Montana Supreme Court Decisions 2014
Date: December 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 342
Docket Number: DA 12-0742
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1988, Defendant pled guilty to sexual intercourse without consent and was sentenced to thirty years imprisonment with ten years suspended. In 1992, Defendant escaped from prison. After he was apprehended, he was…
Date: December 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 343
Docket Number: DA 13-0163
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent. Defendant appealed, raising three allegations of error. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court…
Date: December 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 346
Docket Number: DA 13-0543
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of accountability for robbery. Defendant was sentenced to thirty years imprisonment with ten years suspended and ordered to pay restitution in an unspecified amount. The…
Date: December 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 345
Docket Number: DA 14-0084
Justia Opinion Summary: S.B.C. was a Naive American child whose biological parents were enrolled members of the Blackfeet Tribe (Tribe). When S.B.C. was approximately four months old he was removed from Mother’s care and placed with Foster…
Date: December 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 344
Docket Number: DA 14-0104
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1998, Steven and Susan Buck were married in California. For the next twenty years, the Bucks lived outside of the United States. In 2001, while living in Indonesia, the Bucks purchased land near Kalispell and built a…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 335
Docket Number: DA 13-0589
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury-waived trial, Defendant was found guilty of assault with a weapon and sentenced to twenty years with the Department of Public Health and Human Services. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 335
Docket Number: DA 13-0589
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Defendant was found guilty of assault with a weapon and sentenced to twenty years with the Department of Public Health and Human Services. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 334
Docket Number: DA 13-0831
Justia Opinion Summary: The Bixby family owned approximately one-third of Wyo-Ben’s class A stock. In 2011, Wyo-Ben’s shareholders voted to reclassify the shares to give class B shares the right to vote, which resulted in an overall decrease to…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 333
Docket Number: DA 14-0128
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, the marriage of Tonia Marez and David Marshall was dissolved by decree. For the next decade, the parties were involved in a bitter dispute over the parenting of their minor daughter. In 2013, after the daughter…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 337
Docket Number: DA 14-0132
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2008, William Corrigan filed for a divorce from his wife, Mary Helen Corrigan. The district court issued temporary restraining order (TRO) that prohibited William and Mary from changing the beneficiaries of any…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 336
Docket Number: DA 14-0171
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, who leased commercial property from Defendant, filed a complaint with the Montana Human Rights Bureau, alleging that Defendant violated the Montana Human Rights Act (MHRA) by sexually harassing her. The…
Date: December 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 332
Docket Number: DA 14-0196
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Cahill Seeds, Inc. (Cahill) began planning the construction of a new seed washing plant and submitted requests for electric service to Montana-Dakota Utilities (MDU) and Sheridan Electric Co-op, Inc. MDU…
Date: December 16, 2014
Citation: 2007 MT 334
Docket Number: AF 07-0157
Date: December 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 329
Docket Number: DA 13-0587
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of two counts of incest, one count of solicitation, and one count of sexual abuse of children. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court abused its discretion in denying his discovery…
Date: December 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 328
Docket Number: DA 13-0788
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1999, Randall Simms was injured while on the job. Thereafter, Simms became totally disabled and, since 2006, had been receiving total disability benefits. Dr. Michael Schabacker was Simms’ workers’ compensation doctor…
Date: December 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 325
Docket Number: DA 13-0860
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2006, Robert and Teresa James brought a lot in a rural subdivision. At the time of the purchase, Chicago Title Insurance Company issued a title insurance policy that insured against loss or damage by reason of “lack…
Date: December 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 324
Docket Number: DA 14-0109
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Husband filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage with Wife. In 2014, the district court entered a final decree of dissolution and entered a final parenting plan for the parties’ three minor children.…
Date: December 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 326N
Docket Number: DA 14-0243
Date: December 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 327
Docket Number: DA 14-0314
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother filed a petition to terminate the parental rights of Father, who was incarcerated. Mother’s petition relied on Father’s alleged abandonment of the parties’ child and failure to support the child. After Father, who…
Date: December 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 315
Docket Number: DA 13-0317
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. During trial, the State presented no evidence that Defendant drove while…
Date: December 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 317
Docket Number: DA 13-0794
Justia Opinion Summary: After an adjudicatory hearing, the district court granted the State’s petition for the involuntary commitment of S.L., concluding that S.L. suffered from a mental disorder and citing evidence establishing that S.L. posed…
Date: December 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 316
Docket Number: DA 13-0801
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, the district court granted dissolution of the marriage of Husband and Wife. Multiple appeals and other related cases followed. In 2013, the district court issued an amended judgment in which it revised downward…
Date: December 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 322
Docket Number: DA 14-0101
Justia Opinion Summary: After Mother and Father, the parents of two children, divorced, Father married Stepmother, and the two children resided with Father and Stepmother. Stepmother filed petitions for adoption of the children and an order…
Date: December 2, 2014
Docket Number: DA 14-0179
Justia Opinion Summary: Centennial Contracting and Development, LLC (Centennial) and Leonard Investments, LLC (Leonard) obtained a judgment against Don and Susan Salminen. Morrison & Frampton law firm (Frampton) represented Centennial and…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 312
Docket Number: DA 13-0242
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Appellant, a forty-year-old developmentally disabled man, with three counts of felony sexual intercourse without consent and one count of felony sexual assault. Appellant pleaded guilty to sexual…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 308
Docket Number: DA 13-0273
Justia Opinion Summary: On May 4, 2010, Defendant was arrested and cited with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), driving while license suspended, and traveling the wrong way on a one-way street. On September 18, 2012, Defendant filed…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 307
Docket Number: DA 13-0597
Justia Opinion Summary: After Plaintiff’s vehicle was rear-ended by a vehicle owned by Defendant, Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant, claiming negligence. Plaintiff alleged that the accident had caused a traumatic brain injury and prevented…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 309
Docket Number: DA 13-0793
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition for the involuntary commitment of S.M., who suffers from bipolar disorder. After a hearing, the district court concluded that S.M.’s condition required commitment because she was substantially…
Date: November 25, 2014
Docket Number: DA 14-0022
Justia Opinion Summary: Section 11-41-2 of the Helena City Code (the Ordinance) places limitations on roofing materials used on structures located within the wildland-urban interface (WUI) district. The City filed suit against homeowners whose…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 314
Docket Number: DA 14-0083
Justia Opinion Summary: Matthew Tubaugh, a police officer with the City of Livingston, was discharged from the police force after a series of incidents. Tubaugh protested his discharge pursuant to his rights under a collective bargaining…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 306
Docket Number: DA 14-0145
