133 results for 'court:"Montana Supreme Court"'.
J. Gustafson finds that the trial court properly determined that a city zoning board had the discretion to approve the demolition of a church and the construction of a new church. A joint use parking agreement and variances for a rear-yard setback and steeple height were also within the board's discretion. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Gustafson, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0438, Categories: Zoning
J. Baker finds that the $600 fine the trial court imposed on defendant for a DUI conviction was authorized by statute. However, it also had the discretion to allow him to satisfy the mandatory fine some other way than spending his entire $600 Covid-19 stimulus funds. Reversed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Baker, Filed On: June 20, 2023, Case #: DA 21-0406, Categories: Sentencing, Dui
J. McKinnon finds that defendant was improperly convicted of failing to register as a sex offender for a sexual assault he committed in 1994. A 2007 amendment to the Sexual or Violent Offender Registration Act that created stricter registration requirements imposes an unconstitutional ex post facto punishment for the earlier crime. Retroactive application of the amendment, which extended the registry requirement beyond the 10-year period in place at the time of conviction, imposes collateral consequences that defendant did not envision when he negotiated a guilty plea under the Act as it existed in 1994. Reversed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: DA 20-0197, Categories: Constitution, Sentencing, Sex Offender
J. McKinnon finds that the trial court admission of evidence from jailhouse informants did not compromise defendant's right to counsel. The informants were not state agents since they did not benefit from an agreement with the state or receive instructions from the state when they elicited information from defendant about two murders and one attempted murder. Also, though detectives did not discourage the informants from eliciting information, they did not encourage the behavior either. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: DA 19-0471, Categories: Murder, Witnesses
J. McGrath finds that the district court was within its discretion to deny a company's motion to disqualify a property owner's attorney. The company failed to show that the attorney's representation of one of its managers in a private real estate matter created a concurrent conflict of interest with the attorney's representation of the property owner in an easement dispute with the company. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McGrath, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0608, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property
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J. Rice finds that the district court properly ordered a county to release video and other records of a traffic stop which resulted in misdemeanor charges against a state senator. The senator's privacy interest in his confidential criminal justice information was largely outweighed by the merits of public disclosure, and certain personal identification information was properly redacted. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Rice, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0182, Categories: Public Record, Vehicle
J. Baker finds that the district court employed its "conscientious judgment" in determining that defendant had regained competence and that criminal proceedings against him for hijacking a bus could resume. He was only required to appreciate the criminality of his actions in order to be sentenced, not to show he was fit to stand trial. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Baker, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: DA 21-0196, Categories: Competence, Assault, Speedy Trial
J. Shea finds that the Workers' Compensation Court properly ruled that the statute of limitations on a claim by a mentally incompetent injured worker was tolled during the time when he lacked a guardian. Evidence supports the lower court's finding that the worker was handling argon gas when a pressure relief valve burst. An attorney fee award and penalty was merited by the insurer's failure to fully investigate the claim before it denied liability. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Shea, Filed On: June 6, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0590, Categories: Attorney Fees, Workers' Compensation
J. Rice finds that the trial court properly determined that an insurer did not have a duty to defend and indemnify an insured for property damage claims the insured made after being sued by a contractor for nonpayment. The policy definitions for property damage caused by an occurrence do not include breach of contract claims. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Rice, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0154, Categories: Insurance
J. McKinnon finds that the trial court properly relied on undisputed facts to conclude that the former HR Director for the state corrections department was fired for legitimate, non-retaliatory reasons. The good cause discharge was supported by evidence that she had made secret recordings of meetings with other corrections officials and made inconsistent statements during an investigation. Affirmed.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0562, Categories: Employment
J. McKinnon finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's speedy trial claims in a burglary trial. Much of the 573-day delay was attributable to his late request for new counsel and his late filing of a motion to dismiss, while delays from the Covid-19 pandemic added 100 days. However, the trial court relied on incorrect information when it classified him as a registered violent offender for sentencing. Reversed in part.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: McKinnon, Filed On: May 30, 2023, Case #: DA 21-0381, Categories: Burglary, Sentencing, Speedy Trial
J. Shea answers a certified question from the Ninth Circuit concerning whether, in an action for wrongful discharge, an employer may defend a termination solely for reasons given in a discharge letter. The court says y. The internet provider cites the Montana Supreme Court’s holding in the case referred to as “Galbreath.” The holding in this case states that “any collateral reasons suggested by the evidence, other than the sole reason stated in the discharge letter, were irrelevant, and therefore, inadmissible.” Because the Galbreath rule is an evidentiary rule predicated on the Montana Rules of Evidence, it has not been superseded by statutory amendments from 1999.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Shea, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: OP 22-0023, Categories: Evidence, Judiciary, Employment Retaliation
[Consolidated.] J. Shea finds the district court improperly granted the decedent’s children’s motion to strike the estate’s notice of disallowance, granting the personal representative’s motion for summary judgment. Equitable claims, seeking to enforce a contract right, are outside a probate court’s limited subject matter jurisdiction. The court did not have subject matter jurisdiction over the children’s equitable claims, and so it erred by ruling on the personal representative’s motion for summary judgment. Reversed in part. Vacated in part.
Court: Montana Supreme Court, Judge: Shea, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: DA 22-0524, Categories: Wills / Probate, Jurisdiction, Contract