Wyoming Supreme Court Decisions 2017
Date: December 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 154
Docket Number: S-17-0010
Justia Opinion Summary: Steven McLaren challenged his convictions for five felonies stemming from a bizarre and violent encounter with his girlfriend in 2014. McLaren owned 57 cats. He and his girlfriend, Jennifer Evans, referred to the cats as…
Date: December 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 155
Docket Number: S-17-0064
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury convicted appellant Donald Dean Foltz, Jr. of first-degree murder and the district court sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole. Foltz was accused of child abuse towards his girlfriend’s…
Date: December 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 153
Docket Number: S-17-0083
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Appellant’s conviction, rendered after a jury trial, for forgery, holding that there was insufficient evidence to support a conviction under the specific subparagraph of the forgery statute…
Date: December 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 152
Docket Numbers: S-17-0072, S-17-0073, S-17-0074
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court consolidated Plaintiffs’ petitions for writ of review from the circuit court’s decisions granting Defendant summary judgment on Plaintiffs’ separate claims asserting invasion of privacy, granted the…
Date: December 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 151
Docket Number: S-17-0102
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court requiring Wife to return certain personal property Husband after the divorce decree’s ninety-day deadline. On appeal, Wife argued that, by allowing Husband…
Date: December 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 148
Docket Number: S-16-0298
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant, after a jury trial, of one count of immodest, immoral or indecent liberties with a minor and three counts of second-degree sexual abuse…
Date: December 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 149
Docket Number: S-17-0118
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court dismissing Appellant’s declaratory judgment action for lack of a justiciable controversy. Appellant’s driver’s license was suspended after her agreed to…
Date: December 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 150
Docket Number: S-17-0131
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court summarily affirmed the district court’s order recognizing and adopting the settlement Richard Hodson reached with Janet Sturgeon. In the settlement, the parties agreed to resolve their pending lawsuit…
Date: December 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 147
Docket Numbers: S-16-0253, S-17-0087
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of strangulation of a household member, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-2-509(a)(i). The court held (1) contrary to Defendant’s…
Date: December 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 146
Docket Number: S-17-0115
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court entering summary judgment in favor of Defendants in this complaint filed by Plaintiffs asserting a claim for adverse possession based on Plaintiffs’ fencing…
Date: December 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 145
Docket Numbers: S-17-0186, S-17-0187
Date: December 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 144
Docket Number: S-17-0090
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court modifying child support with respect to Mother’s daughter. In 2011, Mother and Father entered into an agreement modifying Father’s child support obligation.…
Date: December 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 143
Docket Number: S-17-0006
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court dismissed Appellant’s appeal from the district court’s order dismissing the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services Labor Standards Appeals Division (WFS) from Appellant’s petition for review of a WFS…
Date: December 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 142
Docket Numbers: S-17-0058, S-17-0059
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court striking RB’s appearance in the underlying adoption action and granting the foster parents’ petition for adoption of SSO, the biological son of RB. The adoption…
Date: December 4, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 141
Docket Numbers: S-17-0099, S-17-0100
Justia Opinion Summary: Res judicata barred Appellant from bringing this claim challenging the district court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence. Appellant pled guilty to burglary, felony larceny, and other crimes.…
Date: November 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 140
Docket Numbers: S-16-0175, S-17-0037
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Appellant of attempted second-degree murder. The court held (1) there was no plain error or cumulative error in the district court’s instructions…
Date: November 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 139
Docket Number: D-17-0007
Date: November 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 138
Docket Number: S-17-0185
Date: November 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 137
Docket Number: S-17-0119
Justia Opinion Summary: For the reasons outlined in Barrera v. State, 403 P.3d 105 (Wyo. 2017) and those set forth in this opinion, the Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s felony conviction for taking a controlled substance into a jail. The…
Date: November 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 135
Docket Number: S-15-0295
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Appellant’s conviction for aggravated assault entered after a jury trial. The district court sentence Appellant to life in prison. The Supreme Court held (1) the prosecutor’s failure to comply…
Date: November 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 136
Docket Number: S-17-0092
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the judgment of the district court granting summary judgment for Plains Tire & Battery, Co. in this case filed by Cindy and William Williams alleging that Plains was negligent in failing to…
Date: November 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 134
Docket Number: S-17-0110
