Wyoming Supreme Court Decisions 2015
Date: December 29, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 157
Docket Numbers: S-15-0076, S-15-0131, S-15-0132
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Robert Bratton filed a petition to be appointed the guardian of William Bratton, Robert’s brother. Jeanne Blenkinsop, William’s sister, responded with a counter petition seeking to be appointed guardian and…
Date: December 29, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 158
Docket Number: S-15-0105
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of aggravated assault and battery, simple assault, and strangulation of a household member. The Supreme Court affirmed Appellant’s conviction and sentence for aggravated…
Date: December 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 156
Docket Number: S-15-0102
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded no contest to one count of first degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second degree sexual abuse of a minor, both felonies. Defendant appealed, arguing that his…
Date: December 9, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 155
Docket Number: S-15-0168
Date: December 8, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 154
Docket Number: S-15-0039
Justia Opinion Summary: FIB filed a complaint against Dishman for judicial foreclosure. The district court granted FIB a partial summary judgment for the principal due, accrued interest, and most of FIB’s costs. The court later held a bench…
Date: December 4, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 153
Docket Number: S-15-0085
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father, who never married, were the parents of two minor children. After the parties separated, the parties filed a stipulated order establishing custody and visitation, which was entered by the district…
Date: December 2, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 152
Docket Numbers: S-15-0019, S-15-0020
Justia Opinion Summary: Pennaco Energy, Inc. obtained oil and gas leases and made contracts with the surface landowners, who were predecessors of Appellees. The contracts granted Pennaco use of the landowners’ land during exploration and…
Date: December 2, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 151
Docket Number: S-15-0166
Date: November 24, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 150
Docket Number: S-14-0314
Justia Opinion Summary: First American Title Insurance Company issued title insurance policies to the predecessors of North Fork Land & Cattle, LLLP. When North Fork learned that Bunker Road, which crosses three of North Fork’s properties, was…
Date: November 24, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 149
Docket Numbers: S-15-0054, S-15-0055
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of larceny. The district court revoked Defendant’s probation from a previous case and imposed the remainder of Defendant’s sentence. Defendant appealed in both cases. The…
Date: November 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 147
Docket Number: S-15-0058
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of driving a vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or controlled substances and was sentenced to six to seven years’ confinement. The Supreme Court…
Date: November 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 148
Docket Number: S-15-0106
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, an inmate at the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution, filed a petition for declaratory judgment asking the district court to find that Steve Hargett, the warden of the institution, and Robert Lampert, the…
Date: November 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 146
Docket Numbers: S-15-0049, S-15-0050
Justia Opinion Summary: A road crosses the corner of a parcel of property owned by Boyd Van Fleet. A dispute arose between Van Fleet and Appellants concerning Appellants’ ownership and right to use that portion of the road in conjunction with…
Date: November 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 145
Docket Number: S-15-0068
Justia Opinion Summary: Keizer Trailer Sales, Inc., which was insured by Continental Western Insurance Company (CWIC), sold three trailers to James Black. The installment purchase agreement stated that Keizer would remain the owner of the…
Date: November 13, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 144
Docket Number: S-15-0004
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994, Appellant was charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault and one count of aggravated assault and battery. Appellant entered a plea pursuant to a plea agreement under which the State dismissed all…
Date: November 12, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 142
Docket Number: S-14-0291
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff executed a non-compete agreement restricting her ability to compete with an accounting firm that she sold to Defendant. Before the non-compete agreement expired, Plaintiff was awarded the position of office…
Date: November 12, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 143
Docket Number: S-15-0043
Justia Opinion Summary: During the 2011-2012 school year, Plaintiff was a continuing contract teacher who worked for the Laramie County School District No. One. In spring of 2012, the District Superintendent gave Plaintiff notice that he…
Date: November 10, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 141
Docket Number: S-15-0073
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Appellant filed a Wyo. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(4) motion seeking to set aside a 1999 default judgment granting Appellee a divorce. In support of her motion, Appellant alleged that the default judgment was void because…
Date: November 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 140
Docket Number: S-14-0251
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of domestic battery and possession of a weapon with intent to threaten. Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the prosecutor improperly asked him a series of questions during his…
Date: October 30, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 139
Docket Number: S-15-0045