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, a child (Child) was born to Tracy Cumber. Steven Higgins was found to be the birth father and was designated the primary residential parent. Steven subsequently married Karen Higgins. Steven died in 2009. Tracy…
Date: November 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 310
Docket Number: DA 14-0161
Justia Opinion Summary: After the City decided to undertake road improvements along South Avenue in Missoula, Montana, Plaintiffs, a group of landowners who owned property along South Avenue, contested the City’s assessment of the width of the…
Date: November 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 305
Docket Number: DA 13-0512
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to criminal endangerment, driving under the influence, and being a habitual traffic offender operating a motor vehicle. The district court sentenced Defendant to a three-year suspended sentence, a…
Date: November 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 304
Docket Number: DA 13-0312
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with aggravated assault or, in the alternative, criminal endangerment. At the close of the State’s case-in-chief, Defendant moved to dismiss for insufficient evidence, arguing that the State had not…
Date: November 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 300
Docket Number: DA 14-0201
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff fell at a Shopko store and was injured. Plaintiff filed suit, alleging that Shopko failed to maintain its premises in a reasonably safe condition. During the discovery process, Plaintiff requested recorded…
Date: November 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 299
Docket Number: OP 14-0016
Justia Opinion Summary: Calvin Stucky was injured in a motor vehicle accident. Calvin’s child, Sadee, was eighteen years old at the time of the accident. Sadee claimed damages for loss of parental services, society, or consortium, among other…
Date: November 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 296
Docket Number: DA 13-0363
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol, obstructing a peace officer, and driving while license suspended. Defendant filed two motions to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial, contending…
Date: November 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 294
Docket Number: DA 13-0685
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with misdemeanor DUI in city court. After the prosecution discovered Defendant had three prior DUIs, the city court transferred the case to the district court but failed to dismiss the misdemeanor.…
Date: November 12, 2014
Citations: 2014 MT 265, 2014 MT 265A
Docket Number: DA 13-0790
Justia Opinion Summary: Thirteen-year-old M.S. was placed into emergency protective custody in 2011. After M.S. was adjudicated a youth in need of care, the Department of Public Health and Human Services filed a petition for termination of…
Date: November 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 295
Docket Number: DA 14-0044
Justia Opinion Summary: The Northland Royalty Corporation purchased mineral rights from the personal representative of two estates and subsequently brought a quiet title action naming certain beneficiaries (“Devisees”) as defendants. The…
Date: November 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 293
Docket Number: DA 14-0221
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the district court entered a decree of dissolution dissolving the marriage of Wife and Husband. The district court incorporated a property settlement agreement as part of the decree. Approximately one year…
Date: November 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 290
Docket Number: DA 14-0231
Justia Opinion Summary: The paternal grandmother (Grandmother) of two minor children petitioned the district court for grandparent-grandchild contact. After a hearing, the district court granted Grandmother weekly phone contact, occasional…
Date: October 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 2088
Docket Number: DA 13-0102
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Defendant pleaded guilty to bad check and bail jumping charges. The State thereafter charged Defendant with two new offenses of bail jumping for failing to appear at two sentencing proceedings in 2010 and 2011.…
Date: October 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 287
Docket Number: DA 13-0723
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007, Plaintiff was convicted of several sex-related crimes. In 2008, Plaintiff was sentenced to thirty-five years imprisonment. In 2013, Plaintiff filed a pro se claim against Defendant, the attorney who defended him…
Date: October 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 286
Docket Number: DA 14-0043
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court entered a temporary injunction preventing Linda St. Peter, acting in her capacity as the trustee of the Osorio Irrevocable Trust, from selling a property held by the trust. Linda filed a motion for…
Date: October 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 285
Docket Number: DA 14-0119
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, L.S.P. filed a petition in Flathead County seeking appointment as the guardian and conservator of her father, H.O., who was a resident of Flathead County at the time of the petition. H.O. subsequently moved to…
Date: October 23, 2014
Citations: 2014 MT 192, 2014 MT 192A
Docket Number: DA 13-0081
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of sexual assault. Appellant moved that the district court sentence him to the misdemeanor penalty of a first conviction of sexual assault under Mont. Code Ann. 45-5-502(2)(a)…
Date: October 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 280
Docket Number: DA 13-0499
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, who operated a nail salon, used a liquid acrylic nail product repackaged and distributed by Premium Nail Concepts, Inc. (PNC). After Plaintiff was diagnosed with a sensitization to ethyl methacrylate, a…
Date: October 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 279
Docket Number: DA 13-0515
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Carri Robertson and Joseph Robertson were found guilty of criminal trespass and theft. The Supreme Court affirmed the theft convictions, vacated the trespass convictions, and remanded the written…
Date: October 21, 2014
Citations: 2014 MT 255, 2014 MT 255A
Docket Number: DA 14-0035
Date: October 21, 2014
Docket Number: DA 14-0111
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant petitioned for release of certain documents under the Right to Know provision of Mont. Const. art. II, 9 from the Cascade County Attorney relating to the termination of a county detention officer, Jason…
Date: October 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 275
Docket Number: DA 13-0830
Justia Opinion Summary: After Senate Bill 140 was enacted in 2011, Billings Yellow Cab, LLC applied to the Public Service Commission (PSC) for issuance of a certificate of public convenience and necessity (PCN certificate) as a grandfathered…
Date: October 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 278N
Docket Number: DA 14-0203
Date: October 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 274
Docket Number: DA 14-0024
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a conditional guilty plea to the charge of operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. Defendant appealed, arguing that the municipal court erred in denying her motion to…
Date: October 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 273
Docket Number: DA 13-0385
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of sexual intercourse without consent and sexual assault. Appellant moved for a new trial and acquittal, arguing, among other things, that testimony at trial failed to bear out…
Date: October 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 272
Docket Number: DA 13-0709
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, the Lower Teton Joint Objectors, water users who hold appropriation rights from the lower Teton River in Chouteau County, commenced an action claiming that the Water Commissioners’ practice of diverting water…
Date: October 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 267
Docket Number: DA 13-0853
Justia Opinion Summary: Beaverhead County selected Coleman Construction to complete a stream rehabilitation and bridge replacement project. Coleman was unable to finish the project on time or for the amount of money it had estimated. Coleman…
Date: October 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 271N
Docket Number: DA 14-0268
Date: September 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 264
Docket Number: DA 13-0772
Justia Opinion Summary: Robert Mead died in 2011, survived by his daughters, Roberta Jean Mead and Bobbi Jo Harr. Roberta initiated intestate proceedings, but Bobbi Jo petitioned for formal probate of Robert’s purported will. Roberta and Bobbi…
Date: September 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 265
Docket Number: DA 13-0790
Justia Opinion Summary: Thirteen-year-old Child was removed from her parents’ care and placed into protective custody after her mother was arrested for possessing dangerous drugs with intent to distribute. Thereafter, Child was adjudicated a…
Date: September 30, 2014
Docket Number: OP 14-0058