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the juvenile court’s order denying Appellants’ motion to intervene in custody proceedings relating to their granddaughter, EHD. The court held (1) in light of the facts of this case, the…
Date: November 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 133
Docket Number: S-17-0002
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court revoking Appellant’s probation and reinstating his original prison sentence. Appellant entered a no contest plea to one count of kidnapping and was sentenced to…
Date: November 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 132
Docket Number: S-17-0071
Justia Opinion Summary: In this appeal brought by Mother, the Supreme Court affirmed the divorce decree entered by the district court. The court held (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in awarding Father primary physical…
Date: November 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 131
Docket Number: S-17-0055
Justia Opinion Summary: In this case alleging that Memorial Hospital of Sweetwater County was vicariously liable for the acts or omissions of a physician who worked at the hospital as an independent contractor, the Supreme Court reversed the…
Date: November 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 130
Docket Number: S-17-0081
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order modifying the parties’ divorce decree by transferring primary physical custody of the parties’ child to Mother. In granting Mother’s petition to modify custody,…
Date: October 26, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 129
Docket Number: S-16-0203
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion requesting that the criminal case against him be dismissed based upon the Fifth Amendment’s prohibition against double jeopardy. A jury…
Date: October 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 127
Docket Number: D-17-0005
Date: October 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 128
Docket Number: D-17-0006
Date: October 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 125
Docket Number: S-17-0060
Date: October 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 126
Docket Number: S-17-0124
Date: October 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 124
Docket Number: S-16-0268
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Peak Powder River Resources, LLC (Peak) and against Bear Peak Resources, LLC (Bear) in this action…
Date: October 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 123
Docket Number: S-16-0296
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s felony conviction for taking a controlled substance into a jail under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-5-208. That statute provides, in pertinent part, that “[e]xcept as authorized by a person in…
Date: October 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 122
Docket Number: S-17-0068
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed the district court’s order denying Kindred Nursing and Rehabilitation - Wind River’s motion to compel arbitration in this wrongful death action. Aletha Boyd died following her discharge from…
Date: October 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 121
Docket Numbers: S-17-0021, S-17-0022, S-17-0023
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court finding that a California court probate order distributing the estate of Lon V. Smith and a Wyoming court probate order to distribute the decedent’s Wyoming…
Date: October 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 120
Docket Number: S-17-0051
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for interfering with a peace officer, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. 6-5-204(b). The statute provides that “[a] person who intentionally and knowingly causes or attempts…
Date: October 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 119
Docket Number: S-17-0005
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s decision affirming the decision of the Medical Commission, which sustained the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division’s termination of Sarah Morris’s temporary total…
Date: October 4, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 118
Docket Number: S-17-0077
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court did not abuse its discretion when it awarded primary physical custody of the parties’ daughter to Father. After Mother and Father divorced, Mother remarried and announced her intent to relocate to…
Date: October 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 117
Docket Number: S-17-0027
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s dismissal of a complaint brought by the Town of Pine Bluffs alleging that Laramie County illegally taxed a day care center that the Town owned and operated. The Town sought…
Date: September 29, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 116
Docket Number: S-17-0085
Justia Opinion Summary: Due to deficiencies in this pro se appeal filed by Appellant, the Supreme Court summarily affirmed the district court’s dismissal of Appellant’s complaint. Appellant, a former project engineer at Sinclair Wyoming…
Date: September 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 114
Docket Number: S-17-0014
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Teton County Board of County Commissioners granting Four Shadows, LLC a basic use permit (BUP) to use its property in Teton Village for temporary construction…
Date: September 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 115
Docket Number: S-17-0018
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions on one charge of domestic battery and one charge of strangulation of a household member. On appeal, Defendant argued that his convictions and sentences for both crimes…
Date: September 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 113
Docket Number: S-17-0108
Date: September 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 112
Docket Number: S-17-0067
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s ruling holding Husband in contempt and finding insufficient evidence to hold Wife in contempt. Both parties filed contempt motions alleging that the other party violated…
Date: September 20, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 111
Docket Number: S-17-0048
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions of three counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree and one count of sexual abuse of a minor in the third degree for Defendant’s sexual abuse of the daughter…