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was employed as a probation a parole agent when he began a sexual relationship with a probationer he supervised. The State ultimately charged Appellant with second-degree sexual assault under Wyo. Stat. Ann.…
Date: October 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 138
Docket Numbers: S-14-0313, S-14-0250
Justia Opinion Summary: Amy Landerman filed a complaint against Nathan Cook alleging that Cook fraudulently obtained shares of Landerman’s company, a Wyoming corporation. The district court entered judgment against Cook, finding that Cook…
Date: October 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 137
Docket Number: S-15-0044
Justia Opinion Summary: A highway patrol trooper pulled over the driver of a vehicle for following too closely and for having a cracked windshield. Appellant was seated in the front passenger seat. After Appellant appeared to have suffered a…
Date: October 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 136
Docket Number: S-15-0036
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants and the company they own filed suit against David Fisher and other defendants, alleging claims arising from an unfulfilled real estate purchase agreement. Fisher filed an answer and counterclaim. Three years…
Date: October 7, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 135
Docket Number: S-15-0037
Justia Opinion Summary: Father and Mother had a sexual encounter in Portland, Oregon. Mother became pregnant as a result of the encounter. Mother returned to her hometown of Jackson, Wyoming, where the parties’ child was born. Father remained…
Date: October 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 134
Docket Number: S-15-0016
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant suffered a work-related injury while working for Employer and filed an injury report with the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division. The Division denied benefits, finding that Appellant had failed to show that…
Date: September 30, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 133
Docket Number: S-15-0051
Justia Opinion Summary: This case concerned a dispute regarding who was entitled to the proceeds of a retirement annuity contract. Plaintiff filed a complaint for declaratory judgment pursuant to the Uniform Declaratory Judgments Act claiming…
Date: September 28, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 132
Docket Number: S-15-0033
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Defendant’s motion for a…
Date: September 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 131
Docket Number: S-15-0028
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were divorced in 2009 pursuant to a divorce decree that required Father to pay seventy-five percent of the parties’ children’s medical expenses not covered by insurance. At issue in this dispute was…
Date: September 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 129
Docket Number: S-14-0299
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff sued Cowboy Dodge, Inc. claiming he was entitled to damages in tort because the company terminated him in retaliation for filing a worker’s compensation claim. The district court granted summary judgment in…
Date: September 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 130
Docket Number: S-15-0015
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Scherf suffered a heart attack at work while servicing a front end loader. Scherf died of acute myocardial infraction with cardiogenic shock. Claimant, Scherf’s widow, applied for workers’ compensation death…
Date: September 18, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 128
Docket Number: S-15-0060
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant had been employed for seven years by the Fremont County School District Number One when the District’s Board of Trustees terminated his employment. On appeal, Appellant asserted that the Board failed to comply…
Date: September 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 127
Docket Number: S-14-0296
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Defendants alleging claims for conversion and fraud stemming from one Defendant's alleged theft of beer from Plaintiffs’ store and his subsequent sale of the stolen beer to the other…
Date: September 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 126
Docket Number: S-14-0257
Justia Opinion Summary: This proceeding was the third and final phase of the general adjudication of water rights in the Big Horn River. The State recommended adjudicating water rights for fifty-two acres of land owned by Hat Bar Cattle…
Date: September 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 123
Docket Number: S-14-0307
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of driving while under the influence of methamphetamine and aggravated vehicular homicide based upon recklessness. Defendant appealed, asserting that his constitutional right…
Date: September 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 125
Docket Number: S-15-0057
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father had one child, TM, during their marriage. When the parties divorced, the custody order awarded Mother primary physical custody of TM. When Father learned that Mother was planning to marry and move with…
Date: September 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 124
Docket Number: S-15-0135
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court entered an order terminating the parental rights of Appellant, concluding that there was clear and convincing evidence to support three statutory grounds for termination of Appellant’s parental rights.…
Date: September 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 122
Docket Number: S-14-0298
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of larceny by bailee. The district court sentenced Appellant to eight to ten years in prison but suspended the sentence and placed him on probation. The court also ordered…
Date: September 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 121
Docket Number: S-15-0002
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery. The only issue at trial was whether Defendant conspired with his brother to commit robbery. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction…
