Justia North Dakota Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Susan Durheim appealed a disorderly conduct restraining order directing that she have no contact with Brandon Rekow for a one-year period. Rekow and Durheim had a strained relationship dating back to 2015, when Rekow allegedly bought gravel from Durheim’s husband and failed to pay for it. In Rekow’s petition and through testimony, he described events taking place on January 12, 2022, that led to filing the petition against Durheim. Durheim alleged she went to Rekow’s home to collect on the unpaid bill for the gravel. An argument ensued and Rekow told Durheim to get off his property. Durheim eventually left the property after being asked to do so numerous times. At the hearing on the petition, each party accused the other of swearing and name-calling. Rekow admitted swearing at Durheim. Durheim denied she swore at Rekow. Other than generally stating he wants Durheim to stop harassing him, Rekow did not testify specifically as to how the incident with Durheim affected his safety, security, or privacy. He stated, “she’s very threatening. I get called all kinds of names and berated, harassed.” Rekow testified he only felt threatened with a lawsuit, not with violence. Durheim argued the district court abused its discretion in issuing the disorderly conduct restraining order because its findings were insufficient to support its decision. "The vague findings made by the district court do not enable this Court to understand the basis for its conclusion. Given the court’s conclusory findings and Rekow’s lack of specific testimony on how Durheim’s conduct adversely affected his safety, security, or privacy," The North Dakota Supreme Court was not convinced the requirements of N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31.2-01 were satisfied in this case. Therefore, the Court concluded the district court abused its discretion when it issued the disorderly conduct restraining order. Judgment was reversed. View "Rekow v. Durheim" on Justia Law

Whitetail Wave LLC (“Whitetail”) appealed two district court judgments granting summary judgment and dismissing claims asserted by Whitetail against XTO Energy, Inc. (“XTO”) and the Board of University of School Lands of the State of North Dakota, the State of North Dakota, and the Department of Water Resources and Director (collectively “State”). Whitetail argued the court erred by: (1) dismissing its claim asserting the State had committed an unconstitutional taking of its property interest; (2) by dismissing Whitetail’s trespass, slander of title, unjust enrichment and constructive trust claims asserted against the State; (3) by determining XTO had not breached its lease agreement by failing to pay royalties owed to Whitetail; (4) by determining XTO did not violate N.D.C.C. § 47-16-39.1; and (5) by dismissing Whitetail’s constructive fraud claim asserted against XTO. Because the North Dakota Supreme Court concluded there were quiet title claims asserted by Whitetail remaining unresolved, it dismissed the appeal. View "Whitetail Wave v. XTO Energy, et al." on Justia Law

Amy Winterfeldt appealed the denial of her request for primary residential responsibility and the granting of Bruce Gomm’s motion for modification of parenting time. Winterfeldt also filed a motion to dismiss this appeal and vacate the underlying proceedings, arguing the district court and the North Dakota Supreme Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction because Gomm failed to properly register the existing foreign orders in North Dakota. The North Dakota Supreme Court denied the motion to dismiss and affirmed the district court. View "Gomm v. Winterfeldt, et al." on Justia Law

Jared Hendrix, as chairman of the North Dakota for Term Limits Sponsoring Committee, and North Dakota for Term Limits (collectively, “Petitioners” or “Committee”) petitioned for a writ of mandamus requiring the Secretary of State to place the Term Limits Initiative on the November 8, 2022, general election ballot. The Secretary of State rejected 29,101 signatures on circulated petitions and concluded the initiative did not qualify for placement on the ballot. The Petitioners argued the Secretary of State improperly invalidated signatures on the basis of a finding of notary fraud relating to two circulators, a pattern of notary fraud relating to one notary, violation of the pay-per-signature ban, and other issues. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the Secretary of State misapplied the law by excluding signatures on the basis of a determination that a pattern of likely notary violations on some petitions permitted his invalidation of all signatures on all petitions that were sworn before the same notary. Because adding the signatures invalidated for imputed fraud to the 17,265 other signatures accepted by the Secretary of State places the initiative over the constitutional requirement of 31,164, the Supreme Court granted the Committee’s petition and issued a writ of mandamus requiring the Secretary of State to place the Term Limits Initiative on the November 8, 2022, ballot. View "Hendrix, et al. v. Jaeger" on Justia Law

