Justia North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Keith Candee appealed the grant of summary judgment to his parents, Lyla and Douglas Candee, awarding them an $884,508.83 deficiency judgment following foreclosure of properties in California and North Dakota. Keith and his parents executed a settlement agreement and mutual release of claims in 2013 relating to earlier disputes between the parties about the management of their family assets. Under the settlement agreement, Keith agreed to pay $2.2 million to Lyla and Douglas. The $2.2 million settlement amount was secured by real property in California and North Dakota. A deed of trust in favor of Lyla and Douglas secured the California property, and a mortgage secured the property in North Dakota. The deed of trust securing the California property included a power of sale provision allowing Lyla and Douglas to foreclose the property in a nonjudicial manner via a trustee's sale. After Keith failed to make payments under the settlement agreement, Lyla and Douglas foreclosed the California property. They proceeded with a nonjudicial foreclosure and in January 2014 purchased the property at a trustee's sale for a credit bid of $200,000. Lyla and Douglas foreclosed the North Dakota property and purchased the property for $975,000 at a July 2015 sheriff's sale. In September 2015, Lyla and Douglas sued Keith in North Dakota for a deficiency judgment for the difference between the amount Keith owed under the settlement agreement and the amount Lyla and Douglas obtained through foreclosure of the properties. Keith argued a deficiency judgment was not available under the agreement because California law applied and a deficiency judgment was prohibited under California law. The district court concluded California law applied only to the California property and granted summary judgment to Lyla and Douglas. The court entered an $884,508.83 deficiency judgment against Keith. On appeal, Keith maintained the California anti-deficiency statutes applied to the settlement agreement, and those statutes barred a deficiency judgment in this case. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed and remanded, concluding California law barred a deficiency judgment in this case as a matter of law. View "Candee v. Candee" on Justia Law

Jesse Craig appealed a judgment awarding TJ Haugrud $120,000 plus interest on Haugrud's breach of contract claim against Craig, dismissing Craig's counterclaims against Haugrud, and sanctioning Craig's attorney $5,000. Haugrud and Craig formed Acquisition, LLC, for the purpose of developing, owning and managing real estate, and each were 50 percent owners of the limited liability company. In October 2016, Haugrud and Craig entered into a written agreement for Craig to purchase Haugrud's interest in the company for $130,000 payable in two installments. Craig paid $10,000 by November 1, 2016 for the first installment, but did not pay the $120,000 second installment which was due by December 1, 2016. Haugrud sued Craig for breach of contract seeking the unpaid installment of $120,000. Craig filed a counterclaim against Haugrud alleging actual fraud, constructive fraud, deceit, unintentional misrepresentation, and civil conspiracy in connection with the parties' business dealings, including transactions between their respective business entities that were not made parties to the lawsuit. The district court granted summary judgment on Haugrud's breach of contract claim because Craig "conceded" he failed to make the second installment payment required by the contract. The court also dismissed Craig's counterclaims for failure to state claims upon which relief can be granted because Craig "treats [Haugrud] as an individual with respect of his sole interest" in the limited liability companies, Craig "made no allegation to pierce the corporate veil," and Craig "treats his own interest" in the limited liability companies "as giving rise to personal claims" which belong to the separate entities. The court further found Craig's "attempt to make [Haugrud] responsible as a shareholder of a corporation, the obligations of the corporation, is not grounded in law" and awarded Haugrud $5,000 in attorney fees as a sanction assessed against Craig's counsel. After review, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the district court's grant of summary judgment on Haugrud's breach of contract claim. The Court reversed dismissal of Craig's counterclaims on the pleadings and the sanction, and remanded for further proceedings. View "Haugrud v. Craig" on Justia Law

Shannon Evans appealed an order granting Gerald Feldmann ownership of certain property from Leonhard Feldmann's estate. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not err in finding an inter vivos gift and did not err in finding the proceeds of the standing crop passed with the devise of real property. “The appellate court does not reweigh evidence, reassess witness credibility, or substitute its judgment for the trial court's decision merely because it would have reached a different result. Standing crops at the time of death pass with the real estate to which they are attached unless otherwise specified in a will.” View "Estate of Feldmann" on Justia Law

North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance ("WSI") appealed a judgment affirming a decision of an Administrative Law Judge ("ALJ") that had reversed WSI's administrative reclassification of Questar Energy Services, Inc.'s ("Questar") employees. n July 2012, Questar applied for and received insurance coverage from WSI. Following an audit in 2014, WSI determined Questar's employees had been improperly classified and reclassified Questar's employees. The classification of employees directly impacts the insurance rate used to calculate Questar's premiums for the insurance received from WSI. WSI contends the ALJ applied the wrong standard of review, improperly excluded from evidence the changes to the Rate Classification Manual, and erred in determining classification of Questar's employees was not supported by the record. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded after review, the ALJ's underlying factual conclusions were supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and affirmed. View "WSI v. Questar Energy Services, Inc." on Justia Law

Charles Mayland appealed his conviction entered upon a jury finding him guilty of being in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor fourth-offense, a class C felony. The North Dakota Supreme Court held a defendant fails to preserve a jury instruction issue for appellate review when he stipulates to the exclusion of a jury instruction regarding prior convictions. Furthermore, the crime of actual physical control may occur on private property, including a private driveway. Here, the parties stipulated to the existence of Mayland's prior convictions, and Mayland's driveway was within the scope of the statute. Therefore, the Supreme Court affirmed Mayland's conviction. View "North Dakota v. Mayland" on Justia Law

