106 results for 'court:"Idaho Supreme Court"'.
J. Stegner upholds the lower court’s decision and finds that two neighbors’ agreed-upon boundary between their properties — which differs from the boundary described in one of the properties’ deeds — is legitimate. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: October 3, 2023, Case #: 49488, Categories: Property
J. Stegner finds that the lower courts erred in refusing to suppress the drugs police found during an inventory search of a car they impounded. Defendant preserved her argument that the reasons police gave for towing her car, that it was both unlocked and in a disabled space, were pretexts to conduct a criminal investigation after a police dog failed to alert to drugs during a perimeter search in a parking lot. On remand, the trial court must analyze whether the reasons to impound were reasonable and the analysis must include an examination of the officers' subjective intent. Vacated.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 50470, Categories: Drug Offender, Search
J. Zahn finds that substantial evidence supported lower court determinations that an assisted living facility failed to provide a safe living environment or follow federal guidance for Covid-19 infection control training. The district court properly upheld a hearing officer's decision that new admissions to the facility could be banned until it complied with the guidance. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: September 22, 2023, Case #: 49852-2022, Categories: Administrative Law, Health Care, Covid-19
J. Moeller finds that the trial court properly granted defendant's motion to compel the production of video and police reports of prior searches performed by a police dog that alerted to drugs in her vehicle. The records were material to a defense challenging the reliability of the dog's performance in the field and the state did not show that producing the records was unduly burdensome. And the police work in conjunction with the prosecution, so police records are effectively within the prosecutor's possession, control and custody. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: September 20, 2023, Case #: 50078, Categories: Drug Offender, Search, Discovery
J. Stegner holds that the trial court erred in granting an independent contractor summary judgment in a personal injury action filed by a worker who was injured when a stair railing failed. The independent contractor that built the railing was not the worker's co-employee under the Worker's Compensation Act, so the independent contractor is not entitled to the tort immunity that the Act provides an employer's contractors and subcontractors. Reversed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 48900, Categories: Tort, Immunity, Workers' Compensation
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Bevan finds that the trial court properly dismissed most of a property owner's claims over a rejected plan to build a gas station. The owner was not required to exhaust his administrative remedies before challenging the rejection in court because of the demonstrated bias against the plan shown by city administrators, so his tort claim for interference with economic expectancy may proceed. Reversed in part.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Bevan, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 48721, Categories: Zoning, Interference With Contract
J. Stegner finds that the trial court properly held that a property owner cannot argue his tenants breached property leases because he failed to present any issues of fact that show that the parties did not act in accordance with oral modifications to property leases. Text messages and emails detailed the modifications and the parties' annual reconciliations of debits and credits supported the conclusion that the parties had a meeting of minds to modify the leases. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 49354, Categories: Agriculture, Property, Contract
J. Moeller finds that the trial court improperly granted an insurer summary judgment on an insured's underinsured motorist claim. The insurer's argument that its insured prejudiced its subrogation right was false since it did not disclose that it had settled all its claims with the underinsured driver, which extinguished its subrogation rights. The insured is entitled to attorney fees because the insurer's "defense was frivolous, unreasonable, and without foundation." Reversed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: September 15, 2023, Case #: 49299, Categories: Insurance, Attorney Fees
J. Moeller holds that substantial evidence that charitable donations were directed to victims of a mass stabbing supported the magistrate court's conclusion that a trust had been formed. The trust was within its discretion to make a final distribution and the distribution was reasonable. The magistrate court properly limited evidence to the reasonableness of the method used to distribute the donations. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: September 12, 2023, Case #: 49678, Categories: Trusts, Due Process
J. Stegner holds that the district court properly dismissed defendant's claim that counsel coerced him to plead guilty to possessing a sharp, pointed weapon in jail. He failed to overcome the presumption that he was truthful when he swore during a change of plea hearing that he had not been coerced. He was not entitled to an evidentiary hearing on his claim that counsel gave him bad advice about a persistent violator enhancement, or on his claim that testimony from fellow inmates could have countered evidence that he was seen sharpening a spoon into a weapon. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: September 11, 2023, Case #: 50430, Categories: Ineffective Assistance, Weapons
