary Ann Vig, as personal representative of the Estate of Junietta Swenson, appealed the dismissal of the Estate’s action against Willis Swenson. The Estate argued that Junietta Swenson lacked capacity to execute a July…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 283
Docket Number: 20170043
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Truelove appeals from a criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of gross sexual imposition ("GSI"), terrorizing, interfering with a telephone during an emergency call, and aggravated assault.…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 284
Docket Number: 20170086
Justia Opinion Summary: Black Hills Trucking, Inc. appealed a judgment affirming a North Dakota Industrial Commission order assessing a $950,000 civil penalty and costs and expenses against it for illegally dumping saltwater on roads in…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 287
Docket Number: 20170092
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert and Teryl Gannaway filed a complaint in 2015 against Nadir Torres, Terra Nova Developments, LLC ("Terra Nova"), William and Karen Schneider, and any other encumbrancers of their property. The Gannaways sought to…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 286
Docket Number: 20170135
Justia Opinion Summary: David and Virginia Ceynar appealed summary judgment that dismissed their breach of contract/covenant and nuisance action against Lonnie Barth and The Ridge at Hawktree Homeowners' Association. The Ceynars and Barth were…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 282
Docket Number: 20170154
Justia Opinion Summary: Anoulak Thornsavan appealed an order denying his motion to suppress and from the civil judgment forfeiting $127,930 to North Dakota. n July 2015, Officer Mason Ware pulled over Thornsavan, along with his passenger,…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 288
Docket Number: 20170254
Justia Opinion Summary: Dawn Osborne appealed a district court's order granting Brown & Saenger, Inc.'s motion to dismiss for improper venue. In 2011, Brown hired Osborne as a sales representative in its Fargo office to sell office supplies to…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 289
Docket Numbers: 20170272, 20170273
Justia Opinion Summary: R.W.D. appealed a juvenile court order terminating his parental rights to his two children, K.S.D. and J.S.D. After a review of the juvenile court record, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded clear and convincing…
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 281
Docket Numbers: 20170363, 20170364, 20170365
Date: December 4, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 272
Docket Number: 20170369
Date: November 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 271
Docket Number: 20170026
Justia Opinion Summary: Ronald Rogers, Jr., appealed a judgment denying his application for post-conviction relief and orders denying his post-hearing motions to amend the findings of fact and for a new trial. Rogers conditionally pled guilty…
Date: November 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 267
Docket Number: 20170122
Justia Opinion Summary: Traill Rural Water District ("TRWD") appealed a judgment that granted damages for overdue rent to Daniel and Marlene Motter ("the Motters"). In 2006 Melba Motter, through her estate's conservator Alerus Financial, leased…
Date: November 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 270
Docket Number: 20170146
Justia Opinion Summary: The North Dakota Department of Human Services appealed a district court judgment reversing the Department's order deciding Altru Specialty Services, doing business as Yorhom Medical Essentials, received overpayments for…
Date: November 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 269
Docket Number: 20170148
Justia Opinion Summary: Hess Corporation ("Hess") appealed the grant of summary judgment which held Sundance Oil and Gas, LLC ("Sundance") held the superior leasehold mineral interest in a property located in Mountrail County. Sundance and Hess…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 259
Docket Number: 20170028
Justia Opinion Summary: Keith Candee appealed the grant of summary judgment to his parents, Lyla and Douglas Candee, awarding them an $884,508.83 deficiency judgment following foreclosure of properties in California and North Dakota. Keith and…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 263
Docket Number: 20170030
Justia Opinion Summary: Barry Garcia appealed a district court order summarily dismissing his application for post-conviction relief. A juvenile petition was filed alleging Garcia had committed murder, attempted robbery, aggravated assault, and…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 266
Docket Number: 20170088
Justia Opinion Summary: United Fire & Casualty Company appealed a district court judgment awarding Carol Forsman $249,554.30 in her garnishment action against United Fire, commenced after she settled claims in the underlying suit against Blues,…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 265
Docket Number: 20170094
Justia Opinion Summary: Danny Myers appealed a district court order denying his motion to correct his sentence under N.D.R.Crim.P. 35(a)(2). Myers sought to retroactively apply 2015 legislative amendments, which removed class C felony…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 261
Docket Numbers: 20170133, 20170134
Justia Opinion Summary: Karen Corum appealed the grant of summary judgments in two collection actions brought by American Express Centurion Bank. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court's summary judgments were proper as a…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 262
Docket Number: 20170157
Justia Opinion Summary: Jesse Craig appealed a judgment awarding TJ Haugrud $120,000 plus interest on Haugrud's breach of contract claim against Craig, dismissing Craig's counterclaims against Haugrud, and sanctioning Craig's attorney $5,000.…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 264
Docket Number: 20170175
Justia Opinion Summary: Phillip Martinson appealed a district court judgment affirming an agency decision to suspend his driver's license for 180 days for being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 260
Docket Number: 20170186
Justia Opinion Summary: Anjelo Sheperd appealed his conviction entered after a bench trial on stipulated facts, finding him guilty of patronizing a minor for commercial sexual activity. Law enforcement arrested Sheperd as a part of a…
Date: November 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 256
Docket Numbers: 20170343, 20170344
Date: October 26, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 255
Docket Number: 20170034
Justia Opinion Summary: Shannon Evans appealed an order granting Gerald Feldmann ownership of certain property from Leonhard Feldmann's estate. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not err in finding an…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 246
Docket Number: 20160197
Justia Opinion Summary: Anthony Campbell appealed a criminal judgment after a jury found him guilty of murder for the 2014 stabbing death of Shannon Brunelle. The autopsy report stated Brunelle had seven lethal stab wounds in his back and neck…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 244
Docket Number: 20160453
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Mayland appealed his conviction entered upon a jury finding him guilty of being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor fourth-offense, a class C felony. The…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 240
Docket Number: 20160457
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, Beach Railport, LLC commenced this action against the Donnell and Jeanne Michels, for the partition of real property in Golden Valley County. Beach Railport and the Michels each owned an undivided one-half…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 241
Docket Number: 20170059
Justia Opinion Summary: North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance ("WSI") appealed a judgment affirming a decision of an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") that had reversed WSI's administrative reclassification of Questar Energy Services,…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 248
Docket Numbers: 20170068, 20170069, 20170070, 20170071, 20170072
