Montana Law Week

The Weekly Digest of Montana Law

Sewage system liability, technician fall into lift station

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SEWAGE SYSTEM LIABILITY: Operating a lift station with the electrical junction box inside requiring entrance into it to perform pump maintenance and resulting in technician falling to the bottom is an abnormally dangerous activity warranting strict liability… City’s liability not barred by statute of repose or common carrier exception… John Brown. [Read more…]

Settlement challenge, banks’ check-kiting scheme

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SETTLEMENT CHALLENGE: Adversary proceeding against 2 of Ch. 11 Debtors’ banks alleging involvement in check-kiting scheme barred by settlement and general release 5 years earlier… passive nondisclosure not grounds to invalidate release… adversary proceeding dismissed for failure to state claim but Trustee granted limited leave to amend… Holt. [Read more…]

Fitness regained 12 years after criminal case dismissed

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FITNESS: If a defendant found unfit to proceed regains fitness a judge can resume the criminal case, but sexual assault case against mentally challenged defendant that was dismissed in 2006 was improperly reinstated in 2018 without new charging documents and consideration of justness of the extended delay… resumption of criminal case reversed but new civil commitment proceeding could be pursued should the law and evidence support a new filing… Deschamps reversed. [Read more…]