J. Brody finds that the trial court did not err in finding that an employee was not entitled to treble damages on incentive pay since the employer paid the wages within the statutory 10-day period. The employee's severance pay, wrongful termination and rescission claims fell under the employment contract's arbitration clause. However, it was error to dismiss the arbitrable claims before they were resolved in arbitration since trial courts retain jurisdiction until arbitration parties seek confirmation and final judgment. Reversed in part.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Brody, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 49933, Categories: Arbitration, Employment, Jurisdiction
J. Stegner finds that the trial court properly compelled arbitration of a construction contract dispute. The builder did not waive its right to arbitration by first engaging in discovery and discussions about mediation. The right to seek arbitration is a contractual right subject to traditional contract interpretation, and the builder expressly preserved its right to arbitrate throughout the dispute. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 49637, Categories: Arbitration, Construction, Contract
J. Bevan holds that the district court properly found that a client could not prevail in a legal malpractice case that alleged her attorneys had not timely filed an underlying medical malpractice case. The district court used the correct standard to find that the client's medical experts were not qualified to testify about her underlying medical malpractice claims. Without expert testimony supporting the underlying medical malpractice claims, she failed to establish a prima facie medical malpractice case as required for the legal malpractice claim. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Bevan, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 49300, Categories: Experts, Medical Malpractice, Legal Malpractice
J. King finds that the district court properly dismissed a mother's civil rights and false reporting complaint against two doctors, a detective, a prosecutor and a social worker who alleged she had abused or neglected her son. Her third amended complaint was dismissed because defendants were immune from liability and the complaint failed to state a valid claim for relief. She waived her right to appeal the dismissal of the third amended complaint because her appeal relies on facts and allegations from a proposed fourth amended complaint that was denied by the district court. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Bevan, Filed On: September 6, 2023, Case #: 49385, Categories: Civil Procedure, Civil Rights, Immunity
J. Moeller finds that the district court properly concluded that a juvenile may not appeal a magistrate court's refusal to suppress drugs found in his wallet until he has been adjudicated a juvenile offender, which would bring him into the purview of the Juvenile Corrections Act. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: September 5, 2023, Case #: 49619, Categories: Drug Offender, Juvenile Law, Search
J. Stegner finds that the trial court should have made its own independent review of the record in a dispute over the accounting and dissolution of a joint dairy operation before adopting a special master's report. The trial court also erred in dismissing contract and fraud claims without analysis. It also misplaced the burden of proving fraudulent accounting. Vacated.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 49342, Categories: Fraud, Contract
J. Brody finds that the trial court properly excluded documents that subtenants provided to show ownership of a tree that fell and killed their cat. The documents were unauthenticated hearsay that was not admissible under the business documents exception and were not supported by personal knowledge. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Brody, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 49592, Categories: Evidence, Property, Negligence
J. Bevan finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to strike evidence supporting a restitution order for theft from the motel where he worked. The state's late disclosure that a witness had been found incompetent to stand trial in his own criminal case did not prejudice defendant and the standard for competency for witnesses is lower than the standard to stand trial. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Bevan, Filed On: August 30, 2023, Case #: 49029, Categories: Theft, Restitution, Witnesses
J. Brody finds that the district court improperly imposed an unconditional monetary sanction on an ex-husband for his failure to pay the spousal support, interest and fines owed under an Oregon contempt judgment. An unconditional sanction is criminal in nature but the district court did not provide the ex-husband the due process protections guaranteed by the federal constitution, such as the right to notice at his arraignment of criminal liability, the right to a public trial and the right to cross-examine witnesses. Vacated.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Brody, Filed On: August 22, 2023, Case #: 49772, Categories: Contempt, Family Law, Sanctions
J. Stegner finds that the district court properly granted summary judgment to a commercial tenant, requiring a property owner to honor the tenant's lease option to purchase the property. A declaration by the the tenant that the owner never provided notice of default was properly admitted, and the record shows the owner waived their rights to impose late fees. However, the trial court erred when it awarded the owners a credit for loss of use of the purchase price during litigation, and the tenant is entitled to an equitable award if it can show that the delay in purchasing the property increased its costs. Reversed in part.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 49094, Categories: Property, Contract
[Substitute opinion.] J. Stegner finds that testimony and a certified judgment of conviction in a previous case were sufficient for the district court to find that defendant had been convicted of a prior felony and therefore unlawfully possessed a firearm. Also, defendant received a persistent violator sentencing enhancement on the basis of a second felony which the district court then acknowledged had not been proven. The enhancement stands because defendant did not accept the district court offer of a new trial as a remedy. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Stegner, Filed On: August 18, 2023, Case #: 48825, Categories: Firearms, Sentencing