Justia Opinion Summary: A.D., mother of P.T.D., C.R.D., P.A.D., P.P.D., and N.A.D., appealed a juvenile court order finding her five children were deprived under N.D.C.C. 27-20-02(8). These proceedings arose after the State alleged the children…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 242
Docket Number: 20170073
Justia Opinion Summary: Shawn Brew appealed a judgment granting him a divorce from Jennifer Brew, distributing their marital property, and ordering him to pay child support. Shawn argued the district court's property distribution was…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 243
Docket Number: 20170075
Justia Opinion Summary: Elda McKeown appealed a judgment ordering the distribution of Margie Eagon's estate to McKeown and her nine siblings. When the personal representative sought to close the estate, several of Margie Eagon's children…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 245
Docket Number: 20170085
Justia Opinion Summary: Phyllis and Ronald Berry were divorced in a judgment entered on January 24, 2008. Following entry of the judgment, Phyllis Berry requested the district court reconsider its allocation of Ronald's military retirement…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 249
Docket Number: 20170126
Justia Opinion Summary: Arthur Crissler appealed a district court judgment after a jury convicted him of possessing a weapon in a correctional facility. The charges arose from the search of Crissler's cell block on September 3, 2016 during…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 253
Docket Number: 20170129
Justia Opinion Summary: The North Dakota Department of Transportation appealed a district court judgment reversing a Department hearing officer's decision to suspend Alexis Glaser's driving privileges for two years. The North Dakota Supreme…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 251
Docket Number: 20170143
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, a Ward County North Dakota Narcotics Task Force Officer observed a black Dodge Charger traveling east bound in the west bound lane near 36th Avenue NE in Minot. A Minot police officer initiated a traffic stop…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 254
Docket Number: 20170145
Justia Opinion Summary: Joan Hallin, John Hallin and Susan Bradford (collectively Hallin and Bradford) appeal from a judgment in favor of Inland Oil & Gas Corporation. In 2007, Hallin and Bradford each leased to Inland mineral interests they…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 250
Docket Number: 20170168
Justia Opinion Summary: Haruna Giwa appealed the summary dismissal of his application for post-conviction relief based on a newly adopted rule of criminal procedure. Giwa pleaded guilty to interference with a telephone during an emergency call,…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 252
Docket Number: 20170293
Justia Opinion Summary: North Dakota, by the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Youth Correctional Center, petitioned for a supervisory writ directing a district court to vacate its July 18, 2017 order denying the…
Date: October 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 247
Docket Number: 20170314
Justia Opinion Summary: B.A.C. appealed a district court order for involuntary hospitalization and involuntary treatment with medication. B.A.C. was admitted to the North Dakota State Hospital on June 6, 2017. Prior to being admitted, B.A.C.…
Date: October 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 234
Docket Number: 20160436
Date: October 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 233
Docket Number: 20170327
Date: October 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 232
Docket Number: 20170033
Justia Opinion Summary: John Gassmann died in February 2012. Margaret Oakland was his only child. Under a generation-skipping trust created by his parents, Gassmann had a special power of appointment over the trust estate, which included family…
Date: September 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 231
Docket Number: 20160199
Justia Opinion Summary: William Wilkinson and the other plaintiffs appeal and Statoil & Gas, LP and EOG Resources, Inc. cross-appeal from a summary judgment determining the Board of University and School Lands of the State of North Dakota…
Date: September 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 226
Docket Numbers: 20170020, 20170027
Date: September 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 227
Docket Numbers: 20170041, 20170042
Date: September 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 230
Docket Numbers: 20170297, 20170298, 20170299
Justia Opinion Summary: K.S., the mother of three minor children, appealed the termination of her parental rights. A petition to terminate her rights was filed after one day in June 2017, law enforcement and ambulance service was called to her…
Date: September 18, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 120
Docket Number: 20170270
Date: September 18, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 222
Docket Number: 20170305
Date: September 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 219
Docket Number: 20160449
Justia Opinion Summary: Connie Welker and Vicki Ostrem appealed a district court judgment deciding ownership of mineral interests in Mountrail County. Welker and Ostrem argued the court erred in finding that a resulting trust exists and that…
Date: September 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 218
Docket Number: 20160330
Justia Opinion Summary: William and Rhonda Kulczyk appealed a district court judgment dismissing their complaint seeking to foreclose a mortgage against Tioga Ready Mix Co. The court held res judicata barred the Kulczyks' foreclosure action on…
Date: September 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 217
Docket Number: 20170003
Justia Opinion Summary: Stephen Zundel appealed a district court judgment declaring Loren and Richard Zundel complied with a lease relating to grain and farm equipment storage, declaring the lease remained in effect, and dismissing Stephen's…
Date: August 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 215
Docket Number: 20170089
Justia Opinion Summary: Landowners from the Buffalo area appealed a district court judgment affirming the Department of Health's decision to issue Rolling Green Family Farms an animal feeding operation (AFO) permit. The landowners argued the…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 213
Docket Numbers: 20070022, 20070024, 20170077
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Rath appealed a district court order denying his petition to correct his sentence or declare a "mistrial" based on his claim of prejudicial sentencing. A supervisory writ is issued rarely and cautiously only to…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 210
Docket Number: 20160316
Justia Opinion Summary: Marqus Welch appealed, and Workforce Safety and Insurance ("WSI") cross-appealed a judgment affirming an administrative law judge's ("ALJ") decision that affirmed a WSI order ending Welch's vocational rehabilitation…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 214
Docket Number: 20160341
Justia Opinion Summary: John Smart appealed an amended divorce judgment and from an order and judgment denying his motion for relief under N.D.R.Civ.P. 60. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court's equitable redistribution…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 209
Docket Number: 20160360
Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Newark, Jr. appealed after a jury found him guilty of burglary, terrorizing, and criminal mischief. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Newark's…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 205
Docket Number: 20160385
Justia Opinion Summary: Ale Majetic appealed after a jury found him guilty of two counts of gross sexual imposition. Majetic argued his right to an impartial jury was violated when, after a 56-day continuance, the district court failed to…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 204
Docket Number: 20160386
Justia Opinion Summary: A broadly-worded agreement in one contract can require arbitration of disputes arising under related contracts. To determine whether an arbitration provision in one agreement should be applied to other agreements, in…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 206
Docket Numbers: 20170017, 20170016
Justia Opinion Summary: Tricia Taylor appeals from orders denying her motions to quash contempt and for immediate release from incarceration. The orders stemmed from custody disputes between Taylor, Aarin Nygaard and Terrance Stanley, the two…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 211