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner pled guilty to and was convicted of one count of sexual intercourse without consent. The district court sentenced Petitioner to thirty years imprisonment, with twenty years suspended. Petitioner subsequently…
Date: September 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 257
Docket Number: DA 13-0313
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition for the involuntary commitment of N.A. After a hearing on the State’s commitment petition, the district court orally announced its findings that N.A. had a mental disorder requiring a community…
Date: September 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 259N
Docket Number: DA 13-0722
Date: September 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 253
Docket Number: DA 13-0818
Justia Opinion Summary: All but one of the events giving rise to Plaintiff’s claims occurred in Florida. Plaintiff sued Defendants, alleging that Defendants had procured a wire transfer from Plaintiff to a public adjusting company under false…
Date: September 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 255
Docket Number: DA 14-0035
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, the owner and president of a Montana corporation, stopped paying himself a salary but continued working. Petitioner applied for and received unemployment benefits but reported to the State of Montana…
Date: September 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 256
Docket Number: DA 14-0112
Justia Opinion Summary: Mines Management, Inc., Newhi, Inc., and Montanore Minerals Corp. (collectively, MMC) sued Defendants, challenging the validity of Defendants’ unpatented mining claims and asserting several tort claims. The district…
Date: September 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 254
Docket Number: DA 14-0150
Justia Opinion Summary: After executing her last will and testament in Montana, Laura Jean Kelly, who neither married nor had children, died at age sixty-two. Laura’s siblings petitioned the district court for a determination that Laura’s…
Date: September 16, 2014
Citation: 2007 MT 334
Docket Number: AF 07-0157
Date: September 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 248
Docket Number: DA 13-0157
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pled guilty to failure to register as a sexual or violent offender. The district court sentenced Defendant to Montana State Prison, not to the Department of Corrections as agreed -…
Date: September 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 250
Docket Number: DA 13-0489
Justia Opinion Summary: The predecessor in interest to 71 Ranch filed statements of claim for four right rights located on Confederate Creek (Creek Rights), describing a new point of diversion and place of use for the Creek Rights. Donald…
Date: September 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 249
Docket Number: DA 13-0622
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of felony sexual intercourse without consent and felony sexual assault. Defendant was sentenced to a term of imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution to compensate the…
Date: September 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 247
Docket Number: DA 14-0120
Justia Opinion Summary: Based on advice from a licensed securities salesperson registered with Royal Alliance Associates, Inc., two ranching organizations and a family farmer (collectively, Appellants) invested in certain properties that…
Date: September 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 252N
Docket Number: DA 14-0174
Date: September 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 242
Docket Number: DA 13-0610
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioner, who was injured while performing her work duties, filed a workers’ compensation claim. Liberty Northwest (Liberty), the insurer for the claim, terminated Petitioner’s temporary partial disability (TPD)…
Date: September 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 245N
Docket Number: DA 13-0615
Date: September 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 245N
Docket Number: DA 13-0615
Date: September 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 239
Docket Number: DA 13-0812
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to felony criminal endangerment and misdemeanor aggravated driving under the influence. At a sentencing hearing, the State, as agreed, recommended a six-year…
Date: September 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 241
Docket Number: DA 14-0116
Justia Opinion Summary: After Norman Benjamin, the father of Delmar and Cecil, passed away, Cecil, who was named personal representative in Norman’s will, filed a petition for determination of testacy, for determination of devisees and for…
Date: September 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 234
Docket Number: DA 13-0323
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was a passenger in a van that was parked at a park. A police officer parked behind the van, approached the van, and asked the driver for her driver’s license and Defendant for identification. After learning…
Date: September 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 235
Docket Number: DA 13-0802
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of two counts of deliberate homicide. The Supreme Court remanded the case to correct illegal portions of the sentence. On remand, the district court filed a first amended…
Date: August 20, 2014
Citations: 2014 MT 181, 2014 MT 181A
Docket Number: DA 13-0383
Date: August 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 225
Docket Number: DA 13-0164
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of the offenses of felony DUI and criminal endangerment. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress the results of a blood…
Date: August 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 224
Docket Number: DA 13-0184
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of assault with a weapon, criminal endangerment, and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. The district court sentenced Defendant to a total of thirty years in…
Date: August 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 222
Docket Number: DA 13-0272
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of misdemeanor assault. Defendant appealed, arguing that the justice court erred in admitting testimony regarding threats and an assault allegedly committed by…
Date: August 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 226
Docket Number: DA 13-0332
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of accountability for arson, a felony, and accountability for theft, a felony. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) defense counsel’s failure to offer a “mere presence” jury…
Date: August 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 221
Docket Number: DA 13-0557
Justia Opinion Summary: The State filed a petition for involuntary commitment of A.M. The district court appointed the Office of the State Public Defender to represent A.M. No friend was appointed. At an initial hearing at which A.M. appeared…
Date: August 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 223
Docket Number: DA 13-0755
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Appellant pled no contest to the felony offense of mitigated deliberate homicide. Appellant subsequently filed a motion to withdraw his no contest plea, which the district court denied.…
Date: August 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 218N
Docket Number: DA 13-0468
Date: August 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 215
Docket Number: DA 13-0665
Justia Opinion Summary: Christine Deafenbaugh and Jeremy Anderson had one child together, G.J.A. After Anderson and Deafenbaugh separated, Anderson filed a petition for a parenting plan and child support. The district court referred the matter…
Date: August 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 216
Docket Number: DA 13-0714
Justia Opinion Summary: Within thirty days of the Town of Eureka’s passage of an annexation ordinance Darrell Sharp filed a petition naming himself, his wife, and “John Does 1-200” as petitioners. After the thirty-day deadline for filing the…
Date: August 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 214
Docket Number: DA 14-0046
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs filed claims against the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Commission (FWP) for violating their rights to know and participate under Sections 8 and 9, Article II, of the Montana Constitution by, among other…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 208
Docket Number: DA 12-0720
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested for and convicted of obstructing a peace officer. Defendant appealed, and the district court conducted a trial de novo. During trial, Defendant moved to dismiss the charge for insufficient…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 206
Docket Number: DA 13-0151
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with ninety-one counts of felony cruelty to animals after law enforcement officers applied for and obtained a warrant to search Defendant’s home and kennels, where Defendant bred Malamutes. The dogs…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 207
Docket Number: DA 13-0420
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from a restriction placed on a certain parcel of real property providing that the land would be used exclusively for agricultural purposes. Greg Hampton, a developer, requested the consent of Lewis and…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 209
