26 results for 'court:"Alaska Supreme Court"'.
J. Henderson finds the superior court properly ruled that the Copper River Native Association’s (CRNA) member tribes have not waived CRNA’s arm-of-the-tribe immunity. “CRNA’s member tribes use it to deliver tribal healthcare services, a core tribal governmental function necessarily connected to tribal self-governance and autonomy.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: S-17965, Categories: Native Americans
J. Carney finds the Superior court properly committed appellant for mental illness that could make him a danger to others. “Psychiatrist’s testimony supports finding [that appellant’s] impulse control disorder was more than his developmental and intellectual disabilities, satisfying the statutory definition of mental illness.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Carney, Filed On: April 26, 2024, Case #: S-18282, Categories: Commitment
J. Borghesan finds the superior court properly ruled that even though the State wrongly determined certain property was not taxable, the State cannot now assess taxes on this property if more than three years have passed since the taxpayer filed its tax return. The city's interpretation “would greatly undermine the core purpose of the statutory limitations period: to protect potential taxpayers from the uncertainty of perpetual tax liability.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: April 19, 2024, Case #: S-18351, Categories: Tax
J. Pate finds that the trial court erred by finding that a man was a child’s psychological parent but declining to consider his relationship with the child in its decision to award sole custody to the mother. The father presented evidence that he filled an important role in the child’s life and the court was required to consider that in determining whether the child would suffer a clear detriment if the court awarded sole custody to the mother.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Pate, Filed On: March 22, 2024, Case #: S-18700, Categories: Family Law
J. Borghesan finds police must get a warrant before taking pictures of your yard with a zoom lens while flying in an airplane. “The fact that a random person might catch a glimpse of your yard while flying from one place to another does not make it reasonable for law enforcement officials to take to the skies and train high-powered optics on the private space right outside your home without a warrant.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: S-17910, Categories: Search
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J. Henderson finds that the superior court properly determined that the winning candidate in a 2022 state legislature election is eligible to serve. Representative Jennifer Armstrong “met the constitutional requirements, including the three-year state residency requirement, for serving in the legislature.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: March 1, 2024, Case #: S-18619, Categories: Elections, Government
J. Pate finds the superior court properly determined that a landlord failed to maintain the premises in a habitable condition and willfully diminished the tenant’s essential services. The landlord’s “willfulness is clear because he housed employees in his garage after being denied his request to have additional residential units there.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Pate, Filed On: February 23, 2024, Case #: S-18262, Categories: Landlord Tenant
J. Pate finds the superior court erred in granting summary judgment for the owner of an automated teller machine (ATM) who sued an ATM processor for breach of contract and conversion. “There is a genuine issue of material fact with respect to the breach of contract claim.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Pate, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: S-18276, Categories: Business Practices
J. Carney finds the superior court properly denied a business partner's motion for partial summary judgment in a business embezzlement case. The partner “leveraged the existence of his own separate corporation to control and misappropriate [company] funds.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Carney, Filed On: February 16, 2024, Case #: S-18504, Categories: Business Practices
J. Borghesan finds the superior court properly entered summary judgment in the case of an estate of a deceased Fairbanks entrepreneur that languished in probate for years. The wife “had a reasonable ability to protect her own rights against some of the former personal representative’s alleged misdeeds, and…the former personal representative’s lawyer did not know or have reason to know of the other alleged misdeeds," therefore "the lawyer did not owe a duty of care to the deceased man’s wife.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: February 2, 2024, Case #: S-18317, Categories: Wills / Probate
J. Carney finds the superior court properly ruled that the Sitka Tribe of Alaska was not the prevailing party for purposes of awarding attorney fees despite the tribe’s claim that the State’s management of a commercial fishery harmed a subsistence fishery. “The Tribe has not met its heavy burden of persuasion to show that the superior court abused its discretion by denying attorney’s fees to all parties.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Carney, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: S-18114, Categories: Native Americans, Attorney Fees
J. Henderson finds the superior court erred by ruling that defendant, who was held in solitary confinement for 504 days, could not sue the DOC, reasoning that DOC’s conduct was not extreme and outrageous and that the prisoner’s distress was not severe enough to give rise to liability. “Assuming [defendant’s] assertions to be true, we conclude that his emotional distress was sufficiently severe to meet the required threshold for an IIED claim.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: S-17941, Categories: Prisoners' Rights
[Consolidated] J. Borghesan finds the superior court erred in ruling that the State’s Medicaid recovery claim did not arise during a woman’s lifetime and should have been brought within four months of her death. “Medicaid estate recovery claims arise before death and therefore must be filed within four months after notice to creditors. Although the State may not pursue these claims until after the Medicaid beneficiary has died, these claims arise when Medicaid services are provided, not when the claims become enforceable.”