Date: September 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 110
Docket Number: S-17-0026
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the juvenile court’s permanency order with regard to Mother’s child, an order that changed the permanency plan for the child from family reunification to adoption. The court held (1) despite…
Date: September 18, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 109
Docket Number: S-17-0008
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the Medical Commission’s denial of Dennis Howe’s claim for permanent partial impairment (PPI) benefits for a work-related injury Howe suffered. The district court affirmed the decision of the…
Date: September 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 108
Docket Number: S-16-0081
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions of two counts of aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon, one count of felony property destruction, and one count of attempted second degree murder. The…
Date: September 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 107
Docket Number: S-17-0020
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the termination of Mother’s parental rights with respect to two of her sons. The court held (1) the district court’s conclusions were amply supported by evidence, the accuracy of the district…
Date: September 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 106
Docket Number: S-16-0084
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the Board of Equalization’s decision affirming the ruling of the Wyoming Department of Revenue against PacifiCorp, Inc., which sought a ruling that its purchases of certain chemicals used in…
Date: September 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 105
Docket Number: S-17-0039
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed a district court order denying Appellant’s motion for a sentence reduction. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pleaded no contest to attempted third degree sexual assault. The district…
Date: September 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 104
Docket Number: S-17-0082
Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Hurst was killed and Sara Hurst was seriously injured while riding their bicycles after a vehicle driven by Hannah Terry struck each of their bicycles. The Hurst filed a claim with their uninsured motorist…
Date: September 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 103
Docket Number: S-17-0121
Date: September 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 39 A
Docket Number: S-16-0192
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a no contest plea to kidnapping and a guilty plea to escape. The district court sentenced him to eight to ten years for escape and 17 to 20 years for kidnapping, to run consecutively. The court awarded…
Date: September 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 101
Docket Number: S-16-0219
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions for two counts of sexual abuse and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the victim’s…
Date: September 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 102
Docket Number: S-16-0287
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction, rendered after a jury trial, of one count of domestic battery and one count of strangulation of a household member for attacking his girlfriend. On appeal, Defendant…
Date: September 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 100
Docket Number: S-16-0271
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court convicting Defendant of two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the first degree and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor in the second degree. On appeal,…
Date: August 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 99
Docket Number: S-16-0278
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s affirmance of the decision of the Medical Commission, which upheld the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division’s denial of benefits to James Boyce. Boyce suffered an…
Date: August 24, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 97
Docket Number: D-16-0007
Date: August 24, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 98
Docket Number: S-16-0168
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was sixteen years old when he committed the crimes at issue in this case. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions of one count of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault and battery, and…
Date: August 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 96
Docket Number: S-16-0236
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of first-degree felony murder but vacated Appellant’s sentence for the aggravated burglary conviction, the underlying felony. The court held (1) the district court did…
Date: August 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 95
Docket Number: S-16-0281
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction for felonious restraint, rendered after a jury trial. The district court sentenced Defendant to incarceration for a period of not less than fifteen months nor more than…
Date: August 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 94
Docket Number: S-17-0001
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the Medical Commission’s denial of additional temporary total disability benefits to Appellant. The Commission denied benefits after a contested case hearing, concluding that Appellant’s…
Date: August 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 93
Docket Numbers: S-16-0240, S-16-0241
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the convictions of Appellants, Michael Tibbets and Donna Gifford, each of three counts of child abuse in relation to injuries inflicted upon their children. The district court sentenced…
Date: August 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 92
Docket Number: S-16-0196
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions of one count of first degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second degree sexual abuse of a minor but reversed and remanded for resentencing on Defendant’s…
Date: August 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 91
Docket Number: S-16-0251
Justia Opinion Summary: Employee was terminated from her position as a custodian at a junior high school for stealing or attempting to steal a backpack belonging to a student. The Board of Trustees of Sweetwater County School District No. 1…
