SENTENCING: Overtime for testifying officers improperly imposed as “costs of prosecution”… other sentencing errors for damage of car wash… Bolstad/Pinski reversed… order. [Read more…]
Archives for June 2019
Contract/fraud, fact issues preclude summary judgment
CONTRACT/FRAUD: Fact issues preclude (sua sponte) summary judgment on wind energy contract/fraud claims… Haddon reversed (memorandum). [Read more…]
Arbitration, contract defenses, breach of duty to defend
ARBITRATION: Contract defenses not applicable to an arbitration agreement… arbitration improperly denied insurer based on breach of duty to defend… Christensen reversed (memorandum). [Read more…]
Political practices, ethics complaint confidentiality
POLITICAL PRACTICES: Confidentiality provisions of ethics complaint statute unconstitutional, but former COPP entitled to qualified immunity as to threat to sanction complainant for disclosure… Morris reversed, affirmed. [Read more…]
Sanctions, wrongful discharge, training records spoliation
SANCTIONS: Default judgment denied on wrongful discharge claims by allegedly disabled psychiatric therapist trainee due to spoliation of training documents and discovery abuses, but sanctions ordered to place her in position she would have been in with extended discovery and adverse inference instruction as to spoliated documents… Christensen. [Read more…]
Settlements
Plan I
Sheila Dunn, low back, 7/12, Northeast Montana Health Services, Wolf Point, MHN denied liability but initiated medical/indemnity, disputes include liability for lumbar condition, ongoing medical care, entitlement to certain indemnity, $136,000 for all claims, stipulated judgment; Paul Odegaard for Dunn, Michelle Sullivan for Montana Health Network [Read more…]
Wages, $69,586.17 bonus/supervision wage claim denied
WAGES: Claimed $69,589.17 bonus and supervision rejected… Logan Jackson. [Read more…]
Nuisance, bird feeding, injunction
NUISANCE: Injunction properly granted on basis that feeding birds constituted nuisance to neighbors, but enjoining feeding within 100 feet of boundary and water in winter overly broad… Swingley/Reynolds affirmed, reversed. [Read more…]
Order of protection, landowners association members
ORDER OF PROTECTION: Permanent order properly entered against landowners association members and in favor of Board members based on stalking and threatening behavior… Gilbert affirmed (IOR I-3(c)). [Read more…]
Marital/attorney fees, 3rd-party separate action
MARITAL/ATTORNEY FEES: Fees properly awarded to husband under terms of divorce settlement agreement for defending against wife’s 3rd-party complaint in separate action, but amount improperly based on billing records and summaries admitted without expert’s personal knowledge of truth or accuracy… $18,684.93 prejudgment interest properly awarded on $20,000 marital property settlement where wife was not prevented by stays from paying it for 9 years… Parker affirmed, reversed. [Read more…]