Docket Number: DA 13-0536
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with, among other offenses, aggravated DUI. Defendant filed a motion to suppress, arguing that Mark Fiorentino, an off-duty officer who arrested Defendant, lacked probable cause to effectuate a…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 211
Docket Number: DA 13-0544
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered pleas of nolo contendere to five offenses committed in 2007, including theft. On the theft offense, the district court sentenced Defendant to imprisonment for ten years, with five years suspended. After…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 212
Docket Number: DA 13-0547
Justia Opinion Summary: Westmoreland Resources Inc. (WRI) mines coal owned by the Crow Tribe and pays coal severance and gross proceeds taxes to the Tribe. In 2005, WRI filed a tax return with the Department of Revenue for coal produced and…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 213
Docket Number: DA 13-0675
Justia Opinion Summary: Mark Richards and Dianna Richards were married in 1987 and separated in 2007. Dianna filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in 2008. In 2013, the district court issued a decree of dissolution. Mark appealed the…
Date: August 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 210
Docket Number: DA 13-0729
Justia Opinion Summary: Russell Rintoul and Karen Rintoul were married for thirty-eight years before filing a petition for dissolution in 2012. The district court found that the “vast majority” of the parties’ assets had either been gifts from…
Date: August 1, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 205
Docket Number: DA 13-0228
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, plaintiffs and Tidyman’s Management Services Inc. (TMSI) filed a complaint against Michael A. Davis and John Maxwell in their capacities as officers and directors of TMSI and/or its subsidiary, Tidyman’s LLC,…
Date: July 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 199
Docket Number: DA 13-0469
Justia Opinion Summary: Hansard Mining, Inc. and Donald Hansard (the Hansards) sought resolution of a dispute with Barry McLean and the Estate of Glen Harold McLean (the McLeans) concerning overlapping property rights. The parties’ competing…
Date: July 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 200
Docket Number: DA 13-0642
Justia Opinion Summary: James Altenhofen was the trustee of the Gibbs’ family trust and Delwin Nordtvedt was the successor trustee. Nordtvedt filed an action requesting that the court determine whether any restrictions existed in the trust…
Date: July 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 198
Docket Number: DA 13-0792
Justia Opinion Summary: The State petitioned for permanent legal custody and the termination of Mother’s parental rights to B.W.S. because Mother failed to complete a court-ordered treatment plan. After a termination hearing, Judge Olson…
Date: July 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 201
Docket Number: DA 13-0854
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, following a tax sale, Zinvest, LLC purchased improved property in Ravalli County. Zinvest subsequently learned that Michael and Angela Hudgins, the record owners of the property, had not paid the delinquent…
Date: July 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 197
Docket Number: DA 13-0595
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1980, the Montana Board of Livestock (Board) adopted the 12-Day Rule, which prohibits the sale of milk in Montana more than twelve days after pasteurization. In 2008, Core-Mark International, Inc. filed a petition…
Date: July 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 196
Docket Number: DA 13-0767
Justia Opinion Summary: Husband and Wife were married and had been together for more than fifty years. Wife suffered from multiple sclerosis and cognitive impairments. After Wife’s son and daughter sought and obtained appointments as Wife’s…
Date: July 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 192
Docket Number: DA 13-0081
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, the jury returned a verdict finding Defendant guilty of the sexual assault of the seven-year-old daughter of Defendant’s girlfriend. Defendant subsequently moved the district court to sentence him to…
Date: July 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 194
Docket Number: DA 13-0564
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2002, Elizabeth “Betsy” Baumgart was appointed to be the administrator of the Montana Tourism and Promotion Division of the Department of Commerce (DOC). In 2010, after Dore Schwinden was appointed as DOC director,…
Date: July 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 193
Docket Number: DA 14-0259
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2014, Lawrence J.C. VanDyke filed his declaration of nomination as a candidate for election to the Montana Supreme Court. Plaintiffs subsequently filed a complaint in the district court seeking to have VanDyke’s…
Date: July 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 191
Docket Number: OP 14-0326
Justia Opinion Summary: San Diego Gas & Electric Co. (“San Diego”) and several NaturEner wind-energy companies (“NaturEner”) entered into two contracts, a purchase agreement and a contribution agreement, under which San Diego agreed to purchase…
Date: July 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 190
Docket Number: DA 13-0698
Justia Opinion Summary: Meadow Brook owned land that it developed into lots with covenants, conditions, and restrictions. Meadow Brook then decided to develop an undeveloped tract as an independent subdivision. The existing homeowners, however,…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 183
Docket Number: DA 12-0638
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with trespass to property and possession of dangerous drugs, both misdemeanor offenses. Defendant subsequently decided to enroll in the Mineral County Treatment Court. Defendant was aware that he…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 182
Docket Number: DA 12-0731
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Todd Schmidt petitioned to dissolve his marriage to Aimee Schmidt. In 2012, the district court entered a decree of dissolution setting forth a parenting schedule and dividing the marital property 50/50. The…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 189
Docket Number: DA 13-0062
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of two counts of deliberate homicide. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction on appeal. Defendant subsequently filed a petition for postconviction relief alleging that the…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 185
Docket Number: DA 13-0414
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Defendant was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and disorderly conduct. Defendant pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial. The trial court later informed Defendant that his…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 186
Docket Number: DA 13-0472
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 186
Docket Number: DA 13-0472
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, the City of Whitefish passed Resolution 10-46, which authorized the City to enter into an interlocal agreement with Flathead County concerning planning and zoning authority over a two-mile area surrounding the…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 184
Docket Number: DA 13-0710
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant was an officer with the Glacier County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) from 1995 to 2010 and occasionally investigated the deaths of people he knew. In 2010, Appellant pled guilty to two misdemeanors and resigned from…
Date: July 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 187
Docket Number: DA 14-0049
Justia Opinion Summary: L.N. was the fourth child born to Mother and Father. After L.N. was born, the State petitioned for termination of parental rights. After a hearing, the district court found that the State had proven by clear and…
Date: July 15, 2014
Docket Number: OP 14-0096
Justia Opinion Summary: Martin Vincent Lau was charged with deliberate homicide. Lau claimed that the fatal shooting was an act of self-defense. Lau sought to offer his own out-of-court statement to prove that at the time of the shooting, he…
Date: July 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 181
Docket Number: DA 13-0383
Justia Opinion Summary: Greg LeMond had an oral contract to purchase a five-acre lot (Lot 11) at the Yellowstone Mountain Club from the lot's owner, Yellowstone Development. Yellowstone Development allegedly breached its contract with LeMond by…
Date: July 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 175
Docket Number: DA 13-0134
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of theft by a common scheme stemming from the theft of property from a salvage yard owned by Robert Appley. After a hearing, the district court ordered Defendant to pay a total of…
Date: July 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 174
Docket Number: DA 13-0619
Justia Opinion Summary: Drew Wendt and Jennifer Wendt had one child from their marriage, and another child from Jennifer’s previous marriage also resided with the couple. After the parties divorced, Jennifer filed a motion to modify the…