Date: August 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 89
Docket Number: D-16-0002
Date: August 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 90
Docket Number: S-16-0274
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to third-degree sexual abuse of a minor. The district court accepted the guilty plea and imposed five years of supervised probation. Appellant later filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea,…
Date: August 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 87
Docket Number: S-16-0215
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of theft, rendered after a jury trial. On appeal, Defendant argued that the prosecutor committed misconduct when he mentioned Defendant’s race during rebuttal closing…
Date: August 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 88
Docket Number: S-16-0265
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s convictions for three counts of first-degree sexual abuse of a minor and one count of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court…
Date: July 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 86
Docket Number: S-16-0247
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the district court concluding that the probationary portion of a sentence imposed by the municipal court upon Respondent was illegal. Respondent entered a no contest plea to…
Date: July 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 85
Docket Number: S-16-0254
Justia Opinion Summary: Bruce Williams submitted a public records request to the Campbell County Sheriff’s office requesting a list of the weapons or implements carried on persons of police officers involved in the killing of Niki Jo…
Date: July 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 84
Docket Number: D-17-0003
Date: July 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 83
Docket Number: S-16-0259
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Appellants’ motion to recover attorney fees and costs incurred in this litigation. Three sisters filed claims, counterclaims, and cross-claims in this dispute…
Date: July 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 82
Docket Number: S-16-0239
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s denial of Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence collected pursuant to a search warrant, concluding that the police officer’s affidavit used to obtain the search warrant…
Date: July 6, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 81
Docket Number: S-16-0261
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s aggravated assault and battery conviction and reversed and remanded for acquittal on Defendant’s battery conviction, holding (1) the trial court did not commit plain error or deny…
Date: June 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 80
Docket Number: D-14-0001
Date: June 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 78
Docket Number: S-17-0036
Date: June 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 79
Docket Number: S-17-0052
Date: June 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 77
Docket Number: S-16-0273
Justia Opinion Summary: In this divorce case, the Supreme Court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dividing the marital assets and in denying Wife’s request for post-decree alimony of $2,000 per month for ten years.…
Date: June 26, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 76
Docket Number: S-16-0269
Justia Opinion Summary: When Mother and Father divorced, the decree of divorce awarded legal and physical custody of the parties’ two children to Mother, with Father having rights of reasonable visitation. Approximately four months after the…
Date: June 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 74
Docket Number: S-16-0238
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants owned residential property in Teton County. JCFT Wyoming Real Estate, LLC owned two parcels in the same area. The Teton County planning director, at Appellants’ request, issued a formal rule interpretation…
Date: June 21, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 75
Docket Number: S-16-0250
Justia Opinion Summary: In this probate action, the district court erred by refusing to grant Appellants’ Wyo. R. Civ. P. 40.1 motion for peremptory disqualification of the assigned judge. Appellants, the surviving children of Robert Meeker,…
Date: June 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 73
Docket Number: S-16-0151
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction of one count of aggravated robbery, holding that the district court did erred in ordering Defendant to make pretrial disclosure of information requested by the State…
Date: June 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 72
Docket Number: S-16-0214
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of five counts of sexual assault and sexual abuse of a minor. Defendant appealed, arguing that he was denied his right to a fair trial due to the cumulative error of three…
Date: June 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 70
Docket Number: S-16-0245
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. After Defendant was sentenced, the State and Defendant filed a joint motion to correct an illegal sentence, agreeing that Defendant had not been sentenced in…
Date: June 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 71
Docket Number: S-16-0283
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant pled guilty to six counts of second-degree sexual assault in 2000 and was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences. The current matter began when Appellant filed a Wyo. R. Crim. P. 36 motion requesting that…
Date: June 13, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 69
Docket Number: S-16-0232
Justia Opinion Summary: Collateral estoppel is not given effect to an uncontested Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division (Division) determination denying workers’ compensation benefits even when the denial is based on a finding that the…
Date: June 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 68
Docket Number: S-16-0234
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant, who received state and federal convictions for drug and firearm offenses, filed a motion for a sentence reduction, asking that his aggregate state sentence be altered to run concurrently with the federal…
Date: June 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 67
Docket Number: S-16-0233