Docket Number: 20170024
Justia Opinion Summary: A board of county commissioners may not restrict an elected county sheriff's authority to fire an employee hired by the sheriff except through personnel policies that do not usurp or significantly interfere with the…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 207
Docket Number: 20170036
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed an order granting Steven Helm's motion to dismiss a criminal prosecution against him for refusing to submit to a warrantless urine test incident to arrest. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 212
Docket Number: 20170074
Justia Opinion Summary: Kari Conrad appealed an order dismissing without prejudice her application for an order requiring the Ward County recorder to remove a lis pendens filed by Wilbur Wilkinson against a tract of land in Minot and from an…
Date: August 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 208
Docket Number: 20170280
Justia Opinion Summary: M.S. was subject to an existing one-year order for less restrictive treatment relating to his mental illness. On June 8, 2017, before the order expired, the Southeast Human Service Center filed a petition for continuing…
Date: August 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 203
Docket Number: 20160332
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Pulkrabek appealed the district court's judgment after a jury found him guilty of theft of property. Pulkrabek argued the district court erred when it did not tell the jury it had to unanimously agree on which…
Date: August 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 202
Docket Number: 20170011
Justia Opinion Summary: The United States District Court for the District of North Dakota certified questions of North Dakota law to the North Dakota Supreme Court involving Dawn Vail's right to bring a common law tort action against S/L…
Date: August 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 201
Docket Number: 20160303
Justia Opinion Summary: Bremer Bank, the Public Service Commission ("PSC"), Auto-Owners Insurance Company, and Curt Amundson appealed a judgment in a grain warehouse insolvency proceeding involving Grand Forks Bean Company after the district…
Date: August 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 200
Docket Number: 20160305
Justia Opinion Summary: Absent clear error, a district court's valuation of a decedent's estate will not be reversed on appeal. Plaintiffs Anne Fahey, Timothy Fife and Richard D. Fife appealed a district court judgment in their action seeking…
Date: August 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 198
Docket Number: 20160391
Justia Opinion Summary: A person dealing with a personal representative does not receive the protections of N.D.C.C. 30.1-18-14 unless the person obtains the personal representative's letters of appointment or any other court order giving the…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 183
Docket Number: 20160322
Justia Opinion Summary: Under workers' compensation law, seasonal employment includes occupations that are not permanent or that do not customarily operate throughout the entire year and is determined by what is customary with respect to the…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 190
Docket Number: 20160339
Justia Opinion Summary: A district court's decision on a motion for mistrial will not be reversed on appeal absent a showing the court abused its discretion or that a manifest injustice would occur. The cumulative effect of multiple errors may…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 184
Docket Number: 20160353
Justia Opinion Summary: In a proceeding relating to the modification of grandparent visitation, the termination of a parent's rights is a material change in circumstances. Amanda Kulbacki appealed a district court order denying her motion to…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 197
Docket Number: 20160359
Justia Opinion Summary: Under an installment sales contract for patent from the State Board of University and School Lands, the State retains the legal title to the property and holds it in trust for the purchaser and as security for the…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 188
Docket Numbers: 20160372, 20160390, 20160454
Justia Opinion Summary: In North Dakota, an adult is guilty of patronizing a minor for commercial sexual activity when: (1) with the intent to engage in commercial sexual activity with a minor; (2) the individual gives, agrees to give, or…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 196
Docket Numbers: 20160383, 20160384
Justia Opinion Summary: Under N.D.C.C. 12.1-32-08(1)(a), "directly related" and "direct result" require an immediate and intimate causal connection between the criminal conduct for which the defendant was convicted and the damages or expenses…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 194
Docket Number: 20160394
Justia Opinion Summary: A district court has broad discretion on evidentiary matters and its decision to admit or exclude evidence will not be overturned unless it abused its discretion. Issues not raised before the district court will not be…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 187
Docket Number: 20160399
Justia Opinion Summary: An individual seeking to adopt a child must ordinarily obtain the written consent of the child's parents, though if written consent is not provided, it must be proven the parent either (1) for one year failed…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 195
Docket Number: 20160402
Justia Opinion Summary: Under North Dakota Rules of Evidence 804, it does not matter that the defendant may have had significantly less incentive to cross-examine the witness at the preliminary examination hearing than at the trial, the…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 186
Docket Number: 20160437
Justia Opinion Summary: Floyd Hyde appealed a criminal judgment after entering a conditional plea of guilty to three drug charges. In his plea, Hyde reserved his right to appeal the district court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence.…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 191
Docket Number: 20160441
Justia Opinion Summary: A party with a royalty interest in a property, who has not signed a division order with an oil company, may recover underpayments from the oil company. Newfield Production Company ("Newfield") operates four oil and gas…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 193
Docket Number: 20160451
Justia Opinion Summary: Don Sorenson Investments owned residentially-zoned property. In 2015, Don Sorenson requested a zone change for the property from residential to commercial to "conduct small commercial business." A site inspection…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 192
Docket Number: 20160456
Justia Opinion Summary: Summary dismissal is normally inappropriate for post-conviction relief claims arguing ineffective assistance of counsel because such claims typically require development of a record in an evidentiary hearing. Lorry Chase…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 189
Docket Number: 20170012
Justia Opinion Summary: A district court must analyze all four Stout-Hawkinson factors in determining whether a custodial parent may move out-of-state with a child. Cody Booen appealed a district court's order granting Jessica Appel's motion to…
Date: July 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 185
Docket Number: 20170015
Justia Opinion Summary: Christian Von Ruden appealed after he was convicted of driving under the influence after entering a conditional guilty plea. Von Ruden argued evidence of the breath test records and checklists should have been excluded…
Date: July 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 179
Docket Number: 20160363
Justia Opinion Summary: Appeals from decisions of the Industrial Commission cannot be turned into inverse condemnation actions; the Industrial Commission was authorized to modify previously designated spacing units. Arthur Langved appealed an…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 177
Docket Number: 20160147
Justia Opinion Summary: Rodney Friesz appealed after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter and arson. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court did not err in denying his motion to suppress evidence, and there was sufficient…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 167