Date: July 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 173
Docket Number: DA 13-0560
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with felony driving under the influence (DUI) and misdemeanor driving without valid liability insurance. Defendant entered pleas of not guilty and then filed a motion to dismiss for denial of his…
Date: July 1, 2014
Citation: 2007 MT 334
Docket Number: AF 07-0157
Date: July 1, 2014
Citation: 2007 MT 334
Docket Number: AF 07-0157
Date: July 1, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 168
Docket Number: DA 13-0548
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff injured his left knee when he stepped into his truck. Plaintiff was insured by an automobile insurance policy issued by State Farm that provided automobile medical payments (med pay) coverage. Plaintiff’s…
Date: July 1, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 169
Docket Number: DA 13-0654
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with two counts of felony partner or family members assault (PFMA), one charge pertaining to his brother and one charge pertaining to his niece. The case proceeded to trial. At the close of the…
Date: June 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 167
Docket Number: DA 12-0698
Justia Opinion Summary: This matter comprised two joined cases, both involving claims to water diverted from the South Fork of Dupuyer Creek in Two Medicine River Basin, into Gansman Coulee, for irrigation in the Teton River Basin. Two sets of…
Date: June 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 166
Docket Number: DA 13-0609
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against Dr. Florian Cortese after Plaintiff’s small intestine was perforated during a procedure performed by Cortese. The trial court denied Cortese’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject…
Date: June 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 165N
Docket Number: DA 13-0066
Date: June 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 165N
Docket Number: DA 13-0066
Date: June 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 161
Docket Number: DA 13-0089
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of deliberate homicide. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress statements he made to the police. The Supreme Court remanded…
Date: June 24, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 164N
Docket Number: DA 13-0744
Date: June 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 151
Docket Number: DA 13-0116
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated assault for allegedly intentionally submerging his young son in scalding water. The Supreme Court reversed Defendant’s conviction, vacated the district court’s…
Date: June 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 152
Docket Number: DA 13-0287
Justia Opinion Summary: After county animal control officers responded to a complaint that three horses were being confined in a trailer without adequate food or water, Defendant was charged and found guilty of three misdemeanor counts of…
Date: June 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 153
Docket Number: DA 13-0785
Justia Opinion Summary: This controversy arose from cyber-blog exchanges between Plaintiff and Defendant. Plaintiff requested and was granted a temporary order of protection (TOP) against Defendant. The district court affirmed the municipal…
Date: June 10, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 150
Docket Number: DA 13-0839
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1991, Appellant was convicted of two counts of deliberate homicide and sentenced to life imprisonment. Attorney James Goetz attempted to help Appellant with his parole eligibility claim. Displeased with Goetz's…
Date: June 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 149
Docket Number: PR 14-0078
Justia Opinion Summary: The Judicial Standards Commission filed a formal complaint against District Court Judge G. Todd Baugh after Baugh made inappropriate public remarks about the young victim of a sexual offense and imposed an unlawful…
Date: June 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 143
Docket Number: DA 12-0700
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony sexual assault against his girlfriend’s four-year-old daughter. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding (1) the district court did not err when it found…
Date: June 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 140
Docket Number: DA 13-0141
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of sexual intercourse without consent for engaging in a continual sexual relationship with his stepdaughter, who was twelve years old at the time the offenses began. Defendant…
Date: June 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 148
Docket Number: DA 13-0314
Justia Opinion Summary: When E.G. was fifteen years old, the Youth Court found him to be delinquent and ordered that he be committed to the Department of Corrections until age eighteen. After remand, the Youth Court stated that it would retain…
Date: June 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 142
Docket Number: DA 13-0406
Justia Opinion Summary: After a trial, Appellant was convicted of sexual intercourse without consent and sexual assault. The Supreme Court affirmed. Thereafter, Appellant filed a petition for postconviction relief raising numerous claims of…
Date: June 3, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 141
Docket Number: DA 13-0561
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony sexual assault. Defendant later filed a petition for postconviction relief seeking DNA testing and alleging that he had received ineffective assistance of counsel…
Date: May 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 139
Docket Number: DA 12-0487
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony sexual intercourse without consent, misdemeanor partner or family members assault, and felony tampering with witnesses and informants. The Supreme Court affirmed the…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 136
Docket Number: DA 13-0347
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff and Defendant entered into a buy-sell agreement for the purchase of Plaintiff’s home. As agreed upon, Defendant moved into Plaintiff’s home and began paying rent. Before the closing date, however, Defendant…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 134
Docket Number: DA 13-0435
Justia Opinion Summary: Mother and Father were married in 2005 and had a child in 2009. Father subsequently filed a petition for dissolution of marriage. In 2013, the district court ordered a parenting plan in which the parties’ child would…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 133
Docket Number: DA 13-0482
Justia Opinion Summary: The Youth Court declared A.S.M. a delinquent youth and serious juvenile offender. The Youth Court later issued an order under Mont. Code Ann. 41-5-208 ("section 208 order") transferring jurisdiction over A.S.M. to the…
Date: May 27, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 135
Docket Number: DA 13-0526
Justia Opinion Summary: After Defendant accused her ex-boyfriend of raping her, the State charged Defendant with one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence in violation of Mont. Code Ann. 45-7-207(1)(b). Defendant filed a…
Date: May 20, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 130
Docket Number: DA 12-0711
Justia Opinion Summary: Upon the dissolution of their marriage, Husband and Wife entered into a dissolution settlement agreement that provided that Wife was entitled to half of Husband’s federal retirement benefits entered during the parties’…
Date: May 20, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 131
Docket Number: DA 13-0049
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a weapon and one count of criminal mischief. An affidavit by the victim indicated that he suffered $6,418 in medical and dental expenses related to the assault, but…
Date: May 20, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 132
Docket Number: DA 13-0052
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to tampering with witnesses and informants. Defendant subsequently filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which the district court denied. Defendant appealed, arguing that he should be…
Date: May 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 127
Docket Number: DA 13-0448
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Plaintiff’s floral shop was destroyed by a fire. State Farm Casualty Insurance Company, with whom Plaintiff had an insurance policy for her business, paid Plaintiff the maximum amount available under her policy,…
Date: May 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 126
Docket Number: DA 13-0754
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1988, Appellant was convicted of misdemeanor assault and felony sexual intercourse without consent and was also designated a persistent felony offender (PFO). In 2013, Appellant filed a petition for writ of habeas…
Date: May 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 117
Docket Number: DA 13-0241
Justia Opinion Summary: Abraham and Betty Jean Morrow filed a request for a modification of their home loan, serviced by Bank of America, through the federal Home Affordable Modification Program. Bank of America denied the modification and…
Date: May 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 121
Docket Number: DA 13-0467