Date: September 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 120
Docket Number: S-15-0067
Justia Opinion Summary: After twenty years of marriage, Wife filed for divorce from Husband. The primary issue at trial concerned the division of the marital property. After the district court entered a divorce decree, Wife appealed, arguing…
Date: September 11, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 119
Docket Number: S-15-0001
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The district court sentencing Defendant to a period of seven to fifteen years incarceration. The Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: September 3, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 118
Docket Number: S-14-0262
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of attempted first degree murder, aggravated burglary, conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary, and aggravated assault. Defendant was sentenced to a term of life on the…
Date: September 2, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 117
Docket Number: S-14-0282
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the Fremont County Assessor assessed the commercial land and improvements of Mountain Vista Retirement Residence at $1,327,908 and its personal property at $8,246. The Fremont County Board of Equalization, the…
Date: August 26, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 116
Docket Number: S-14-0198
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a non-Indian, filed a complaint in state district court against Defendants, enrolled members of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, for injuries sustained in a vehicle accident that occurred on a state highway within…
Date: August 21, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 115
Docket Number: S-14-0283
Justia Opinion Summary: Taylor Lysager, who was five years old, was attending a community basketball game at a former school building in Etna, Wyoming when lunchroom bench propped against the wall fell on him, causing a fatal skull fracture.…
Date: August 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 114
Docket Number: D-15-0005
Date: August 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 112
Docket Number: D-15-0006
Date: August 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 110
Docket Number: S-14-0312
Date: August 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 111
Docket Number: S-15-0113
Date: August 18, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 109
Docket Number: S-14-0292
Justia Opinion Summary: Wife filed for divorce from Husband. The parties reached a settlement agreement as to child custody and visitation but were unable to agree concerning child support and the division of property. After a trial, the…
Date: August 18, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 113
Docket Number: S-15-0190
Justia Opinion Summary: Phillip Sam was charged as an adult with one count of first degree murder and twelve counts of aggravated assault. Sam was sixteen years old at the time of the offense, and several witnesses set to testify at trial were…
Date: August 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 107
Docket Number: S-14-0300
Justia Opinion Summary: Sheri Eaton requested workers’ compensation benefits claiming that she received a workplace injury resulting from an injury at her workplace. After a contested case hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH)…
Date: August 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 108
Docket Number: S-15-0059
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1994, Appellant pled guilty to kidnapping and and first-degree sexual assault while he was on parole for an unrelated crime. Appellant was sentenced to two concurrent terms of life imprisonment. In 2014, Appellant,…
Date: August 14, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 105
Docket Number: S-14-0260
Justia Opinion Summary: Electrical Wholesale Supply Co. (EWS) filed this action seeking payment for electrical materials it supplied to a commercial building remodel. EWS sued, among other defendants, Alane Fraser, the owner of the commercial…
Date: August 14, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 106
Docket Number: S-14-0266
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant received a back injury while working as a concrete truck driver. Appellant subsequently received two surgeries to his back and could not return to work. The Wyoming Workers’ Safety and Compensation Division…
Date: August 13, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 104
Docket Number: S-15-0008
Justia Opinion Summary: In the third and final phase of the general adjudication of water rights in the Big Horn River, the Wyoming Board of Control recommended elimination of certain unused and unadjudicated water rights under Farmers Canal…
Date: August 12, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 103
Docket Numbers: S-14-0205, S-14-0204
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor for sexually assaulting his teenage daughter. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its…
Date: August 5, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 102
Docket Number: D-15-0004
Date: August 5, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 101
Docket Number: S-14-0228
Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute arose from promises Defendant Daniel Ochsner allegedly made during Plaintiffs’ several-year tenure living and working on Defendants’ ranch. The district court denied all of Plaintiffs’ claims and Defendants’…
Date: August 4, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 100
Docket Number: S-14-0233
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to third-degree sexual assault and nolo contedere to abuse of a vulnerable adult. Defendant appealed, arguing that neither plea was informed because the court failed adequately to explain the…
Date: August 3, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 99
Docket Number: S-14-0268
Justia Opinion Summary: The State incurred approximately $5,213,000 in suppression costs for the Oil Creek Fire, which it paid or will pay from the State’s Emergency Fire Suppression Account. The State filed a complaint against Black Hills…