Docket Number: 20160294
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a district court order granting Timothy Denault's petition for declaratory relief and vacating his duty to register as a sexual offender in North Dakota. After review, the North Dakota Supreme Court…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 175
Docket Number: 20160314
Justia Opinion Summary: Arjuna Zerr appealed a judgment dismissing his action seeking declaratory relief against North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance ("WSI"). The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court did not err in…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 176
Docket Number: 20160317
Justia Opinion Summary: Paving District 476 Group; SPCM, LLC; Schuler Repair; Feland Brothers Properties, LLC; Hudye Group LP; and Northern Plains Apartments, LLC (collectively "landowners") appealed an order dismissing their complaint against…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 172
Docket Number: 20160354
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a district court order granting John Hawkins' motion to suppress evidence. After review, the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded sufficient, competent evidence supported the district court order…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 171
Docket Number: 20160367
Justia Opinion Summary: Shawn Teggatz appealed after a jury found him guilty of reckless endangerment and fleeing or attempting to elude a peace officer. Because the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the verdicts were supported by…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 169
Docket Number: 20160379
Justia Opinion Summary: Absent a prior conveyance of pore space to a third party, the owner of a surface estate owns the pore space beneath the surface. A surface owner may recover damages from a mineral developer for the developer's use of…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 165
Docket Number: 20160392
Justia Opinion Summary: When a district court error has been waived or invited in a criminal case, the obvious error analysis under N.D.R.Crim.P. 52(b) does not apply. Eybon Watkins appealed after a jury found him guilty of robbery and the…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 173
Docket Number: 20160398
Justia Opinion Summary: Heather Leavitt appealed a district court order summarily dismissing her application for post-conviction relief. In 2014 a jury convicted Heather Leavitt of attempted murder, for attacking her husband as he slept with a…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 174
Docket Number: 20160438
Justia Opinion Summary: John Dixon appealed a judgment that reformed a warranty deed to except and reserve mineral interests in certain real property from the conveyance and retain the minerals as the property of the Shirley A. Dixon Trust.…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 168
Docket Number: 20160439
Justia Opinion Summary: Noah Glick appealed after a jury found him guilty of aggravated assault. After voir dire concluded, the parties exercised their peremptory challenges and the jury was selected and sworn, and the remaining prospective…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 170
Docket Number: 20170044
Justia Opinion Summary: Paul Schaffner appealed a district court order denying his petition to modify his parenting time from supervised visitation to unsupervised. The district court denied his petition after finding Schaffner failed to show a…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 178
Docket Numbers: 20170205, 20170206
Justia Opinion Summary: The biological father of two minor children appealed a juvenile court order terminating both parents' parental rights to their children. The father argued the State failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence the…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 166
Docket Numbers: 20170208, 20170209, 20170210, 20170211, 20170217, 20170218, 20170219, 20170220
Date: July 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 163
Docket Number: 20160346
Justia Opinion Summary: Drilling operations commence when: (1) work is done preparatory to drilling; (2) the driller has the capability to do the actual drilling; and (3) there is a good faith intent to complete the well. It is not necessary…
Date: July 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 162
Docket Number: 20160374
Justia Opinion Summary: Under the law of the case doctrine, a party cannot on a second appeal relitigate issues which were resolved by the Supreme Court in the first appeal or which would have been resolved had they been properly presented in…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 152
Docket Number: 20160113
Justia Opinion Summary: An individual may be committed as a sexually dangerous individual only when, among other things, the individual has a present serious difficulty controlling his or her behavior making that individual a danger to others.…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 153
Docket Number: 20160231
Justia Opinion Summary: When a person committed as a sexually dangerous individual petitions for discharge, the State has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the committed individual remains a sexually dangerous…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 158
Docket Number: 20160247
Justia Opinion Summary: In an eviction action, a district court must have both subject matter and personal jurisdiction to enter a valid order or judgment. Barbara Vondell appealed a judgment entered for Spirit Property Management, evicting her…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 159
Docket Number: 20160318
Justia Opinion Summary: A parent who has committed domestic violence may rebut the presumption favoring only supervised visitation with a sufficient accumulation of direct and indirect evidence of a lack of physical or emotional danger to the…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 154
Docket Number: 20160349
Justia Opinion Summary: The Sixth Amendment Confrontation Clause does not require exclusion of nontestimonial statements. Darrel Froelich appealed a criminal judgment entered after a jury found him guilty of simple assault domestic violence.…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 155
Docket Number: 20160377
Justia Opinion Summary: In domestic relations cases, the requirements of N.D.R.Ct. 8.2 must be complied with before a party's request for affirmative relief may be granted in an ex parte interim order. Attorney's fees may be awarded as a…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 160
Docket Numbers: 20170001, 20170002
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a district court order denying its motion to correct an illegal sentence. Eric Hutchinson was charged with two counts of class AA felony gross sexual imposition and one count of class C felony…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 156
Docket Number: 20170006
Justia Opinion Summary: Christian Hedstrom appealed a criminal judgment entered on his conditional plea of guilty to manufacturing marijuana and possession of marijuana. He was arrested after three bail bond agents entered and searched his…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 157
Docket Number: 20170046
Justia Opinion Summary: A defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were not violated because the defendant was not detained. Memory Bell appealed a district court's judgment after entering a conditional plea of guilty to the charges of possession of…
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 151
Docket Number: 20170083
Date: June 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 161
Docket Numbers: 20170150, 20170151
Date: June 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 149
Docket Numbers: 20170101, 20170121
Date: June 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 148
Docket Numbers: 20160262, 20160261
Justia Opinion Summary: Statoil Oil & Gas LP appealed judgments dismissing without prejudice its actions against numerous defendants, seeking a determination of the proper distribution of oil and gas revenues from Williams and McKenzie County…
Date: June 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 147
Docket Number: 20160357
Justia Opinion Summary: When an ineffective assistance of counsel claim is raised on direct appeal from a criminal conviction, the defendant must show ineffectiveness of constitutional dimensions from the face of the existing record to obtain…