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff rented an apartment from Defendant, a residential hotel. After Plaintiff’s tenancy terminated, she filed suit against Defendant for failing to return her $500 security deposit within thirty days. During the…
Date: May 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 120
Docket Number: DA 13-0570
Justia Opinion Summary: This case involved a dispute over the water rights to a well (“disputed well”). In 1982, Carl Kambich filed a statement of claim for existing water rights. In 1990, Kambich filed a notice of transfer of water right to…
Date: May 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 122
Docket Number: DA 13-0650
Justia Opinion Summary: The district court adjudicated M.J.C. a youth in need of care and granted temporary legal custody of M.J.C. to the Department of Public Health and Human Services based on physical neglect by Mother, and absence of a…
Date: May 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 118
Docket Number: DA 13-0657
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1983, Marilyn and Stanley Hedrick executed a joint will. When Stanley died in 1995, his estate passed to Marilyn. The next year, Marilyn transferred much of her property to the Marilyn M. Hedrick 1996 Living Trust.…
Date: May 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 119
Docket Number: DA 13-0730
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiffs entered into a contract for professional services with CTA, Inc., a firm offering architectural, engineering, and construction management services. Plaintiffs filed a complaint against CTA and others, alleging…
Date: April 30, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 116
Docket Number: DA 13-0584
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was accused of multiple instances of sexual activity with C.M., a fourteen-year-old student at Billings Senior High School, where Defendant was employed as a teacher. C.M. subsequently took her own life. The…
Date: April 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 113
Docket Number: DA 13-0311
Justia Opinion Summary: This case arose from a dispute between property owners in a subdivision developed by Christopher and Jeffrey Houden. In 2007, twenty-three lot owners (“Defendants”) voted to record an amendment (“second amendment”) to…
Date: April 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 112
Docket Number: DA 13-0423
Justia Opinion Summary: Pursuant to a plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to two counts of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs. The State subsequently filed a petition to revoke Defendant’s deferred sentence based on her possession of…
Date: April 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 111
Docket Number: DA 13-0460
Justia Opinion Summary: Chad Anderson and Karen Ann Anderson were married in 2003 and had four children. The parties separated in 2009. Chad later filed a petition for dissolution of marriage in which he requested primary residential custody of…
Date: April 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 114
Docket Number: DA 13-0464
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Janet Gates gave birth to a daughter, BNY. Douglas Young was named on the child’s birth certificate as the child’s father and held himself out as the child’s father. In 2012, Gates sought primary residential…
Date: April 29, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 115
Docket Number: DA 13-0694
Justia Opinion Summary: Kelisa Allen and Justin Tucker were divorced in Arizona, after which Kelisa relocated to Montana with the parties’ two children. Kelisa later remarried, taking the surname, “Allen.” Kelisa subsequently sought to change…
Date: April 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 110
Docket Number: DA 13-0401
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff owned rural property, including a tract referred to as Section 27, that Defendants, who owned adjacent property, used to cross with their cattle and to conduct other ranching operations. Plaintiff filed an…
Date: April 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 109
Docket Number: DA 13-0277
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2009, Kristine Davenport sought to disqualify Justice of the Peace John Odlin for cause from presiding in two misdemeanor cases against Davenport. The district court denied Davenport’s motion to disqualify Odlin.…
Date: April 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 108
Docket Number: DA 13-0050
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was convicted of felony aggravated assault related to injuries incurred by his five-month-old son. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err when it concluded that Defendant had…
Date: April 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 106
Docket Number: DA 13-0496
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2010, Lewis and Clark County filed a complaint for declaratory judgment, asking the district court to declare that the entirety of Eagle Ridge Road was a sixty-foot public or county road or a sixty-foot public access…
Date: April 22, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 105
Docket Number: DA 13-0750
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation (MBOGC) adopted special statewide temporary spacing units for certain wells. Petitioners = filed a petition for judicial review of MBOGC’s order, stating that it was…
Date: April 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 99
Docket Number: DA 13-0286
Justia Opinion Summary: In two separate cases, Appellants were injured in the course and scope of their employment. Montana State Fund (SMF) paid Appellants indemnity and medical benefits. Appellants were subsequently incarcerated for various…
Date: April 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 97
Docket Number: DA 13-0493
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2003, Joe Scanlon and Lona Carter-Scanlon divorced. The district court subsequently granted Joe’s motion to modify his child support obligations, concluding that Joe had been unemployed and expected to earn $52,000 at…
Date: April 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 98
Docket Number: DA 13-0525
Justia Opinion Summary: The municipal court found Defendant guilty of disorderly conduct after Defendant and her daughter directed profane ad abusive language toward a thirteen-year-old boy from their vehicle on a public street. The district…
Date: April 15, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 96
Docket Number: DA 13-0616
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1993, Defendant pled guilty to three felony offenses in Cause No. 10893. Defendant’s resulting sentence required, among other things, that he pay restitution to his assault victim and pay the uninsured portion of his…
Date: April 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 93
Docket Number: DA 13-0422
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant entered a plea of nolo contendere to driving under the influence. Defendant appealed, arguing that the municipal court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained by a blood draw following the DUI…
Date: April 8, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 94
Docket Number: DA 13-0455
Justia Opinion Summary: Aspen Trails Associations, LLC, d/b/a Windermere Real Estate, entered into two contracts with Empire Office Machines, Inc. for the lease of copy machines. Windermere and Empire later entered into a revised agreement that…
Date: April 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 89
Docket Number: DA 13-0447
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty in justice court to DUI and reckless driving, second offense, after driving off the road and colliding with Barbara Turcotte’s garage. After a restitution hearing at which the justice court…
Date: April 2, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 90
Docket Number: OP 14-0146
Justia Opinion Summary: Petitioners filed a combined petition challenging the legal sufficiency of Initiative No. 171 (I-171), a proposed ballot measure that would prohibit the state and its political subdivisions from using funds, resources,…
Date: April 1, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 85
Docket Number: DA 13-0129
Justia Opinion Summary: Appellant filed an application with the Montana Board of Psychologists to become licensed as a psychologist. The Board denied the application on the ground that Appellant did not meet the education-related…
Date: April 1, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 84
Docket Number: DA 13-0392
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a constructive discharge claim naming the Musselshell County Sheriff’s Office as the sole defendant. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that it was not an independent legal entity subject to…
Date: April 1, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 83
Docket Number: DA 13-0676
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with felony burglary in 2007. The Flathead County District Court issued a warrant for Defendant’s arrest, but shortly afterward, Defendant was arrested and sentenced on unrelated federal charges.…
Date: March 26, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 82
Docket Number: DA 13-0820
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, registered voters seeking to invalidate the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission’s (Commission) assignment of two “holdover senators” in its final 2013 redistricting plan, filed a complaint against…