Arthur Crissler appealed a district court judgment after a jury convicted him of possessing a weapon in a correctional facility. The charges arose from the search of Crissler's cell block on September 3, 2016 during which a pencil wrapped in paper, thread, and elastic was found concealed underneath the mattress of Crissler's bunk. Because sufficient evidence was presented to support the jury's verdict, and the testimony regarding the potential use and composition of an altered pencil was admissible, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed. View "North Dakota v. Crissler" on Justia Law

North Dakota, by the North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's Youth Correctional Center, petitioned for a supervisory writ directing a district court to vacate its July 18, 2017 order denying the State's motion for summary judgment on Delmar Markel's negligence claim. Markel cross-petitioned for a supervisory writ directing the district court to vacate its January 21, 2016 order dismissing Markel's claim for constructive and retaliatory discharge. Markel worked at the North Dakota Youth Correctional Center on December 9, 2012, when several inmates broke out of their locked rooms. The inmates injured Markel during their escape. In 2015, Markel brought a complaint against the State alleging one count of negligence for failure to fix faulty locks permitting the inmates to escape and one count of constructive and retaliatory discharge. The State argued that the Workforce Safety and Insurance ("WSI") Act in N.D.C.C. Title 65 barred Markel's negligence claim and that Markel failed to exhaust administrative remedies regarding his discharge claim. On January 21, 2016, the district court dismissed the discharge claim for failure to pursue available administrative remedies. The district court also denied the State's motion to dismiss Markel's negligence claim. The North Dakota Supreme Court exercised its original jurisdiction by granting the State's petition and denying Markel's cross-petition. The district court erred as a matter of law in denying the State's motion to dismiss Markel's negligence claim. Markel failed to allege and support at least an "intentional act done with the conscious purpose of inflicting the injury" to overcome the State's immunity. The State had no adequate remedy to avoid defending a suit from which it has immunity. View "North Dakota v. Haskell" on Justia Law

In 2016, a Ward County North Dakota Narcotics Task Force Officer observed a black Dodge Charger traveling east bound in the west bound lane near 36th Avenue NE in Minot. A Minot police officer initiated a traffic stop for the traffic violation; the task force officer was traveling in an unmarked patrol vehicle. The Charger continued for a few blocks before coming to a stop. Neither the State nor Dustin Lark disputed Lark was lawfully stopped when he was pulled over for driving in the wrong lane. Lark was arrested for unlawful possession of a schedule III drug with intent to deliver. Lark filed a motion to suppress evidence of items found during that stop. The State opposed the motion. The district court held a hearing on the suppression motion at which one of the officers testified. Both parties questioned the officer and filed post-hearing briefs. The district court granted Lark's motion to suppress. The district court found the initial search was permissible under the automobile exception; however, the district court also found probable cause ceased to exist after receiving the inconclusive field test results of suspected crack cocaine. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed, finding the district court erred when it determined probable cause to search ceased upon receiving the inconclusive drug test result without considering the totality of the circumstances in an objective manner. View "North Dakota v. Lark" on Justia Law

Anthony Campbell appealed a criminal judgment after a jury found him guilty of murder for the 2014 stabbing death of Shannon Brunelle. The autopsy report stated Brunelle had seven lethal stab wounds in his back and neck and had been beaten with a golf club. Minot police arrested Campbell for the murder of Brunelle. At trial, the State submitted evidence showing Campbell's DNA was found inside a pair of bloody athletic shoes found inside the garage. Campbell's DNA was also found on a broken golf club used to strike Brunelle. Campbell testified at trial he had no involvement in Brunelle's murder. Campbell offered testimony from Ross Rolshoven, an expert private investigator to provide his opinions of the case. Rolshoven testified that he believed at least two assailants were present when Brunelle was murdered. Rolshoven also provided his opinions about the State's investigation and a third-party's possible involvement in Brunelle's murder. The district court sustained the State's objections when Rolshoven testified about facts not in evidence. After a seven-day trial, the jury found Campbell guilty of Brunelle's murder. Campbell argued on appeal of his conviction that the district court should have allowed his expert to provide all of his opinions about Brunelle's murder. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, concluding the district court did not abuse its discretion in its evidentiary decisions relating to the testimony of Campbell's expert witness and the admission of evidence of prior bad acts. View "North Dakota v. Campbell" on Justia Law

A.D., mother of P.T.D., C.R.D., P.A.D., P.P.D., and N.A.D., appealed a juvenile court order finding her five children were deprived under N.D.C.C. 27-20-02(8). These proceedings arose after the State alleged the children were subject to repeated exposure to domestic violence between A.D. and T.D.; A.D.'s methamphetamine and other substance abuse and the presence of controlled substances in the home; T.D.'s suicide attempts; and other mental health issues. After the deprivation hearing, the juvenile court found the children were deprived by clear and convincing evidence. The juvenile court ordered the children removed from the care, custody, and control of their parents on February 13, 2017. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed and remanded, finding the juvenile court noted drug use, mental health issues, domestic violence, and other health issues in its order, but it failed to connect those facts to the children's deprivation. The Court remanded with instructions that the juvenile court make adequate findings of fact to determine whether P.T.D., C.R.D., P.A.D., P.P.D., and N.A.D. were deprived children based on the evidence presented at the initial deprivation hearing. View "Interest of P.T.D." on Justia Law