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a declaratory judgment action against the Teton County Assessor seeking a declaration that the trusts for which it acted as trustee were charitable trusts within the meaning of Wyo. Stat. Ann. 4-10-406(a)…
Date: June 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 65
Docket Number: S-16-0212
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother appealed after the district court entered an order terminating Mother’s parental rights. The order followed a jury verdict finding that the Department of Family Services had proven two statutory grounds to…
Date: June 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 66
Docket Number: S-16-0284
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1995, Appellant pled guilty to second-degree murder. In 2016, Appellant filed the two motions at issue in this appeal. The first motion was a request that the district court order the Wyoming Department of Corrections…
Date: June 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 64
Docket Number: S-16-0224
Date: June 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 63
Docket Number: S-16-0262
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant appealed his convictions for kidnapping and misdemeanor theft of a cell phone, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to support the convictions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) a reasonable jury…
Date: May 31, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 62
Docket Number: S-16-0244
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant entered into a lease with a Mall to operate a restaurant. The lease required Mall to pay Appellant a finish allowance when certain provisions had been satisfied. The condition at the heart of this dispute…
Date: May 24, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 61
Docket Numbers: S-16-0018, S-16-0200
Justia Opinion Summary: A jury found Defendant guilty of one count of aggravated assault and battery after he hit Sam Trujillo with his vehicle. The trial court sentenced Defendant to two to four years in prison. The Supreme Court affirmed…
Date: May 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 60
Docket Number: S-16-0209
Justia Opinion Summary: The Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division covered the surgery on Jeffrey Baker’s shoulder, which was injured at work. The Division, however, denied Baker’s subsequent request for temporary total disability benefits…
Date: May 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 58
Docket Number: D-15-0007
Date: May 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 59
Docket Number: S-16-0141
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants sought the establishment of a private road along the upper portion of Black Mountain Road in Big Horn County, but the Big Horn County Board of County Commissioners established a private road along the lower…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 56
Docket Number: S-16-0185
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellants sued the town of Alpine, alleging claims stemming from Alpine’s financing and construction of a new sewage treatment facility. Appellants sought a declaration that Alpine’s loans for the new sewage treatment…
Date: May 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 57
Docket Number: S-16-0235
Justia Opinion Summary: Wallace Burnett, who owned eleven of the 604 outstanding shares of Burnett Ranch, Inc., filed suit against his three siblings and his son, who owned the other shares. Burnett presented claims for, inter alia, a…
Date: May 15, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 55
Docket Number: S-16-0222
Justia Opinion Summary: Clare Sikora filed a declaratory judgment action against the City of Rawlins challenging the City’s issuance of a building permit to her next-door neighbors, Jared and Kasandra Ramsey. The district court ruled in favor…
Date: May 12, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 54
Docket Number: S-16-0260
Justia Opinion Summary: After the State filed a petition alleging that Mother had neglected her children, the juvenile court entered a consent decree providing that if would be in effect for six months and shall expire and the action be deemed…
Date: May 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 53
Docket Number: D-16-0007
Date: May 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 50
Docket Number: S-16-0177
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s order terminating the parental rights of Father, the non-custodial parent to his child, under Wyo. Stat. 14-2-309(a)(i) and (iv). The petition seeking termination of…
Date: May 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 51
Docket Number: S-16-0257
Date: May 10, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 52
Docket Numbers: S-17-0009, S-17-0035
Date: May 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 48
Docket Number: S-16-0187
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court reversed Appellant’s convictions for involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment. On appeal, Appellant challenged the district court’s jury instructions on self-defense. The Supreme Court held…
Date: May 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 49
Docket Number: S-16-0228
Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute between property owners regarding a mistaken property boundary, the district court concluded that Appellees had acquired title to the property at issue by adverse possession. The Supreme Court affirmed,…
Date: May 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 47
Docket Number: S-16-0189
Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court answered a question of law regarding the relative priority of liens against real property as follows: A lien against real property created by a certificate of purchase for delinquent taxes pursuant to…
Date: May 2, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 46
Docket Number: S-16-0167
Justia Opinion Summary: In this dispute between two neighboring Park County communities - the China Wall Tract and the Copperleaf Subdivision - the district court interpreted the China Wall Tract’s restrictive covenants in a manner that will…
Date: May 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 45
Docket Number: S-16-0148
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged in the district court with criminal contempt for violating a juvenile court order. Defendant entered a conditional no contest plea to the criminal contempt charges. Defendant then timely appealed,…