Date: June 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 146
Docket Number: 20160293
Justia Opinion Summary: Under N.D.C.C. 28-01-46, the plain, ordinary and commonly understood meaning of the phrase "wrong organ" requires a doctor to perform a procedure on the incorrect organ; a wrong organ exception does not apply to…
Date: June 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 139
Docket Number: 20160333
Justia Opinion Summary: The preliminary hearing is a tool to ferret out groundless and improvident prosecutions; the State is not required to prove with absolute certainty or beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred, but need only…
Date: June 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 145
Docket Number: 20160269
Justia Opinion Summary: Under the abandoned mineral statutes, the surface owner must mail a copy of the notice of lapse to the mineral interest owner's address if the mineral interest owner's address is shown of record. Ronald and Sherry…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 132
Docket Number: 20160167
Justia Opinion Summary: A party is barred from bringing an action for the recovery or possession of real property, unless the party was seized or possessed of the property within twenty years before bringing the action. The plaintiffs appealed…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 141
Docket Number: 20160196
Justia Opinion Summary: During an investigatory stop of a vehicle, a traffic violator can be temporarily detained until the legitimate investigative purposes of the traffic stop have been completed. Michael Phelps appealed a criminal judgment…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 133
Docket Number: 20160217
Justia Opinion Summary: The odor of an alcoholic beverage, poor balance, and open containers of alcohol may permit an officer to reasonably formulate an opinion the body of a driver in a single-car crash contains alcohol. Matthew Marman…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 136
Docket Number: 20160280
Justia Opinion Summary: The Federal Arbitration Act does not preempt all state arbitration law. A party alleging an arbitration agreement is unconscionable must demonstrate some quantum of both procedural and substantive unconscionability. A…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 134
Docket Number: 20160298
Justia Opinion Summary: When a party objects to the State's admission of evidence with a pretrial motion in limine, the party must renew their objection at trial in order to give the district court an opportunity to rule on the issue at trial.…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 144
Docket Number: 20160300
Justia Opinion Summary: The clearly erroneous standard of review does not permit a reweighing of evidence or reassessment of credibility. Richard Colling appeals a district court judgment awarding Adrienne Behrens primary residential…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 140
Docket Number: 20160313
Justia Opinion Summary: An indemnification agreement need not be in writing, and an agent's authority to enter into an indemnification agreement need not be in writing. Jim Leach (“Leach”) and Elizabeth Leach appealed a district court judgment…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 135
Docket Number: 20160323
Justia Opinion Summary: Not all communications between law enforcement and citizens implicate the Fourth Amendment: an officer running to get ahead of a person, without any threatening or coercive conduct, does not constitute a show of…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 138
Docket Number: 20160338
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Rath appealed orders denying his demands for a change of judge, an order denying his motion for an order to show cause, and an order modifying his child support obligation. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 143
Docket Number: 20160351
Justia Opinion Summary: A district court's analysis of whether "corroborating circumstances" indicate the trustworthiness of the statement is a preliminary determination regarding the admissibility of the evidence. Precious Bailey appeals a…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 137
Docket Number: 20160373
Justia Opinion Summary: The North Dakota Supreme Court determined it was proper for the district court to look at the social stigma associated with sex offenders in determining the best interest of a child in a name change petition. Shortly…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 142
Docket Number: 20160401
Justia Opinion Summary: Police officers outside of their jurisdiction generally act without official capacity and authority to arrest. A University of North Dakota (UND) police officer has the authority to initiate a traffic stop of a driver…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 130
Docket Number: 20160440
Date: May 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 128
Docket Number: 20160222
Justia Opinion Summary: A district court's contempt decision will only be disturbed on appeal if the court abused its discretion. A denial of a motion for reconsideration will not be reversed on appeal absent a manifest abuse of discretion.…
Date: May 18, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 127
Docket Number: 20160319
Justia Opinion Summary: Only a person having an interest in, or claiming an interest in, real property may challenge a court's rulings in a quiet title action. William Everett and 14 others appealed a judgment quieting title to certain McKenzie…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 117
Docket Number: 20160103
Justia Opinion Summary: Ulises Barrios-Flores appeals from a judgment affirming a Department of Transportation decision revoking his driving privileges for two years for refusing to submit to an onsite screening test of his breath. Under…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 118
Docket Number: 20160198
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Herman Kauk, Sr. and Cletis Kauk ("Sellers") contracted to sell land to Herman Kauk, Jr. and Christy Kauk ("Buyers"). The property was known to the parties as “Walter’s Quarter.” The Buyers had their attorney…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 124
Docket Number: 20160240
Justia Opinion Summary: Christian Hall appealed a criminal judgment entered after he conditionally pleaded guilty following the district court's denial of his motion to suppress and motion to dismiss for violation of Hall's right to a speedy…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 120
Docket Number: 20160311
Justia Opinion Summary: An action for equitable relief generally cannot be combined with a statutory appeal seeking a review of a local governing body's decision. Donald Cossette and the Angela R. Cossette Revocable Living Trust appealed a…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 122
Docket Number: 20160324
Justia Opinion Summary: While a long-term marriage generally supports an equal division of property, a court may unequally divide property in a short-term marriage and award the parties what each brought into the marriage. If the district court…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 121
Docket Number: 20160327
Justia Opinion Summary: A party petitioning for termination of a guardianship must make a prima facie showing that the ward is no longer incapacitated, and if a prima facie case is established, the guardian has the burden to prove by clear and…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 119
Docket Number: 20160334
Justia Opinion Summary: Karen Keller appealed after a district court entered a disorderly conduct restraining order against her. Karen is married to Chad Keller. Chad previously was married to Nichole Keller and had three children with Nichole.…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 126
Docket Number: 20160369
Justia Opinion Summary: Section 39-20-01, N.D.C.C., requires law enforcement officers to convey the implied-consent advisory in an objectively reasonable way calculated to be comprehensible to the driver. Miguel Ayala appealed a judgment…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 125
Docket Number: 20170010
Justia Opinion Summary: A party cannot rely on the other party's request for an oral argument to guarantee himself or herself an oral argument. Matthew Johnson appealed a district court's order awarding two of the three tax exemptions for the…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 123
Docket Number: 20170136