Shelby Finnson appealed a judgment awarding primary residential responsibility of the parties’ minor child to Jacob Kershaw. She claimed the district court’s findings were unsupported by the record; the court’s parenting time decision was unreasoned; the court erred when it allowed Kershaw to call an undisclosed witness for purposes of rebuttal; and the presiding judge erred because he failed to certify himself as familiar with the record. Finding no reversible error, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the judgment. View "Kershaw v. Finnson, et al." on Justia Law

The State of North Dakota, ex rel. the North Dakota Board of University and School Lands, and the Office of the Commissioner of University and School Lands, a/k/a the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands appealed a judgment dismissing its claim against Newfield Exploration Company relating to the underpayment of gas royalties. The North Dakota Supreme Court found that the district court concluded the State did not establish a legal obligation owed by Newfield. However, the State pled N.D.C.C. § 47-16-39.1 in its counterclaim, which the court recognized at trial. Because the State satisfied both the pleading and the proof requirements of N.D.C.C. § 47-16-39.1, the Supreme Court held the district court erred in concluding the State did not prove Newfield owed it a legal obligation to pay additional royalties. Rather, as the well operator, Newfield owed the State an obligation under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-39.1 to pay royalties according to the State’s leases. The court failed to recognize Newfield’s legal obligations as a well operator under N.D.C.C. § 47-16-39.1. The Supreme Court concluded the district court erred in dismissing the State's counterclaim; therefore, judgment was reversed and the matter remanded for findings related to the State's damages and Newfield's affirmative defenses. View "Newfield Exploration Company, et al. v. North Dakota, et al." on Justia Law

David Sholy appealed a district court order dismissing his appeal from the Cass County Commission’s (“Commission”) decision to deny his applications for abatement or refund of taxes. Sholy argued the court misapplied the law in ordering him to file a certificate of record. The Commission argued Sholy failed to timely file his notice of appeal with the court. The North Dakota Supreme Court concluded the district court’s reasoning for dismissing Sholy’s appeal was incorrect but that dismissal was nonetheless appropriate because the court lacked jurisdiction over Sholy’s untimely appeal. The Court therefore affirmed the order dismissing Sholy’s appeal. View "Sholy v. Cass Cty. Comm'm" on Justia Law

Jason Vogt appealed the dismissal of his application for post-conviction relief. He pled guilty to gross sexual imposition. Here, Vogt claimed he was innocent and his counsel rendered ineffective assistance. Further, he contended his guilty plea was made involuntarily, and his confession was coerced. Vogt presented a psychological assessment that he claimed was newly discovered evidence. The assessment was prepared after his application for relief was filed, and opined Vogt may have involuntarily waived his rights and falsely confessed. Appealing the dismissal to the North Dakota Supreme Court, Vogt argued the State waived its affirmative defenses and its motion for dismissal was untimely. Finding no reversible error, however, the Supreme Court affirmed dismissal of Vogt’s application for relief. View "Vogt v. North Dakota" on Justia Law

Dustin Lyman was convicted by jury of driving while under the influence of an intoxicating liquor. On appeal, Lyman argued the district court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial, claiming the State’s opening statement constituted prosecutorial misconduct and violated his rights to a fair trial. Finding no such misconduct, the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the district court judgment. View "North Dakota v. Lyman" on Justia Law

Angela Hansen appealed orders denying her motion for an order to show cause and her demand for a change of judge. Hansen was subject to a standing order prohibiting her from filing new motions without permission of court. Hansen and Shannon Dieterle married in 2009 and have one child. The parties divorced in 2012. Following the parties’ divorce, Hansen filed several motions primarily related to the district court’s decisions on residential responsibility and parenting time. The court entered a standing order in April 2016 prohibiting Hansen from “filing any claim, motion, or document in Sheridan County, or in any other county, related to the issues of primary residential responsibility and/or parenting time regarding [the child], without first obtaining permission from the district court of the county in which she is attempting to file.” The court entered the order due to the frivolous and duplicative nature of Hansen’s motions. The North Dakota Supreme Court treated the district court’s orders as ones denying Hansen permission to file new motions. The Court found orders denying permission to file were not appealable; therefore, that part of the appeal was dismissed. Hansen also appealed the award of sanctions for violation of the standing order, and rejecting her demand for change of judge. On those issues, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Dieterle v. Dieterle n/k/a Hansen, et al." on Justia Law