Date: April 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 44
Docket Numbers: S-15-0222, S-16-0201
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of second-degree sexual assault of a minor. The district court sentenced Defendant to imprisonment for six to ten years. Defendant moved for a new trial on the ground that his trial attorney was…
Date: April 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 43
Docket Number: S-16-0191
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of felony exploitation of a vulnerable adult. On appeal, Appellant argued, inter alia, that the State did not present sufficient evidence to prove that the victim was a…
Date: April 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 42
Docket Number: S-16-0220
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, Karen Hardy was injured during the course of her employment. In 2015, Hardy sought treatment for low back pain. The Department of Workforce Services, Workers’ Compensation Division denied payment for Hardy’s…
Date: April 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 40
Docket Number: S-16-0280
Date: April 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 41
Docket Number: S-16-0292
Date: April 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 39
Docket Number: S-16-0192
Justia Opinion Summary: While serving an eighteen to thirty-six-month sentence, Defendant escaped and kidnapped an elderly woman. Defendant entered a no contest plea to a kidnapping charge and a guilty plea to an escape charge. The district…
Date: April 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 37
Docket Number: D-17-0001
Date: April 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 38
Docket Number: D-17-0002
Date: April 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 36
Docket Number: S-16-0184
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition alleging that Mother had neglected her two children. Mother admitted to the allegations of the neglect petition and agreed to complete a Department of Family Services (DFS) case plan. The State…
Date: March 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 35
Docket Number: S-16-0181
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were divorced while both parties lived in Cody, Wyoming. The court awarded Mother custody of the parties’ children, and Father was awarded liberal visitation. Mother found a job in Arizona after…
Date: March 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 34
Docket Number: S-16-0186
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to two counts of first degree murder and one count of larceny. Defendant was eighteen years old when he committed the crimes. At that time, the age of majority in Wyoming was nineteen. Defendant was…
Date: March 17, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 33
Docket Number: S-16-0165
Justia Opinion Summary: This action stemmed from Defendants’ financing of Plaintiffs’ real property located in Wyoming and California. Plaintiffs filed this action in Wyoming against Defendants alleging breach of contract, fraud in the…
Date: March 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 32
Docket Number: S-16-0170
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Family divorced in 2013. In 2015, Mother filed a motion for an order to show cause as to why Father should not be held in contempt of court, asserting that Father had failed to pay amounts owed under the…
Date: March 14, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 31
Docket Number: S-16-0188
Justia Opinion Summary: Louise Galiher sued to quiet title to a portion of her property, alleging that the use of the disputed portion of her property by Dennis Johnson and his wife had been permissive. The Johnsons counterclaimed seeking to…
Date: March 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 30
Docket Number: S-15-0267
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was convicted of first-degree felony murder, aggravated burglary, and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary. After the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Miller v. Alabama and the Supreme Court’s…
Date: March 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 28
Docket Numbers: S-16-0163, S-16-0164
Justia Opinion Summary: David Halling and Joyce Halling each purchased from Brandon Bentley an undivided half interest in certain property. Joyce, individually and as president of MedCon, Inc. (MedCon), executed a promissory note and mortgage…
Date: March 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 29
Docket Number: S-16-0169
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was adjudicated a delinquent juvenile for committing a sexual offense that required him to register as an offender under the Wyoming Sexual Offender Registration Act (WSORA). Appellant later entered a…
Date: March 8, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 27
Docket Number: S-16-0270
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 25
Docket Number: J-16-0001
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, a newspaper reporter asked Judge Ruth Neely, a municipal court judge and part-time circuit court magistrate, if she was “excited” to be able to perform same-sex marriages. Neely answered that she would not…
Date: March 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 26
Docket Number: S-16-0157
Justia Opinion Summary: The juvenile court adjudicated Father a neglectful parent to his two children. On appeal, Father argued that he could not be neglectful under the applicable statutes because he did not have physical custody or control of…
Date: March 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 24
Docket Number: S-16-0131
Justia Opinion Summary: The parties in this case disputed title to certain mineral interests underlying certain property. The dispute arose out of a 1911 Laramie County tax assessment against Union Pacific’s mineral interests in the property…
Date: March 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 21
Docket Number: D-16-0002
Date: March 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 20
Docket Number: D-16-0003
Date: March 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 23
Docket Number: S-16-0155
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated vehicular homicide. The district court sentenced Defendant to a term of fourteen to eighteen years in prison. Defendant appealed, arguing that the evidence…