Justia Opinion Summary: Section 25-03.1-18.1(1)(a), N.D.C.C., does not require both treating and non-treating physicians to testify at a medication hearing addressing a request to involuntarily treat with medication. M.G. appealed a district…
Date: May 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 113
Docket Numbers: 20160403, 20160434
Date: April 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 112
Docket Number: 20160243
Justia Opinion Summary: The use of an easement must be consistent with the purpose of the original dedication. David and Virginia Ceynar appealed the grant of summary judgment in favor of Tesoro Logistics LP and McKenzie County. By arguing that…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 91
Docket Number: 20160072
Justia Opinion Summary: Chad Lizakowski appealed a divorce judgment distributing marital property and awarding spousal support and attorney fees. After review, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court's distribution of marital property and…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 93
Docket Number: 20160160
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 a jury found Tilmer Everett guilty of gross sexual imposition. In August 2015 the district court entered an order barring Everett from future filings without the court's permission. In February 2016, Everett…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 97
Docket Number: 20160200
Justia Opinion Summary: Jimmy Booth, Jr., appeals from a judgment denying his application for post-conviction relief based on allegations of ineffective assistance of counsel. Booth pled guilty to manufacturing a controlled substance,…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 101
Docket Numbers: 20160215, 20160211
Justia Opinion Summary: A Department of Transportation decision suspending or revoking driving privileges may be appealed to the district court by serving the director and filing a notice of appeal with specifications of error in the district…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 92
Docket Number: 20160235
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles W.H. Monson, LeeAnn Tarter, and KayCee Williams ("the Monsons") appealed a district court judgment reforming a deed executed in 1980 and quieting title in favor of Steve Goodall, Robert Goodall, Anne Stout,…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 95
Docket Number: 20160241
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Brewer appealed this conviction on two counts of gross sexual imposition. The Supreme Court concluded Brewer waived his claim of error that the district court abused its discretion in allowing the State to admit…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 103
Docket Number: 20160252
Justia Opinion Summary: Ryan Crawford appealed a district court judgment affirming a Department of Transportation decision suspending his driving privileges for two years. Crawford argued: (1) the arresting officer did not have grounds to…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 94
Docket Number: 20160263
Justia Opinion Summary: Dylan Saari was charged with the crime of accomplice to forgery, a class C felony. The charge came after an investigation into his girlfriend's attempt to post bond for him while Saari was detained on a probation…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 100
Docket Number: 20160274
Justia Opinion Summary: Dori Lentz appealed an order and judgment denying her request to modify the distribution decrees of the Estate of Charlotte C. Nohle and ordering her to pay the estate's attorney's fees. After review, the Supreme Court…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 105
Docket Number: 20160279
Justia Opinion Summary: Jennifer Ogren, Lisa Marie Ogren Castle and Eric Marcus Ogren appeal from a summary judgment in favor of Marlene Sandaker, Karen Walden and Marlys Rulon. In 1958 Mike and Lorene Albert conveyed a 1/8th royalty interest…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 106
Docket Number: 20160281
Justia Opinion Summary: Jessica Klein appealed the district court's temporary order for custody after it denied her motion to transfer jurisdiction to Iowa. Klein argued the district court lacked subject matter jurisdiction and North Dakota was…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 111
Docket Number: 20160282
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 a jury found Tilmer Everett guilty of gross sexual imposition. In August 2015 the district court entered an order barring Everett from future filings without the court's permission. In February 2016, Everett…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 107
Docket Number: 20160284
Justia Opinion Summary: Mechele Greene appealed a district court's judgment dismissing her claim without prejudice for failure to serve an affidavit from an expert witness on Gary Matthys, M.D., within three months of commencing the action…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 110
Docket Number: 20160286
Justia Opinion Summary: Missouri River Royalty Corporation and Bauer Family LLP appeal a district court's order granting summary judgment to the defendants, most of whom are members of the Brokaw family (collectively "Brokaw"). In 1958, Lyman…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 108
Docket Number: 20160289
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged David Gray with disorderly conduct for engaging in "harassing conduct by means of intrusive or unwanted acts, words, or gestures that are intended to adversely affect the safety, security, or privacy of…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 96
Docket Number: 20160299
Justia Opinion Summary: Dianna Holm appealed a judgment granting her a divorce from Thomas Holm and dividing their marital property. After review, the Supreme Court concluded the district court's treatment as compensation of dividends received…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 102
Docket Number: 20160302
Justia Opinion Summary: Erin Rourke appealed a district court's judgment after a jury convicted him of gross sexual imposition. Because Rourke failed to preserve his argument on sufficiency of the evidence for appeal by failing to move for a…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 98
Docket Number: 20160336
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted Elijah Addai of murder. Addai applied for post-conviction relief arguing he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the denial of his application. In 2015…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 104
Docket Number: 20160350
Justia Opinion Summary: Kabbah Morris appealed a district court order denying his application for post-conviction relief. In 2014, Morris pleaded guilty to gross sexual imposition. Morris was sentenced to twenty years of incarceration with…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 109
Docket Number: 20160362
Justia Opinion Summary: Garron Gonzalez appealed the district court's judgment on his application for post-conviction relief. In 2003, Gonzalez was charged with two counts of Gross Sexual Imposition and pled guilty to both counts in 2004. He…
Date: April 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 99
Docket Number: 20170029
Justia Opinion Summary: A default judgment was entered against Sara Livengood in December 2008. In 2012, Mid Dakota Clinic's counsel filed a "Full Satisfaction of Judgment" with the district court. However, this filing contained errors; the…
Date: April 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 85
Docket Number: 20170054
Date: April 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 86
Docket Number: 20170062
Date: April 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 82
Docket Number: 20160223
Justia Opinion Summary: Sargent County Deputy Sheriff David Kozok arrested Paul Vincent for driving under the influence of alcohol after a blood test revealed Vincent's alcohol concentration exceeded the legal limits. Vincent moved to suppress…
Date: April 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 81
Docket Number: 20160254
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell Schank appealed when the district court denied his motion to suppress evidence. A City of Dickinson police officer arrested Schank and transported him to the law enforcement center. At the law enforcement center,…
Date: April 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 80
Docket Number: 20160169