Date: March 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 78
Docket Number: DA 13-0340
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of charges stemming from the sexual assault of his stepdaughter. Defendant subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief (PCR). One day before his reply brief was…
Date: March 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 77
Docket Number: DA 13-0458
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, IndyMac Bank foreclosed on a certain property. JAS, Inc. purchased the property and subsequently initiated a quiet title action. Defendants Countrywide Home Loans and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems…
Date: March 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 79
Docket Number: DA 13-0539
Justia Opinion Summary: J.S., born in 1998, was an “Indian child” under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). In 2002, J.S. was adjudicated a youth in need of care, and temporary custody was granted to the Department of Public Health and Human…
Date: March 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 76
Docket Number: OP 13-0789
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2013, the Montana Legislature enacted Legislative Referendum 127 (LR-127) as a referendum to be put to a public vote at the time of the November 2014 general election. Petitioners filed a petition challenging the…
Date: March 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 73
Docket Number: DA 11-0393
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was injured in an accident while driving a business vehicle owned by Mattress King, Inc. and insured by Mountain West Farm Bureau. Plaintiff, whose personal vehicles were insured by Safeco Insurance Company of…
Date: March 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 74
Docket Number: DA 13-0451
Justia Opinion Summary: C.S., who turned eighteen in March 2012, received special education services from the Butte School District until June 2013. In January 2013, the Montana Office of Public Instruction directed the School District to…
Date: March 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 72
Docket Number: DA 13-0537
Justia Opinion Summary: Sudan Drilling, Inc. filed a complaint against Glen and Clarice Anacker seeking to foreclose on a construction lien. The district court granted summary judgment for the Anackers and directed the county clerk and recorder…
Date: March 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 70
Docket Number: DA 13-0550
Justia Opinion Summary: From 2003 to 2011, Jasvinder Singh worked for America’s Best Contractors, Inc. (ABC) as a salesperson and estimator. After his employment with ABC ended, Singh filed a claim with the Montana Department of Labor and…
Date: March 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 71
Docket Number: DA 13-0635
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1972, Phyllis and Clarence Hudson granted an easement to Burlington Northern, Inc. Plaintiffs were the successors in interest to the Hudsons, and Defendant was a successor to Burglinton Northern. The easement was a…
Date: March 12, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 69
Docket Number: DA 13-0127
Justia Opinion Summary: In 1988, Faith Lutheran Church of Great Falls, Inc., which held certain property in its own name, affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) denomination. In 2010, seventy-one percent of members…
Date: March 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 66
Docket Number: DA 12-0453
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was arrested after law enforcement officers responded to a report that Defendant had stolen a purse and, after conducting a warrant check, learned that Defendant had an outstanding city warrant. At the…
Date: March 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 65
Docket Number: DA 13-0021
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of accountability for criminal distribution of dangerous drugs and committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections for fifteen years, with ten years suspended.…
Date: March 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 63
Docket Number: DA 13-0113
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with felony criminal endangerment and felony DUI. The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the charges, and a mistrial was declared. At the second trial, defense counsel offered a…
Date: March 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 62
Docket Number: DA 13-0137
Justia Opinion Summary: Michael and Teresa Novak married in 1988. Michael petitioned to dissolve the marriage in 2010, the same year that Teresa received a serious head injury. The district court entered a dissolution order dividing the marital…
Date: March 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 64
Docket Number: DA 13-0165
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, partners of the Interagency Bison Management Plan decided to expand the territory in the Gardiner basin in which bison were allowed to naturally migrate. That decision was challenged by various petitioners. Park…
Date: March 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 61
Docket Number: DA 13-0457
Justia Opinion Summary: Bilt Rite Construction and Landscaping, LLC (Bilt Rite) opened a credit account with Larson Lumber Company (Larson) in 2003. Bilt Rite did not make the required payments, and as of 2006, when Bilt Rite had ceased…
Date: March 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 57
Docket Number: DA 12-0640
Justia Opinion Summary: After a bench trial, Appellant was convicted of exploiting an older person, a felony. Prior to the commencement of the trial, the district court held a hearing on the competency of the victim to testify at trial. The…
Date: March 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 55
Docket Number: DA 13-0109
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and two counts of felony assault with a weapon. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) sufficient evidence supported Appellant’s…
Date: March 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 58
Docket Number: DA 13-0295
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial that was held in absentia, Appellant was convicted of obstructing a peace officer, resisting arrest, failing to carry motor vehicle liability insurance, and speeding. Appellant appealed. Appellant…
Date: March 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 54
Docket Number: DA 13-0376
Justia Opinion Summary: After Petitioner was involved in an accident from allegedly hitting a building with his truck, Petitioner was cited for DUI, third offense. Petitioner’s driver’s license was seized based on his refusal to submit to a…
Date: March 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 56
Docket Number: DA 13-0436
Justia Opinion Summary: To secure a loan, Plaintiff executed a promissory note naming ABN AMRO Mortgage Group (ABN) as the note holder. ABN later merged with CitiMortgage, Inc., which became the holder of Plaintiff’s note. CitiMortgage notified…
Date: February 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 48
Docket Number: DA 12-0257
Justia Opinion Summary: The State charged Defendant with aggravated assault against his wife and criminal endangerment. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal endangerment and the lesser offense of assault. Defendant appealed,…
Date: February 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 49
Docket Number: DA 12-0457
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of incest in violation of Mont. Code Ann. 45-5-507. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed and remanded in part, holding (1) the district court correctly interpreted…
Date: February 25, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 47
Docket Number: DA 12-0564
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony theft by insurance fraud. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding (1) the district court did not err when it instructed the jury that an insurance…
Date: February 20, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 46
Docket Number: DA 13-0224
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of felony incest involving his fourteen-year-old son and six-year-old daughter and of tampering with the evidence. The Supreme Court affirmed. Defendant later petition for…
Date: February 19, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 45
Docket Number: OP 13-0430
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff was involved in a motor vehicle accident caused by another driver. As a result of the accident, Plaintiff sustained both bodily injury and property damage. Plaintiff carried an automobile insurance policy…
Date: February 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 41
Docket Number: DA 13-0191
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of one count of sexual assault, a felony, and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the prosecutor’s statements during closing…
Date: February 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 39
Docket Number: DA 13-0415
Justia Opinion Summary: Mid-Continent Casualty Company provided comprehensive general liability insurance to Scentry Biologicals, the manufacturer of NoMate, a pest control product designed to protect agricultural crops from destructive…