Date: March 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 22
Docket Number: S-16-0158
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to felony possession of methamphetamine. Defendant reserved the right to challenge the denial of his motion to suppress the warrantless pat-down search of his person. On…
Date: February 28, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 19
Docket Number: S-16-0055
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of aggravated arson and one count of attempted first degree murder. On appeal, Defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence for the jury to conclude that…
Date: February 27, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 18
Docket Number: S-16-0112
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition alleging that Mother had neglected her seventeen-year-old son, NP. On January 6, 2016, Mother denied the allegations. Mother’s jury demand was due January 21, 2016. On February 5, 2016, Mother…
Date: February 22, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 17
Docket Number: S-16-0126
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father divorced pursuant to a stipulated divorce decree that granted Mother custody of the children, subject to Father’s right to liberal visitation. When Mother advised Father that she intended to move to…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 15
Docket Number: S-16-0135
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of felony interference with a peace officer and of operating an ATV without liability insurance or valid registration. Defendant appealed, challenging her felony…
Date: February 16, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 16
Docket Number: S-16-0160
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Appellant suffered a work-related injury. Appellant had shoulder surgery the next year, and the surgery was covered by the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Division. In 2013, Appellant sought benefits for surgery…
Date: February 9, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 14
Docket Number: S-16-0046
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree murder. Defendant appealed, raising four issues related to his position at trial that the killing was not premeditated murder but, rather, the lesser included…
Date: February 7, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 13
Docket Number: S-16-0142
Justia Opinion Summary: RB was injured when he and his friends were running and sliding on a patch of ice on the sidewalk between buildings at Greybull Middle School. RB sued Big Horn County School District No. 3, alleging that the school…
Date: February 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 11
Docket Number: S-16-0138
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellee sought an order from the district court finding Appellant in contempt for violating their divorce decree by failing to pay his portion of their two children’s college tuition, expenses, and room and board. The…
Date: February 3, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 12
Docket Number: S-16-0149
Justia Opinion Summary: After Crook County Weed and Pest Control District applied herbicides to control leafy spurge found on property owned by Bush Land Development Company and Victoria Bush (collectively, Bush), many trees in the area of the…
Date: February 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 10
Docket Number: S-16-0026
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1951, the State issued two oil and gas leases covering land in Sublette County. One of these leases (the 505 Lease) covered 160 acres, and the other lease (the 529 Lease) covered 480 acres. The leases were later…
Date: February 1, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 9
Docket Number: S-16-0134
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional no contest plea to possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress and finding that…
Date: January 30, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 8
Docket Numbers: S-16-0161, S-16-0161
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant Bruce Williams asked the Circuit Court for a copy of part of a presentence investigation report in a criminal case. The circuit court denied his request. He brought a petition for a writ of mandamus asking the…
Date: January 25, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 7
Docket Number: S-16-0144
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of four felony counts of obtaining property by false pretenses and one misdemeanor count of official misconduct. Defendant appealed, arguing that the State was required to prove that the title to…
Date: January 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 6
Docket Number: S-16-0075
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant, a coal producer that reports the taxable value of its coal to the Department of Revenue using the proportionate profits valuation method, challenged two of the Departments determinations, arguing (1) the…
Date: January 23, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 5
Docket Number: S-16-0085
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of felony interference with a peace officer, one count of misdemeanor interference with a peace officer, and one count of misdemeanor simple assault. The Supreme…
Date: January 19, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 4
Docket Number: S-16-0140
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of felony possession of methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Defendant appealed his conviction on the charge of possession with intent to deliver, arguing that…
Date: January 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 3
Docket Numbers: S-15-0114, S-16-0082, S-16-0083
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of battery of a household member. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) trial counsel for Defendant did not provide…
Date: January 11, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 2
Docket Number: S-16-0137
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, KGS was born to Father and Mother. In 2013, a neglect petition was filed against Mother and, after a hearing, KGS was placed in the legal custody of the Department of Family Services. The Department later filed…
Date: January 5, 2017
Citation: 2017 WY 1
Docket Number: S-16-0213
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