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Rath appealed the district court's order granting Kayla Rath a disorderly conduct restraining order, and the order denying his motion for reconsideration. On appeal, Mark argued the district court erred in finding…
Date: April 4, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 79
Docket Number: 20160301
Justia Opinion Summary: The State appealed a pretrial order dismissing criminal charges of theft of property and exploitation of a vulnerable adult against Caroline Conrad based on the civil dispute doctrine. In December 2015 the State charged…
Date: April 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 78
Docket Number: 20160062
Justia Opinion Summary: Charles Robinson, Paul Robinson, and William Robinson appealed an amended judgment granting summary judgment in favor of THR Minerals, LLC, and deciding ownership of mineral and royalty interests in certain property. The…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 76
Docket Numbers: 20160046, 20150227
Justia Opinion Summary: Casey Voigt appealed a judgment affirming the Public Service Commission's ("Commission") order that affirmed its conditional approval of a surface coal mining permit for Coyote Creek Mining Company, L.L.C. ("Company").…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 69
Docket Number: 20160073
Justia Opinion Summary: Dennis Gaede appeals a judgment dismissing his amended complaint against Leann Bertsch, Director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and from an order denying his motion for relief from the judgment. In…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 75
Docket Number: 20160155
Justia Opinion Summary: Jacob Webster appealed after a jury returned a general verdict finding him guilty of driving under the influence. Because a driver may not be criminally convicted for refusing a warrantless blood test incident to arrest,…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 74
Docket Number: 20160157
Justia Opinion Summary: Caren Ashby was arrested for several drug related offenses after a traffic stop in Wells County in 2015. Caren Ashby moved to suppress all evidence seized from the traffic stop, and the State opposed the motion. Ashby…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 68
Docket Number: 20160162
Justia Opinion Summary: Trinity Health provided Charles Tuttle with $127,001.07 in medical services. Tuttle applied for financial assistance with Trinity, but was denied. Tuttle failed to pay the medical bill after Trinity demanded payment.…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 71
Docket Numbers: 20160163, 20160164
Justia Opinion Summary: Dale Vendsel died in 2002. Jean Vendsel was his surviving spouse. James and Bonnie Vendsel were two of their six children. His Will created the Family Trust and designated James and Jean Vendsel ("the Vendsels") as…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 72
Docket Number: 20160166
Justia Opinion Summary: Nandan, LLP appealed the grant of summary judgment and an order denying its N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion for relief from judgment, ruling that road and utility repairs were incidental to the repair of a water and sewer…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 65
Docket Number: 20160179
Justia Opinion Summary: Barry Roe appealed a district court order denying his application for post-conviction relief in which he alleged he received ineffective assistance of counsel from two attorneys who represented him at different stages of…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 73
Docket Number: 20160190
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Carroll appealed an order denying his motion to set aside or vacate the judgment and from an order denying his motion for a new trial, after the court entered a divorce judgment awarding Anna Carroll monthly child…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 67
Docket Number: 20160239
Justia Opinion Summary: William Gagnon appealed a district court judgment awarding Tara Lara primary residential responsibility of the parties' three children. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding Gagnon failed to overcome the presumption…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 77
Docket Number: 20160253
Justia Opinion Summary: Chace Stewart appealed an order summarily denying his application for post-conviction relief. In August 2013, the State charged Stewart with two counts of aggravated assault for alleged assaults against his mother and…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 66
Docket Number: 20160256
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Myers appealed a district court order summarily dismissing his application for postconviction relief. In April 2012, Myers pled guilty to aggravated assault domestic violence, a class C felony. The district court…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 64
Docket Number: 20160283
Justia Opinion Summary: Judge Richard Hagar of the North Central Judicial District filed exceptions to the Judicial Conduct Commission's recommended findings that he violated provisions of the Code of Judicial Conduct by failing to diligently…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 70
Docket Number: 20160364
Justia Opinion Summary: Jessica Belgarde appealed after a jury found her guilty of shoplifting. Belgarde notified the State of her intent to present her minor child as an alibi witness two weeks before trial and 112 days after the deadline set…
Date: March 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 60
Docket Number: 20160064
Justia Opinion Summary: Spencer Curtiss appealed the district court's Third Amended Judgment modifying his parenting time and its order denying his motion to reconsider. The Supreme Court remanded to the district court for further findings and…
Date: March 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 56
Docket Number: 20160149
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2015, officers executed a probation search at the residence of Keirsten Thomas. While speaking with officers, Thomas indicated some paint in the home belonged to Jeremy Kaul. As officers continued their search,…
Date: March 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 55
Docket Number: 20160152
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 49
Docket Number: 20160007
Justia Opinion Summary: Ronnie Nelson owned a surface estate in Burke County who sought to use the mineral lapse statutes to obtain the mineral rights associated with the surface estate. Nelson published a notice of lapse of mineral interest…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 45
Docket Number: 20160100
Justia Opinion Summary: Dunn County appealed a judgment declaring the Industrial Commission had exclusive jurisdiction to determine the location of oil and gas waste treating plants. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the County lacked the…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 47
Docket Number: 20160151
Justia Opinion Summary: James Broten, individually, and as personal representative of the estate of Olaf Broten, appealed a second amended judgment denying him restitution for payments he made to his parents during their lifetimes. In 1979,…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 50
Docket Number: 20160173
Justia Opinion Summary: Eagle Rigid Spans, Inc., ("ERS") appealed an order denying its motion for new trial and an amended judgment entered after a jury found in favor of Brandon and Constance Jalbert and awarding them $650,000 plus interest,…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 48
Docket Number: 20160208
Justia Opinion Summary: Katherine Larson appealed a district court disorderly conduct restraining order issued against her. Larson and James Mitzel were in a romantic relationship from June 2015 to January 2016. After the relationship ended,…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 51
Docket Number: 20160227
Justia Opinion Summary: Jesse White appealed a criminal judgment entered after a jury found he was guilty of possession of certain materials prohibited. White was on supervised probation when his residence was searched. His probation conditions…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 54
Docket Number: 20160276
Justia Opinion Summary: Adam Hamilton appeals from the district court judgment denying him post-conviction relief. Hamilton pled guilty to continuous sexual abuse of a child and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Hamilton argued on appeal of…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 53
