Utah Supreme Court Decisions 2011
Date: December 30, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 84
Docket Number: 20090880
Justia Opinion Summary: Lonnie Arave approached an eleven-year-old boy and offered to pay him if he would agree to let Arave perform oral sex on him. At trial, Arave moved to dismiss a charge of attempted sodomy on a child, asserting that his…
Date: December 30, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 83
Docket Number: 20100175
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2000, a fire destroyed a business location of Stone Flood and Fire Restoration Inc., spurring years of litigation with its insurer, Safeco Insurance Company of America. After Stone Flood and its two shareholders,…
Date: December 23, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 82
Docket Number: 20090947
Justia Opinion Summary: Aequitas Enterprises and Interstate Investment Group entered into a real estate contract for the sale of 388 properties, all located outside the state. Aequitas subsequently sued Interstate Investment for breach of…
Date: December 20, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 80
Docket Number: 20090409
Justia Opinion Summary: After giving birth to a stillborn male, Father and Mother filed suit against the United States in federal district court, alleging medical negligence and requesting damages for their pain and suffering, for the wrongful…
Date: December 20, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 81
Docket Number: 20090906
Justia Opinion Summary: During an investigation by the Utah Attorney General's Task Force on Internet Crimes against Children (ICAC), ICAC agents discovered that child pornography had been downloaded through an IP address belonging to David…
Date: December 20, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 79
Docket Number: 20100085
Justia Opinion Summary: Daniel Berman asked the district court for a declaratory judgment quantifying his Utah water rights and an injunction ordering a Wyoming water official to deliver this water to his property in Wyoming. The district court…
Date: December 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 76
Docket Number: 20090294
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife divorced in 2005. During the pendency of the divorce proceedings, Wife brought a separate civil suit seeking various forms of equitable relief and monetary damages, which the district court granted. At…
Date: December 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 77
Docket Number: 20091087
Justia Opinion Summary: Utah's exemption statute provides that a retirement plan "that is described in" I.R.C. 401(a) is exempt from a debtor's bankruptcy estate. Upon filing for bankruptcy, Douglas Reinhart claimed that the funds in his Keogh…
Date: December 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 78
Docket Number: 20100291
Justia Opinion Summary: Tina Harding was one of three passengers in a vehicle that was stopped by a law enforcement officer. The driver gave the officer her consent to search the vehicle. Without inquiring about who owned them, the officer…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 74
Docket Number: 20090975
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to attempted murder of the unborn child of a juvenile mother. The charge and plea were based on the allegation that Defendant tried to kill the child by punching Mother in the abdomen in exchange…
Date: December 13, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 75
Docket Number: 20091015
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a delinquency petition alleging that a seventeen-year-old girl had engaged in criminal solicitation to commit murder after she asked a stranger to punch her in the stomach to terminate her pregnancy. The…
Date: November 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 73
Docket Number: 20070256
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael Archuleta was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. This opinion consolidated analysis from the fourth and fifth times the Supreme Court entertained appeals by Archuleta. The Supreme Court…
Date: November 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 72
Docket Number: 20100012
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother, who were not married, gave birth to a child. Father filed a paternity petition but failed to include a sworn affidavit stating that he was willing to pay child support and take custody of the child.…
Date: November 15, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 71
Docket Number: 20090922
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned a dispute over a parcel of land situated between adjoining landowners, Defendant and Plaintiff. Plaintiff was the record owner of the property, but Defendant and its predecessors-in-interest occupied…
Date: November 8, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 70
Docket Number: 20090080
Justia Opinion Summary: Victor Hernandez was charged with four Class A misdemeanor offenses. Hernandez filed a request for a preliminary hearing. The district court denied Hernandez's request because it concluded that the right to a preliminary…
Date: November 1, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 68
Docket Number: 20100011
Justia Opinion Summary: Shortly before she passed away, Darlene Patterson executed an amendment to the Darlene Patterson Family Protection Trust, which removed Darlene's son, Ronald Patterson, as a beneficiary. After Darlene died, Ronald filed…
Date: November 1, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 69
Docket Number: 20100125
Justia Opinion Summary: Ira Warne executed a partial revocation of and amendment to the Ira Warne Family Protection Trust, the purpose of which was to terminate the interest of one of Ira's sons, Tom Warne, who had been designated as a…
Date: October 28, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 67
Docket Number: 20090742
Justia Opinion Summary: Marilyn Hamblin, the owner of a water right as an alleged tenant in common, filed a permanent change application with the state engineer, seeking to change her water right's place of use and point of diversion. The…
Date: October 25, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 66
Docket Number: 20091032
Justia Opinion Summary: David and Kristine Anderson purchased an undeveloped lot of land from Country Living Development. After constructing a home on the lot, the Andersons' home developed structural problems resulting from excessive settling…
Date: October 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 64
Docket Number: 20090875
Justia Opinion Summary: Young Living Essential Oils entered into an agreement with Carlos Marin under which Marin would act as a distributor of Young Living's products. Young Living later filed suit against Marin, asserting breach of contract…