Date: July 31, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 97
Docket Number: S-14-0133
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, a lesser included offense of first-degree murder. At trial, Appellant claimed he was acting in self-defense when he shot the victim. Appellant…
Date: July 31, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 98
Docket Number: S-14-0305
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a high school student, filed suit against his school district and his teacher for injuries he received during a science demonstration conducted in the school gymnasium. Defendants moved for summary judgment…
Date: July 24, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 96
Docket Number: S-14-0273
Justia Opinion Summary: When Theresia Breen and Jamie Black divorced, Black was required to provide medical insurance for the parties’ four girls. The decree required the parties to split any medical costs remaining after deductibles were paid…
Date: July 20, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 95
Docket Number: S-14-0309
Justia Opinion Summary: BHB was born in 2010 to Mother and Father, who were not married. Father filed a petition seeking to establish paternity, custody, visitation, and child support for BHB. After a trial held in 2014, the district court…
Date: July 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 94
Docket Number: S-14-0277
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant suffered a workplace injury to his back and applied for permanent partial disability. The Workers’ Compensation Division denied benefits. Appellant requested a contested case hearing. During discovery, the…
Date: July 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 93
Docket Number: S-14-0284
Justia Opinion Summary: The Smoke Free Committee sought to subject a 2013 Casper City ordinance governing smoking in public places to a referendum vote. The City Clerk determined that the referendum was sixty-one valid signatures short.…
Date: July 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 86 A
Docket Number: S-14-0213
Date: July 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 83 A
Docket Number: S-14-0234
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted for aiding and abetting aggravated robbery. Defendant appealed, asserting that the district court denied him the right to due process when it refused to instruct the jury on…
Date: July 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 92
Docket Number: S-14-0285
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of one count of second degree sexual abuse of a minor. Defendant appealed, arguing that prosecutorial misconduct occurred in four instances. The Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: July 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 91
Docket Number: S-14-0253
Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Defendant was convicted of five counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court committed plain error by admitting testimony about the presumption…
Date: July 2, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 90
Docket Number: D-15-0003
Date: June 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 89
Docket Number: S-14-0315
Justia Opinion Summary: After Elda Coborn died intestate, Appellants, Coborn’s daughters, filed an application for a summary decree of distribution in Laramie County, Wyoming. The district court granted the application in part, distributing the…
Date: June 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 88
Docket Number: S-14-0271
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Appellant suffered a work-related injury. The Department of Workforce Services, Workers’ Compensation Division approved benefits for the jury to Appellant’s left groin, abdomen, upper leg, and knee. After…
Date: June 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 86
Docket Number: S-14-0213
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of felony theft. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) there was sufficient evidence for the jury to reasonably conclude that Defendant possessed the requisite intent to…
Date: June 17, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 87
Docket Number: S-14-0224
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not…
Date: June 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 85
Docket Number: S-14-0245
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of strangulation of a household member. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court committed reversible error by failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included…
Date: June 11, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 84
Docket Number: S-14-0197
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee filed the instant action for declaratory relief, claiming to have title to eighty percent of the mineral interest in certain Converse County, Wyoming property pursuant to a 1976 judgment and asserting that…
Date: June 11, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 83
Docket Number: s-14-0234
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aiding and abetting aggravated robbery. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court denied him the right to due process by declining to instruct the jury on his…
Date: June 11, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 82
Docket Number: S-14-0255
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee sued Appellant for trespassing on his property. Because Appellant’s counsel did not appear at the final pretrial conference and otherwise failed to comply with the scheduling order previously set forth, the…
Date: June 9, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 81
Docket Numbers: S-14-0140, S-14-0139
Justia Opinion Summary: Malcolm and French Wallop created an estate plan with the intention of owning and operating the Canyon Ranch and establishing a means of transferring its ownership and operation to their respective children. The estate…
Date: May 29, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 80
Docket Number: S-14-0229