Docket Number: 20160318
Justia Opinion Summary: Keanna Schneider appealed a district court order denying her motion to modify the parenting time of Keaton O'Hara from unsupervised to supervised parenting time. Schneider sought modification after an incident in which…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 52
Docket Number: 20160329
Justia Opinion Summary: Fritz Opp was stopped for speeding by a Grand Forks police officer in the early morning hours of October 30, 2015. After failing field sobriety tests, Opp was arrested for driving under the influence. The arresting…
Date: March 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 42
Docket Number: 20160455
Justia Opinion Summary: The State petitioned the Supreme Court for a supervisory writ requiring the district court to grant the State's motion to amend its criminal complaint against Ward County Sheriff Steven Kukowski to allege that criminal…
Date: March 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 37
Docket Number: 20160321
Date: February 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 35
Docket Numbers: 20160084, 20160085
Justia Opinion Summary: These cases related to the estate and trust of Steven Harris. Bruce Harris appealed a district court's order denying his N.D.R.Civ.P. 60(b) motion to vacate a judgment entered consistent with stipulations he entered into…
Date: February 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 34
Docket Number: 20160045
Justia Opinion Summary: Bell State Bank & Trust, as trustee of the Bradley K. Brakke Trust, appealed a judgment approving a settlement and dismissing Timothy Brakke's petition challenging Bradley Brakke's capacity to create the Trust. After…
Date: February 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 33
Docket Number: 20160170
Justia Opinion Summary: GEM Razorback, LLC appealed a judgment dismissing its declaratory judgment action because GEM failed to exhaust administrative remedies, and dismissing its claim for specific performance because GEM could not establish…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 30
Docket Numbers: 20140133, 20140315
Justia Opinion Summary: After the United States Supreme Court remanded these administrative license suspension cases to the North Dakota Supreme Court for further proceedings under "Birchfield v. North Dakota," (136 S.Ct. 2160 (2016)), the…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 26
Docket Number: 20160048
Justia Opinion Summary: Kevin and Lynn Klein appealed a judgment dismissing their claims and quieting title to certain real property in Gregory Sletto. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not err in granting summary…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 21
Docket Number: 20160094
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs Joni Tillich, Nicole LaFloe, Shawn Marcellais, Lisa DeCoteau, and Lynn Boughey filed an action in district court against defendants Don Bruce, Vinier Davis, and Linda Davis. The complaint alleged a tort claim…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 19
Docket Number: 20160096
Justia Opinion Summary: XTO Energy, Inc., appealed and Darwin and Jean Krenz cross-appealed a judgment awarding the Krenzes $800,000 for a pipeline trespass and ordering the parties to abide by certain documents for their future relationship…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 14
Docket Number: 20160098
Justia Opinion Summary: This case was the result of a long history between Jon Norberg and Alonna Knorr. Once married, they divorced after Knorr alleged Norberg sexually abused her after drugging her with Propofol. Knorr's allegations resulted…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 20
Docket Numbers: 20160105, 20160106
Justia Opinion Summary: Justin Beckstrand and James Beckstrand, through his surviving spouse, Cynthia, appealed a judgment awarding $164,202.40 in 2015 farm rental payments to Julie Beckstrand, the personal representative of John Beckstrand's…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 25
Docket Number: 20160108
Justia Opinion Summary: Willard Burk appealed a judgment declaring his claim that the State, through the Board of University and School Lands, and the Tax Commissioner (collectively "State"), wrongfully withheld gross production and extraction…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 17
Docket Number: 20160112
Justia Opinion Summary: Sandra Glass-Lenertz appealed an amended judgment terminating James Glass's spousal support obligation to her. The Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not abuse its discretion in terminating spousal…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 28
Docket Number: 20160113
Justia Opinion Summary: Danny Nelson appeals from a district court order civilly committing him as a sexually dangerous individual. Nelson was convicted in 2009 of continuous sexual abuse of a child. The underlying conduct for the conviction…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 29
Docket Number: 20160138
Justia Opinion Summary: Wesley Cody appealed a district court order denying his application for post-conviction relief. In 2013, Cody was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment related to a stabbing incident in Morton County.…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 31
Docket Number: 20160145
Justia Opinion Summary: Rick Snider and Janan Snider, doing business as RJ Snider Construction ("Snider"), appealed the grant of summary judgment, forfeiting a construction lien against the property that formerly housed the Dickinson Elks Lodge…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 13
Docket Number: 20160150
Justia Opinion Summary: C.D.G.E. was born in 2010. Since 2014, J.E. had primary residential responsibility of the child. A.P. was obligated to pay monthly child support payments. J.E. petitioned the district court to terminate A.P.'s parental…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 27
Docket Number: 20160175
Justia Opinion Summary: Sandra Hoverson appeals a district court order resolving a parenting time dispute. She argued the district court improperly modified parenting time without a formal motion filed by either party. After review, the Supreme…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 24
Docket Number: 20160180
Justia Opinion Summary: Samuel Rathbun appealed a district court order modifying his child and spousal support obligations. Samuel argued the district court erred by not modifying his child support. The Supreme Court concluded a district court…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 15
Docket Number: 20160201
Justia Opinion Summary: Steven Gibson entered a conditional guilty plea after the district court rejected his claim that the State violated his right to a speedy trial. The issue his case presented for the Supreme Court's review was whether the…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 16
Docket Number: 20160218
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 23
Docket Number: 20160228
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Cox appeals from a criminal judgment entered after he pled guilty to assault. Cox argued he did not receive all of the discovery he requested and he could not make a knowing, intelligent and voluntary guilty plea…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 22
Docket Number: 20160233
Justia Opinion Summary: DeWayne Johnston, individually, and as registered agent of Johnston Law Office, P.C., appealed the invalidation of a notice of attorney lien recorded against Johnston's former client and ordering Johnston Law Office and…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 18
Docket Number: 20160270
Justia Opinion Summary: JB Construction, Inc. appealed the district court's judgment affirming Job Service's "Notice of Determination" stating Jesse Jahner's and Vance Jahner's services constituted employment under N.D.C.C. 52-01-01(17). On…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 16
Docket Number: 20160328
Date: January 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 10
Docket Number: 20170023
Justia Opinion Summary: The State, through Ward County Assistant State's Attorney Marie Miller, petitioned the Supreme Court for a supervisory writ directing the district court to vacate its order excluding Special Agent Pat Helfrich's…
Date: January 26, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 7
Docket Number: 20160275
Date: January 18, 2017
Citation: 2017 ND 1
Docket Number: 20160436
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