Utah Supreme Court Decisions 2024

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Shane Craig Smith, who was arrested in a police sting operation after he attempted to engage in sexual activities with a persona named "Emily," who he believed to be a 13-year-old girl. Smith had met…

Justia Opinion Summary: Nicholas and Julie Kuhar filed a product liability claim against Thompson Manufacturing, a Utah company, seeking compensation for injuries Nicholas sustained when his safety harness failed while he was cleaning rain…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Salt Lake County's challenge to the constitutionality of the Aircraft Valuation Law, which provides a preferred method for determining the fair market value of aircraft for tax purposes. The County…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the interpretation of Utah's Pretrial Justification Statute and its application to a situation where a defendant, Jon Michael Clara, claimed self-defense after firing his gun at a snowplow that had…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a group of businesses (referred to collectively as Taxpayers) who filed applications for adjustments to the fair market value of their properties for tax year 2020 in the state of Utah. They claimed…

Justia Opinion Summary: A dispute arose between SunStone Realty Partners X LLC (SunStone) and Bodell Construction Company (Bodell) over the postjudgment interest rate applied to a domesticated Hawaii judgment in Utah. Following arbitration in…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal of a criminal case, the Supreme Court of the State of Utah concluded that the police officers' warrantless entry and search of Alexander Hung Tran’s home were reasonable and justified under the emergency…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of the State of Utah considered the appeal of Marianne Tyson who sought to access her sealed adoption records from 1978, in order to learn more about her birth parents' medical histories…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the medical malpractice case concerning the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from Lillian Birt, her daughter Jenafer Meeks sued the treating doctors, Wei Peng and Christina G. Richards, both individually and on…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, a doctor, Dr. Gabriel Fine, sued the University of Utah School of Medicine, alleging that the University deprived him of his clinical privileges without following the procedures required by its bylaws. The…

Justia Opinion Summary: In the case at hand, Robert Evan Woodham was convicted for failing to yield to stationary emergency vehicles in violation of Utah Code subsection 41-6a-904(2). The conviction was upheld by the district court, after which…

Justia Opinion Summary: In a case before the Supreme Court of the State of Utah, the petitioner, Elbert John Paule, was charged with murder, obstruction of justice, reckless endangerment, and assault following a fatal shooting incident…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Cathy McKitrick, an investigative journalist, sought access to certain records under the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). The Ogden City Records Review Board ordered the city to release…