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: December 22, 2023, Case #: S-18380, Categories: Medicaid
J. Carney finds the superior court erred by terminating a father’s parental rights to his two Indian children after they were removed from his home because of reported domestic violence with their mother. “By failing to make active efforts for the vast majority of that time, OCS failed to make active efforts toward Ronan.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Carney, Filed On: December 15, 2023, Case #: S-18588, Categories: Family Law
J. Henderson finds the superior court erred by awarding partial attorney fees in a dispute. “The trade associations did not have a sufficient economic incentive to bring their claims…[but[ are qualified, non-prevailing constitutional claimants.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: December 1, 2023, Case #: S-18044, Categories: Attorney Fees
J. Borghesan finds the superior court correctly ruled in a case involving owners of a neighboring waterfront shared cove. “Because the surveyor set the boundary of the properties in question at the mean high tide line, the court did not err by determining the boundary based on evidence of where the mean high tide line actually was when the properties were surveyed rather than relying solely on the location of the monument.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: S-18208, Categories: Property
J. Pate finds the superior court properly dismissed a lawsuit because it failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted for defendant, who was sentenced to 104 years in prison for kidnapping and murder. The “proper vehicle…would be an application for post-conviction relief.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Pate, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: S-18511, Categories: Murder, Sentencing, Kidnapping
J. Winfree finds the superior court erred by rejecting the Office of Children’s Services’ appeal after the agency took emergency custody of a child within days of her birth. “There was evidence of ongoing domestic violence" between the parents. Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Winfree, Filed On: November 17, 2023, Case #: S-18500, Categories: Family Law
J. Borghesan finds the superior court properly dismissed a mining company’s claims when its sole filing in the prior year was a substitution of counsel. The counsel substitution was not a “proceeding” that terminated the period of delay and the company “failed to clearly explain its dilatory conduct.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: August 11, 2023, Case #: S-18243, Categories: Business Practices
J. Borghesan finds the superior court properly divided marital property despite a wife’s depression during divorce proceedings. The court’s finding that the wife’s depression was not debilitated “rested on [wife’s] 25-year history as a court clerk and the fact that by 2012 she was well enough to care for her young grandchild.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Borghesan, Filed On: July 14, 2023, Case #: S-18272, Categories: Family Law
J. Henderson finds the superior court erred in determining a husband’s severance and bonus pay were separate property in a divorce. “The court lacked sufficient information to classify the severance and bonus pay.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: S-18242, Categories: Family Law
J. Winfree finds the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission properly affirmed the Workers’ Compensation Board decision that a chiropractor’s care was reasonable and necessary after a worker injured her shoulder. Substantial evidence supports the board’s "finding about the compensability of the care.” Affirmed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: WInfree, Filed On: May 19, 2023, Case #: S-18209, Categories: Workers' Compensation
J. Henderson finds the superior court erred in terminating a father’s parental rights after determining that Children's Services met its due diligence obligation on his claims of Alaska Native heritage and contention that his children are Indian children under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). “Where there is a reason to know that ICWA applies, the court must confirm, through ‘a report, declaration, or testimony included in the record,’ that OCS used due diligence to identify and notify relevant tribes.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Henderson, Filed On: May 12, 2023, Case #: S-18479/18480, Categories: Family Law
J. Winfree finds the superior court failed to grapple with and determine whether a man’s commitment to a treatment facility was the least restrictive alternative for his treatment. “Less restrictive alternatives to hospitalization in a secure, locked facility must be considered before ordering involuntary commitment and…it is the State’s burden — not the respondent’s contrary burden — to show that those alternatives do not exist or are not feasible.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Winfree, Filed On: May 12, 2023, Case #: S-18326, Categories: Commitment
J. Carney finds the superior court erred in failing to award lost future earnings to a surgeon who suffered permanent injuries when a semi-truck hit her car. “It was legal error to require proof of the amount of lost future earnings to a reasonable certainty and not to award at least nominal damages to the surgeon for the proven harm to her future earning capacity from her injuries.” Reversed.
Court: Alaska Supreme Court, Judge: Carney, Filed On: May 5, 2023, Case #: S-18100, Categories: Damages