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case had a minor child but never married. After the parties separated, they eventually entered into a settlement agreement agreeing that they would have joint legal custody of the child and that…
Date: May 29, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 79
Docket Number: S-14-0240
Justia Opinion Summary: The child in this case was twelve years old and in sixth grade when an educational neglect case was filed alleging that Father and Mother had “failed or refused to provide adequate education necessary for the child’s…
Date: May 28, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 78
Docket Number: S-14-0231
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to serve seventy-five years to life in prison. On appeal, Appellant contended that the district court considered improper evidence in determining his…
Date: May 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 75
Docket Numbers: S-14-0149, S-14-0118
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a two-vehicle collision. Plaintiff filed a complaint against both drivers (Defendants) alleging negligence. Before trial, Defendants filed a notice of their admission of…
Date: May 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 76
Docket Number: S-14-0201
Justia Opinion Summary: After Mother and Father divorced in 2010, the parties shared custody of their minor children. Father later petitioned for custody modification, alleging that there had been a “material change in circumstances” since the…
Date: May 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 77
Docket Number: S-14-0264
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant submitted a bid for a highway project in Sublette County, Wyoming and was the low bidder. The Board of County Commissioners of Sublette County awarded the contract to another bidder, a contractor that was from…
Date: May 21, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 74
Docket Numbers: S-14-0216, S-14-0215
Justia Opinion Summary: Buyer agreed to purchase a portion of a 2,700 acre ranch from Sellers. Sellers agreed to finance a portion of the purchase price by accepting Buyer’s promissory note. After Buyer defaulted on the promissory note, Sellers…
Date: May 20, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 73
Docket Number: S-14-0247
Justia Opinion Summary: In this child neglect proceeding, the juvenile court found that it was in the child’s best interest to cease efforts to reunify him with Mother and to change the permanency plan to termination of parental rights and…
Date: May 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 71
Docket Number: S-14-0178
Justia Opinion Summary: Accelerated Receivable Solutions (ARS) filed a creditor’s claim against the Estate of Margaret A. Hauf (Estate). The Estate rejected ARS’s claim, filed the notice of rejection in district court, and mailed the rejection…
Date: May 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 72
Docket Number: S-14-0220
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of second degree sexual abuse of a minor. The district court sentenced Defendant to five to ten years of incarceration but suspended the sentence and ordered him to serve six years…
Date: May 14, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 70
Docket Number: S-14-0259
Justia Opinion Summary: Sheridan Newspapers, Inc. filed a petition requesting release of minutes reflecting discussion by the Board of Trustees of Sheridan County School District #2 of a proposed multi-purpose recreational facility during…
Date: May 13, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 69
Docket Number: S-14-0209
Justia Opinion Summary: Prior to giving birth to a child conceived with Father, Mother stopped communicating with Father. After learning about his child’s birth on Facebook, Father filed a petition to establish paternity, custody, visitation…
Date: May 12, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 67
Docket Number: S-14-0239
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of three counts of delivery of cocaine. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction and remanded for a new trial, holding (1) the evidence was sufficient to support the…
Date: May 12, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 68
Docket Number: S-14-0243
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of second-degree murder. On appeal, Appellant argued that the jury was not properly instructed on the element of malice under the Court’s decision in Wilkerson v. State, which…
Date: May 11, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 66
Docket Number: S-14-0236
Justia Opinion Summary: The State, by and through the State Treasurer of Wyoming and the State Retirement System (collectively, the State), filed this action against Appellees - rating agencies - alleging that the rating agencies were liable…
Date: May 11, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 65
Docket Number: S-14-0294
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional plea to possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Defendant was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of seven to ten years…
Date: May 1, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 64
Docket Number: S-14-0230
Justia Opinion Summary: When Mother and Father were divorced Mother was granted primary physical custody of the parties’ child. Mother later moved to Pennsylvania where she commenced proceedings seeking to terminate Father’s parental rights.…
Date: April 29, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 63
Docket Numbers: S-14-0186, S-14-0187
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to larceny by bailee and two counts of false statement to obtain title. Defendant appealed, arguing (1) the district court erred in denying his motion to amend judgment and sentence in the…
Date: April 28, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 61
Docket Number: S-14-0185
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the parties divorced. The original divorce decree provided for joint legal and physical custody of the parties’ three children. In 2013, Father field a petition to modify custody, visitation and support. The…
Date: April 28, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 62
Docket Number: S-14-0196