Date: October 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 65
Docket Number: 20100341
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife divorced pursuant to a divorce decree that required Husband to pay monthly alimony to Wife. Wife later moved in with her parents and developed a relationship with one of her parents' foster children,…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 62
Docket Number: 20081054
Justia Opinion Summary: The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) condemned real property belonging to Admiral Beverage Corporation, and Admiral was entitled to compensation from the State for the taking of its property. During the…
Date: October 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 63
Docket Number: 20090569
Justia Opinion Summary: L.C. Canyon filed an application with Salt Lake County to rezone several acres of its property to allow the construction of a residence on the property. The County Planning Commission recommended its approval to the Salt…
Date: October 4, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 61
Docket Number: 20100211
Justia Opinion Summary: The underlying dispute in this appeal revolved around the issue of who was contractually obligated to pay workers' compensation benefits to an employee of Employer. The Supreme Court found that Employer's Insurer was…
Date: September 30, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 59
Docket Number: 20090659
Justia Opinion Summary: Terry Johnson was convicted of murdering his child's babysitter. The court of appeals affirmed. Johnson subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief, challenging, among other things, his counsel's…
Date: September 30, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 60
Docket Number: 20100530
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Money & More Inc. (M&M) allegedly maintained and operated a Ponzi scheme. Pursuant to a petition filed by the State, the district court issued a temporary restraining order freezing Defendants' assets and later…
Date: September 27, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 54
Docket Number: 20090679
Justia Opinion Summary: Ivory Homes purchased various concrete products from a company that, when it delivered the products, provided an invoice that charged a single sales price without indicating separate delivery charges. Ivory Homes then…
Date: September 27, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 57
Docket Number: 20090816
Justia Opinion Summary: Three cases, including State v. Davis, State v. Jeffs, 2011 UT 56, and State v. Parduhn, 2011 UT 55, were consolidated in this opinion. All three cases came to the Supreme Court on interlocutory appeal and involved…
Date: September 27, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 58
Docket Number: 20100066
Justia Opinion Summary: Judge Judith Atherton presided over a criminal proceeding involving an indigent defendant in which Atherton ordered the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association (LDA) to provide funding for the defendant's expert. LDA was…
Date: August 30, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 52
Docket Number: 20061025
Justia Opinion Summary: Douglas Lovell pleaded guilty to aggravated murder. Lovell subsequently moved to withdraw his plea. The district court initially held that Lovell's motion was untimely, but the Supreme Court reversed and remanded for…
Date: August 30, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 53
Docket Number: 20090150
Justia Opinion Summary: Chanzy Walker was involved in an accident that killed one person. The detectives investigating the incident obtained a warrant from a magistrate judge to draw and test Walker's blood. A blood sample from Walker revealed…
Date: August 23, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 51
Docket Number: 20090638
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case the juvenile court terminated Father's parental rights to T.E., his biological child, after finding that Father had abandoned T.E. The court of appeals affirmed, concluding that, even if Father did not…
Date: August 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 49
Docket Number: 20090676
Justia Opinion Summary: When it was sued by its former president and CEO, the Equine Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) requested coverage for the costs of its defense from its insurance carrier, Carolina Casualty. Carolina…
Date: August 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 50
Docket Number: 20090796
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants, Marion Energy and the State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, leased and owned oil and gas deposits lying underneath property owned by the KFJ Ranch Partnership. In order to build a…
Date: August 16, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 48
Docket Number: 20090616
Justia Opinion Summary: Sanpete America purchased 110 acres of farmland and water rights from Christian Willardsen pursuant to a land purchase agreement and a warranty deed. After discovering problems with respect to the conveyance of the water…
Date: August 9, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 47
Docket Number: 20090261
Justia Opinion Summary: Curtis Allgier was charged with aggravated murder, disarming a peace officer, aggravated escape, aggravated robbery, and aggravated attempted murder. While Allgier's case was pending, the district court received a letter…
Date: August 2, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 46
Docket Number: 20090836
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Stepfather filed a petition in the district court to terminate the parental rights of Father. At the same time, Stepfather filed an adoption petition in which he sought to adopt Father's children. The district…
Date: July 29, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 44
Docket Number: 20090841
Justia Opinion Summary: Andrew Allen filed a complaint against Melissa Moyer in small claims court for property damage arising out of an automobile accident. The small claims court awarded Allen a judgment for the damage to his car. After Moyer…
Date: July 29, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 43
Docket Number: 20090921
Justia Opinion Summary: Summit Water was a mutual water company providing culinary grade water to residential and commercial shareholders. After the Utah State Tax Commission audited Summit Water's annual property tax affidavit and concluded…
Date: July 29, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 45
Docket Number: 20091025
Justia Opinion Summary: David Pyper hired attorney Justin Bond to represent him in a probate matter. Bond's law firm subsequently sued Pyper to obtain payment of the attorney fees. The district court entered a judgment in favor of the law firm…