[Substitute opinion.] J. Zahn finds that the revised short and general ballot titles for the "The Idaho Open Primaries Act" that were submitted by the Attorney General substantially comply with this court's August 10, 2023 opinion and order. The previous short and general ballot titles for "The Idaho Open Primaries Act" did not substantially comply with statute. The titles did not match the language of the initiative or the way the system it proposes is commonly referred to. The term "nonparty blanket primary" was not adequately distinctive and it is prejudicial. Also, the statement that the initiative would "require ranked choice voting" was prejudicial. Without valid, certified ballot titles, proponents of the measure could not start the process of collecting signatures. The proponents have associational standing because they have established injury in fact from the inability to gather signatures, gathering signatures is germane to their alleged purpose and the benefits of valid titles would be shared by the proponents without need to show benefits to individual members.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 50940, Categories: Elections
J. Bevan finds that the district court properly suppressed DUI evidence collected during a warrantless misdemeanor arrest by a police officer who had not witnessed defendant driving. An off-duty officer witnessed defendant driving drunk and called it in to dispatch. An on-duty officer later detained defendant at his home, established probable cause using field sobriety tests and arrested him for a misdemeanor DUI. Neither officer had both presence and probable cause for the the arrest and their collective knowledge did not satisfy the constitutional "in the presence of an officer" requirement. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Bevan, Filed On: August 15, 2023, Case #: 49099, Categories: Search, Dui
J. Moeller upholds the trial court's dismissal of an inverse condemnation and breach of contract action against the state transportation department. Property owners failed to show that the statute of limitations was tolled between 2000, when they last challenged the department's 1997 taking, and 2016 when they sued. The department is not entitled to attorney fees because the gravaman of the owners' inverse condemnation claim was constitutional and was not based on the original contract the parties entered over the owners' access to their property. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: August 14, 2023, Case #: 48898, Categories: Property, Attorney Fees, Contract
J. Zahn finds that the short and general ballot titles for "The Idaho Open Primaries Act" do not substantially comply with statute. The titles do not match the language of the initiative or the way the system it proposes is commonly referred to. The term "nonparty blanket primary" is not adequately distinctive and it is prejudicial. Also, the statement that the initiative would "require ranked choice voting" is prejudicial. Without valid, certified ballot titles, proponents of the measure cannot start the process of collecting signatures. The proponents have associational standing because they have established injury in fact from the inability to gather signatures, gathering signatures is germane to their alleged purpose and the benefits of valid titles would be shared by the proponents without need to show benefits to individual members.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: August 10, 2023, Case #: 50940, Categories: Elections
J. Zahn holds that a father's appeal of the denial of his petition to modify child custody is moot since the district court already sent the case back to the magistrate court for reconsideration.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: August 4, 2023, Case #: 49795-2022, Categories: Family Law
J. Zahn finds that an unemployment claimant, who was denied benefits because he was fired for misconduct, failed to support his appeal of a benefits denial with transcripts or citations to the record, case law or statute. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: August 3, 2023, Case #: 49196, Categories: Employment
J. Zahn holds that the trial court should have obtained defendant's waiver of his right to a jury trial before imposing a sentencing enhancement. The trial court must hold a new trial on the enhancement, which ups a conviction from a misdemeanor to a felony where a defendant has been convicted of another felony DUI within the previous 15 years. Vacated.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 49241, Categories: Sentencing, Dui, Due Process
J. Zahn holds that the trial court's dismissal of the jury before applying a sentencing enhancement following a DUI conviction was fundamental error. A new trial is needed to determine whether an enhancement based on a prior felony DUI conviction applies. Vacated.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Zahn, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 49241, Categories: Jury, Sentencing, Dui
J. Moeller finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant in a second retrial of murdering two people at a campsite in 1985. The state's late disclosure of prison phone calls made by defendant's brother, which were not admitted into evidence, did not prejudice defendant, and it was within the trial court's discretion to allow the state to question the brother about the content of the calls as prior inconsistent statements. Statements made by the trial court in the first retrial did not express principle or a rule of law, so the law of the cases doctrine did not apply to them. His speedy trial rights were not violated by the second retrial, which came more than 25 months after the first retrial was declared a mistrial, since he caused most of the delay and it did not result in prejudice. Affirmed.
Court: Idaho Supreme Court, Judge: Moeller, Filed On: July 12, 2023, Case #: 47522, Categories: Evidence, Murder, Speedy Trial