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of felony possession of marijuana. The Supreme Court reversed the conviction for felony possession, holding (1) the evidence was insufficient to support Appellant’s conviction…
Date: April 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 60
Docket Number: S-14-0046
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of child abuse and third-degree sexual assault of a minor under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-2-503(b)(i) and Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-2-316(a)(iv). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1)…
Date: April 16, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 59
Docket Number: D-14-0007
Date: April 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 57
Docket Number: S-14-0190
Justia Opinion Summary: Gregory and Debra Lavitt and Harry Stephens owned mountain property near one another. Stephens commenced a declaratory judgment action seeking a ruling that he held a valid easement across the Lavitts’ property. The…
Date: April 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 58
Docket Number: S-15-0046
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to one count of burglary and was placed on probation. As part of his probation, Appellant was required to complete a community corrections program and a residential treatment program. Appellant was…
Date: April 14, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 56
Docket Number: S-14-0106
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a California court order, Father had sole legal and physical custody of the parties’ child, subject to limited visitation by Mother. Mother filed a petition for modification of the California order seeking…
Date: April 10, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 55
Docket Number: S-14-0207
Justia Opinion Summary: Sandra Greenmeyer and Jacob Greenmeyer divorced in 1994. The divorce decree awarded Sandra a portion of Jacob’s railroad retirement benefits. Jacob retired in 2009 and began receiving his retirement benefits. In 2013,…
Date: April 8, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 54
Docket Number: S-14-0278
Date: April 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 53
Docket Number: S-14-0188
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were married in 2004, and three children were born to the couple. In 2012, Father filed a complaint seeking a divorce. After a trial in 2014, the district court granted primary custody to Father and…
Date: March 31, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 51
Docket Number: S-14-0151
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against Defendant, her former employer, alleging harassment, emotional stress, personal injury, loss of income, and age discrimination. The district court dismissed the complaint for lack of…
Date: March 31, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 52
Docket Number: S-14-0176
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Employee suffered compensable work injuries. Five years later, Employee sought worker’s compensation benefits to cover medical expenses related to his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The Wyoming…
Date: March 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 48
Docket Number: S-14-0057
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first-degree sexual assault and two counts of third-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Defendant was sentenced as a habitual criminal to life imprisonment on the first-degree…
Date: March 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 49
Docket Number: S-14-0169
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. Defendant appealed, asserting that his trial attorney committed a number of errors during the course of the proceedings below,…
Date: March 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 50
Docket Number: S-14-0206
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant entered an Alford plea to aggravated assault and battery and to being a habitual offender. The district court sentenced Defendant to twelve to sixteen years of incarceration.…
Date: March 26, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 46
Docket Number: S-14-0138
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of manslaughter and battery of a household member. Defendant appealed his manslaughter conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in (1)…
Date: March 26, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 47
Docket Number: S-14-0212
Justia Opinion Summary: Triangle Cross Ranch, Inc. offered help to troubled boys by putting them to work on a cattle ranch that was described as “a Catholic Christian Therapeutic Residential Substance Abuse Treatment Program.” Triangle Cross…
Date: March 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 45
Docket Number: D-12-0009
Date: March 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 44
Docket Number: S-14-0274
Date: March 24, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 43
Docket Numbers: S-14-0148, S-14-0147
Justia Opinion Summary: Mary Wise was involved in a single car collision in which she was the passenger and Steven Ludlow was the driver. Wise subsequently filed suit against Ludlow. The jury returned a verdict finding Ludlow negligent, that…
Date: March 24, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 41
Docket Number: S-14-0166
Justia Opinion Summary: Dean Hildebrant was working as an HVAC technician at Central Wyoming College in Riverton when he fell from a ladder. The Wyoming Workers’ Safety and Compensation Division found that Hildebrant had suffered a compensable…
Date: March 24, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 42
Docket Number: S-14-0182
Justia Opinion Summary: This dispute concerned injuries sustained by Steven Johnson when he fell off a haystack while helping his father feed cattle on property owned by the Dale C. and Helen W. Johnson Family Revocable Trust. Steven and his…
Date: March 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 40
Docket Numbers: S-14-0007, S-14-0008, S-14-0141, S-14-0142, S-14-0006
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case owned interests in certain oil and gas leases in Sublette County, Wyoming. In the underlying litigation, the district court granted a monetary judgment against Defendants for amounts due to…