Date: July 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 42
Docket Number: 20090989
Justia Opinion Summary: After a Robin Doyle and Doug Doyle obtained a litigated custody decree, Robin petitioned the trial court for a modification of the custody of her son, maintaining that there had been a substantial and material change in…
Date: July 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 40
Docket Number: 20090835
Justia Opinion Summary: A highway patrol trooper noticed a car driven by Vance Morris did not have a visible license plate. Once he pulled Morris over, the trooper realized the car had a valid temporary registration tag displayed in its rear…
Date: July 22, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 41
Docket Number: 20091082
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned the application of payments made in connection with a real estate transaction between Kang Park and Marsha Park and Gary Stanford. The district court granted summary judgment to the Parks,…
Date: July 19, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 38
Docket Number: 20090625
Justia Opinion Summary: Baby E.Z., the child of John Wyatt and the birth mother, who were never married, was born in Virginia. After the birth, the birth mother consented to an adoption, after which Wyatt initiated custody and visitation…
Date: July 19, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 39
Docket Number: 20090494
Justia Opinion Summary: Barbara and Steven Selvig, as sellers, and Blockbuster Enterprises, as buyer, entered into a real estate purchase contract for the purchase of a bed and breakfast. The contract specified that the deed to the property…
Date: July 12, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 36
Docket Number: 20061025
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Douglas Lovell was convicted of aggravated murder. Following the entry of his guilty plea, Lovell moved to withdraw it. The district court initially held the motion was untimely, but the Supreme Court reversed…
Date: July 12, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 37
Docket Number: 20090796
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants Marion Energy (Marion) and the State of Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (the Trust) leased and owned oil and gas deposits that lay underneath property owned by the KFJ Ranch…
Date: July 12, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 35
Docket Number: 20090025
Justia Opinion Summary: The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) contracted with Meadow Valley Contractors (MVC) for a highway construction project. MVC subcontracted the paving work to Southwest Asphalt Paving. After UDOT refused to allow…
Date: July 1, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 34
Docket Number: 20081016
Justia Opinion Summary: Carter and Glenada Iverson were killed in a head-on collision with an underinsured motorist while driving a vehicle covered by their policy with State Farm. The personal representative of the Iversons' estate requested…
Date: June 28, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 33
Docket Number: 20090757
Justia Opinion Summary: In a 1905 water exchange agreement, Big Ditch Irrigation Company conveyed its Big Cottonwood Creek water right to the Salt Lake City Corporation in exchange for the City's commitment to supply Big Ditch with a specified…
Date: June 21, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 32
Docket Number: 20091020
Date: June 17, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 31
Docket Number: 20090742
Justia Opinion Summary: Marilyn Hamblin, the owner of a water right, filed a permanent change application with the state engineer seeking to change her water right's place of use and point of diversion. The state engineer denied the…
Date: June 10, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 30
Docket Number: 20090015
Justia Opinion Summary: Chance Robinson was charged with unlawful possession or use of a controlled substance based on the presence of methamphetamine in his bloodstream. The charge was grounded on provisions of the Utah Controlled Substances…
Date: June 3, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 28
Docket Number: 20090308
Justia Opinion Summary: Several Utah counties appealed a tax court's valuation of T-Mobile's taxable Utah property, arguing the valuation did not give proper deference to the Commission's prior assessments, erroneously excluded the value of…
Date: May 10, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 26
Docket Number: 20090451
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant Sandy City and Plaintiffs Mark Haik and several others all hold deeds to the same water right. Sandy City recorded a sales agreement for the right in 1977, but did not record the deed until 2004. The Plaintiffs…
Date: May 6, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 24
Docket Number: 20090369
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant-Appellant Jeffrey Lenkart was charged with rape, forcible sodomy and two counts of sexual abuse. A jury convicted him on all counts, and he was sentenced to concurrent prison terms. Following his sentencing…
Date: May 6, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 25
Docket Number: 20090837
Justia Opinion Summary: The Oak Lane Homeowners Association (the Association) sought review of the appellate court’s judgment in favor of Defendants Dennis and Renae Griffin. The previous owners of the Griffins’ property “had an understanding”…
Date: April 29, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 23
Docket Number: 20090525
Justia Opinion Summary: Victims-Appellants T.C. and N.C. are the minor victims of sexual abuse perpetrated by their adopted older brother Zachariah Clark. As part of the restitution ordered during sentencing, the trial court required the…
Date: April 26, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 22
Docket Number: 20090266
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellees Mark and Marilyn Hesse purchased an undeveloped subdivision of land owned by Canberra Development Company (CDC) in February 2004. Appellees constructed their home on the lot. After moving into their new home,…
Date: April 19, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 21
Docket Number: 20090322
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner-Defendant Brenda White was charged with the attempted murder of her ex-husband after she chased him and hit him with her car at his workplace. Petitioner filed a pretrial motion asking the judge to instruct…
Date: February 18, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 10
Docket Number: 20090831
Date: January 7, 2011
Citation: 2011 UT 1
Docket Number: 20080998
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
