Montana Law Week

The Weekly Digest of Montana Law

Archives for July 2021

Endangerment, shotgun fired through hotel window

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ENDANGERMENT: Sufficient facts provided to support probable cause of criminal endangerment for firing shotgun through hotel window into parking lot… de novo standard of review applied to mixed questions of fact and law involved in motion to dismiss for lack of probable cause… Information improperly dismissed… Eddy reversed. [Read more…]

Spoliation, excavator bucket falling on worker in trench

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SPOLIATION: First-impression issues in context of settled parties involving excavator bucket falling on worker in trench and inspections without notice to sewer contractor and removal of machinery resolved by finding of negligent — not intentional — spoliation and payment of expenses including attorney fees for contractor to conduct its own inspection… $33,277 awarded of $83,190 requested… Marks. [Read more…]

Legal malpractice, failure to make claim against policy

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LEGAL MALPRACTICE: Claim against attorneys for failure to make claim against $500,000 homeowner policy discovered by successor attorney 9 years later properly rejected on summary judgment that boating accident was excluded by watercraft exclusion… original attorneys secured uncollectible $1,300,853 default judgment against boat owner, subsequent attorney negotiated $100,000 “cost of litigation” settlement with insurer… Wilson affirmed. [Read more…]

Child sex abuse, identical “truth or dare” games

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CHILD SEX ABUSE: Near contemporaneous sexual abuse via identical “truth or dare” between 13-year-old and 40-year-old “boyfriend” improperly precluded under rape shield statute at trial of mother’s 61-year-old friend and drug supplier… convictions reversed, remanded for new trial… Haynes reversed, affirmed as to limiting boyfriend’s CCJI file. [Read more…]