Date: March 9, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 39
Docket Number: S-14-0146
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pled guilty of charges of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine and endangering a child. As part of the plea agreement, Appellant agreed to cooperate with the State in providing…
Date: March 9, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 37
Docket Number: S-14-0160
Justia Opinion Summary: The year after Mother and Father were married, Mother filed a complaint for divorce. The next year, the district court entered an order enforcing the parties’ settlement agreement. Thereafter, Father filed a motion…
Date: March 9, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 38
Docket Number: S-14-0202
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of welfare fraud. Consistent with the plea agreement, the district court imposed a three to eight year sentence and ordered that Defendant pay $90,723 in restitution. Defendant…
Date: March 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 36
Docket Number: S-14-0121
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that she had been injured when she was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Defendant that left the road and rolled several times. Plaintiff served Defendant under Wyoming’s nonresident…
Date: March 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 35
Docket Number: S-14-0145
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband filed for divorce from Wife in 2012. After a trial, the district court issued a decree of divorce dividing the parties’ real property and other significant assets of the parties. Wife appealed, asserting that the…
Date: March 5, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 34
Docket Numbers: S-14-0171, S-14-0172, S-14-0173
Justia Opinion Summary: The three petitioners in this case (collectively, “Petitioners”) were held in the Fremont County Detention Center on unrelated criminal charges. None of the Petitioners were able to post the cash-only bail imposed by the…
Date: February 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 33
Docket Number: D-15-0002
Date: February 27, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 32
Docket Number: S-14-0130
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant and Appellee were the brother and sister of William Bratton. Appellee was appointed as guardian for William in June 2012. In July 2012, Appellant withdrew $10,000 from a bank account held jointly with Appellee…
Date: February 26, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 30
Docket Number: S-14-0035
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of fifteen counts of felony Medicaid fraud and one count of misdemeanor Medicaid fraud. Defendant appealed, arguing, among other things, that the State failed to present…
Date: February 26, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 31
Docket Number: S-14-0159
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was the Redland family’s dispute over ranch property that some Redland children (“Children”) claimed that their father (“Father”) agreed to place in a family trust. In the first appeal, the Supreme…
Date: February 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 26
Docket Number: S-14-0150
Justia Opinion Summary: Milan Todosijevic and Daniel Vokov each owned a fifty percent interest in Montana Food, LLC. Vukov unilaterally adjusted the ownership interests to reflect a 99.7 percent interest in him and a .28 interest in…
Date: February 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 29
Docket Number: S-14-0162
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with escape from official detention. Defendant later filed a motion to dismiss the escape charge due to an alleged failure to bring him to trial within the time limits contained in Wyoming’s…
Date: February 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 28
Docket Number: S-14-0184
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of three counts of first degree sexual abuse of a minor and three counts of second degree sexual abuse of a minor for acts involving two victims. Defendant was also found…
Date: February 25, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 27
Docket Number: S-14-0217
Justia Opinion Summary: Following Appellant’s default and after a default hearing, the district court terminated Appellant’s parental rights to three minor children. Appellant appealed. Appointed counsel filed a motion to withdraw as counsel…
Date: February 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 23
Docket Number: D-15-0001
Date: February 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 22
Docket Number: S-14-0088
Justia Opinion Summary: PRM Partners was a leaseholder of lands which covered an oil well. PRM Partners designated Petroleum Resource Managements, Corp. (PRM) as the operator of the well. PRM contracted with Hot Oil Services, Inc. to perform…
Date: February 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 25
Docket Number: S-14-0167
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was that father of ARW. Appellees were a couple who were involved in ARW’s life since she was three weeks old. Both Appellant and ARW’s mother executed powers of attorney providing that Appellees could have…
Date: February 19, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 24
Docket Number: S-14-0181
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the district court entered a divorce decree dissolving the marriage of Mother and Father. The court awarded primary custody to Mother and awarded Father liberal visitation. Mother later filed a motion seeking…
Date: February 18, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 21
Docket Number: S-14-0164
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee was injured while on the job and made a workers’ compensation claim. The Wyoming Division of Workers’ Compensation denied Appellee’s claim for coverage. Appellee later admitted that he provided false…
Date: February 10, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 20
Docket Number: S-14-0109