Date: February 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 42
Docket Number: DA 13-0419
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Dennis Crowley filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage to Amber Crowley. In 2012, the district court entered a final decree of dissolution and a final parenting plan. Dennis appealed, challenging many…
Date: February 18, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 40
Docket Number: DA 13-0523
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2012, Mother and Father divorced. The decree of dissolution provided that the couple’s two children would reside permanently with Mother. In 2013, Mother died in a fire. The children’s maternal grandmother…
Date: February 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 34
Docket Number: DA 13-0014
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2007 and 2008, Defendant was convicted of four felonies. In 2010, Defendant absconded from a pre-release center. Several months later, Defendant was extradited from Idaho to Montana. Defendant pled guilty to escape.…
Date: February 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 35
Docket Number: DA 13-0428
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff, a self-represented litigant, filed a complaint against Defendant for defamation. Defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, and Plaintiff did not file a brief in response. The district court granted…
Date: February 11, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 37N
Docket Numbers: DA 13-0520, DA 13-0578
Date: February 11, 2014
Citations: 2014 MT 36N, 2014 MT 37N
Docket Numbers: DA 13-0520, DA 13-0578
Date: February 5, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 33
Docket Number: OP 13-0808
Justia Opinion Summary: At issue in this case was a petition challenging the legal sufficiency of LR-126, a referendum passed by the Legislature that would eliminate election-day voter registration and require all electors to register or to…
Date: February 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 27
Docket Number: DA 12-0618
Justia Opinion Summary: Between December 11, 2011 and January 1, 2012, the Billings Police Department responded to more than 200 reports of vandalism. B.W., a youth, admitted to having committed acts of vandalism on December 22, 2011 and…
Date: February 4, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 28
Docket Number: DA 13-0274
Justia Opinion Summary: After K.L. was removed from her parents’ custody, K.L. was adjudicated a youth in need of care, and the Department of Public Health and Human Services (Department) petitioned to terminate the parental rights of both…
Date: January 29, 2014
Citations: 2013 MT 337, 2013 MT 337A
Docket Number: DA 12-0632
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of accountability to burglary and theft. The Supreme Court affirmed Defendant’s conviction and sentence for accountability to burglary and reversed Defendant’s conviction for…
Date: January 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 22
Docket Number: DA 12-0775
Justia Opinion Summary: On November 26, 2011, the State charged Defendant with five misdemeanor offenses. On June 13, 2012, Defendant moved to dismiss the case on the ground that trial was being held beyond the six-month deadline imposed by…
Date: January 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 21
Docket Number: DA 13-0446
Date: January 28, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 21
Docket Number: DA 13-0446
Justia Opinion Summary: Morrison-Maierle, Inc. (MMI) was hired by two counties to provide engineering services and supervision on a road improvement contract. The counties retained JEM Contracting, Inc. (JEM) to provide the construction…
Date: January 23, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 20
Docket Number: DA 12-0530
Justia Opinion Summary: After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs, a felony. Defendant appealed, arguing that the district court erred by instructing the jury on the elements of the offense prior to…
Date: January 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 11
Docket Number: DA 13-0011
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant was charged with one count of burglary and two counts of misdemeanor assault. Defendant pleaded guilty to the assaults but proceeded to a jury trial on the burglary charge. Defendant filed a motion to excuse a…
Date: January 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 12
Docket Number: DA 13-0046
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to one count of felony assault with a weapon. The district court sentenced Defendant to a ten-year term commitment to the Department of Corrections (DOC) with five years suspended. After Defendant’s…
Date: January 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 16
Docket Number: DA 13-0251
Justia Opinion Summary: Ruby Valley National Bank (RVNB) obtained and recorded a deed of trust (DOT) on certain real property subsequent to a previously recorded DOT. Wells Fargo Delaware Trust Co. (Wells Fargo) claimed to be the beneficiary of…
Date: January 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 15
Docket Number: DA 13-0329
Justia Opinion Summary: In the 1990s, Defendants (Employers) created a sick-leave policy allowing employees to bank their sick leave in a continued illness bank (CIB). In 2002, Employers modified the terms of the CIB to create the CIB pay-out…
Date: January 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 13
Docket Number: DA 13-0382
Justia Opinion Summary: After the district court adjudicated Child a youth in need of care, the State filed a petition to terminate Mother’s parental rights. Child was placed with Father before the termination hearing. The district court…
Date: January 21, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 14
Docket Number: DA 13-0502
Justia Opinion Summary: Then-owners of real property entered into a “Waiver of Right to Protest” the creation of special improvement districts (SIDs) for the purpose of making road and intersection improvements to Cottonwood Road between…
Date: January 16, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 10
Docket Number: DA 12-0312
Justia Opinion Summary: Public Lands Access Association, Inc. (PLAA) sought a declaration that the public may use certain roads and bridges to access Ruby River. In 2008, the district court granted PLAA summary judgment on the issue of public…
Date: January 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 8
Docket Number: DA 12-0491
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pleaded guilty to felony theft pursuant to a plea agreement. Although both parties recommended that the district court follow the plea agreement in sentencing Defendant, the district court rejected the plea…
Date: January 14, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 9
Docket Number: DA 13-0216
Justia Opinion Summary: Rober Spoja represented Duste White regarding White’s probation revocation. The sentencing court sentenced White but did not mention whether the sentence was to be served concurrently with other sentences. White…
Date: January 13, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 7
Docket Number: DA 13-0374
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff filed a complaint against a law firm and its attorneys (Defendants), alleging that Defendants committed legal malpractice when they advised Plaintiff, their former client, to sign a release with an insurer…
Date: January 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 6
Docket Number: DA 13-0038
Justia Opinion Summary: Plaintiff brought this action to challenge a decision by county commissioners (the Commissioners) to permit elected county officials to receive cash payments in lieu of county contributions on their behalf to a group…
Date: January 9, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 5
Docket Number: DA 13-0042
Justia Opinion Summary: The Boulder Monitor, which regularly attended meetings of the full Jefferson County High School Board, sued Jefferson High School District No. 1, claiming that a meeting of the Board’s budget subcommittee violated…
Date: January 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 2
Docket Number: DA 13-0059
Justia Opinion Summary: Linda and Gerald Cintron gave Defendant a down payment of $180,000 and a promissory note to buy three five-acre lots from Defendant. The Cintrons never received title to the land, nor did Defendant refund the Cintrons’…
Date: January 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 1
Docket Number: DA 13-0149
Justia Opinion Summary: In 2004, Petitioner was hired as a production supervisor for Holcim Inc.’s cement manufacturing plant. In 2008, Petitioner was diagnosed with angina. After Petitioner left Holcim, Petitioner filed a claim under the…
Date: January 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 3
Docket Number: DA 13-0269
Justia Opinion Summary: Defendant pled guilty to forgery and issuing bad checks and received a deferred sentence. Defendant subsequently violated the conditions of his supervision. The district court imposed two consecutive commitments to the…
Date: January 7, 2014
Citation: 2014 MT 4
Docket Number: DA 13-0381
Justia Opinion Summary: C.B. was adjudicated a youth in need of care and placed in foster care due to Mother’s abuse of prescription drugs. The district court ordered Mother to complete a treatment plan to deal with her substance abuse issues.…
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