Justia Opinion Summary: Vernon Bailey injured his neck and back while working as a custodial supervisor. The Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division awarded benefits to Bailey. When Bailey’s symptoms did not improve, a neurosurgeon requested…
Date: February 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 19
Docket Numbers: S-14-0116, S-14-0114, S-14-0115
Justia Opinion Summary: Christopher Walton and Tammara Duhn hired Jacob Hatch and his construction company (collectively, Hatch) as the general contractor to build a custom home in a subdivision. Hatch drew up two proposed written contracts,…
Date: February 4, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 17
Docket Number: S-14-0040
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of second-degree murder for shooting and killing his cousin. Appellant was also found guilty of kidnapping-confinement and first-degree sexual assault relating to conduct…
Date: February 4, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 18
Docket Numbers: S-14-0083, S-14-0084
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, an eighth grade student at a junior high school, was injured when she slipped and fell in the locker room of the junior high school. Plaintiff filed suit against the School District claiming that the it had…
Date: February 4, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 16
Docket Number: S-14-0237
Date: February 2, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 15
Docket Number: S-14-0179
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder. The district court accepted Appellant’s guilty plea and sentenced him to not less than twenty-five and no more than fifty years incarceration. After…
Date: January 28, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 14
Docket Number: S-14-0098
Justia Opinion Summary: While working as the municipal court judge for the town of Diamondville, Wyoming, Appellant slipped and fell on the icy outdoor steps of the town hall. Due to pain in her lower back, Appellant underwent back surgery in…
Date: January 23, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 13
Docket Numbers: S-14-0123, S-14-0122
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1920, the Beckton Ranch Trust (BRT) was formed by members of the Forbes family to hold parcels of land in Sheridan County, Wyoming and their appurtenant water and ditch rights for the benefit of their descendants. In…
Date: January 21, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 12
Docket Number: S-14-0128
Justia Opinion Summary: After purchasing their property, William and Tia Hansuld notified Lariat Diesel Corporation and Marvin Piel (collectively, “Lariat”) that it could not longer use their property for access. Litigation ensued. This matter…
Date: January 15, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 11
Docket Number: S-14-0168
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs were several residents in the Milatzo Subdivision who sought to permanently enjoin Defendants from operating a daycare business out of their residence in the Subdivision. The district court granted Plaintiffs’…
Date: January 14, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 9
Docket Number: S-14-0099
Justia Opinion Summary: Jerome Knight, who was employed by M&M Welding Services, LLC, and his supervisor, Victory McCoy, who was one of the owners of M&M, were killed in an automobile accident. McCoy was driving the vehicle when the accident…
Date: January 14, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 10
Docket Number: S-14-0104
Justia Opinion Summary: Following Defendant’s involvement in an automobile accident, law enforcement officers searched Defendant’s vehicle and found marijuana. Defendant was subsequently charged with felony possession of marijuana. Defendant…
Date: January 12, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 8
Docket Number: S-14-0062
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, the manager of the Dubois branch of the Fremont County Library System (FCLS), used an FCLS account to order books for the Dubois school system. The FCLS executive director terminated Appellant, determining…
Date: January 9, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 7
Docket Number: S-14-0110
Justia Opinion Summary: After Mother was told by her nine-year-old son, GT, that Father, who served in the United States Air Force (USAF,) was watching GT shower, Mother arranged for GT to see a Counselor. Counselor reported to law enforcement…
Date: January 8, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 5
Docket Number: S-14-0079
Justia Opinion Summary: At approximately 10:18 p.m., police officers searched Defendant’s home pursuant to a search warrant and found marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Defendant was subsequently arrested and charged with delivery of and…
Date: January 8, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 6
Docket Number: S-14-0136
Justia Opinion Summary: When Father and Mother were divorced, Mother was awarded primary custody of the parties’ son and Father was ordered to pay $400 per month in child support. The district court later entered an order finding Father’s…
Date: January 7, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 3
Docket Number: S-14-0092
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were divorced in 2010. Mother was granted primary physical and legal custody of the children, and Father was given standard visitation. In 2013, Father filed a petition to modify custody, alleging that…
Date: January 7, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 4
Docket Number: S-14-0100
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of one count of attempted second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err by not declaring a mistrial after one…
Date: January 7, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 2
Docket Number: S-14-0192
Date: January 6, 2015
Citation: 2015 WY 1
Docket Number: S-14-0105
Justia Opinion Summary: David Hartmann was injured during the course of his employment. After receiving surgery for his injury, Hartmann began experiencing dizzy spells. The Wyoming Workers’ Safety Compensation Division denied payment for the…
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.
