21 results for 'judge:"Christiansen Forster"'.
J. Christiansen Forster holds that the district court erred in concluding that a dispute over water district impact fees posed exceptional conditions requiring the appointment of a special master. The trial judge's pending retirement, the long duration of the case, Covid-19 calendar backups and a desire for relaxed rules of procedure and evidence do not warrant a special master. Furthermore, any legal complexity presented by the case will require district court determinations anyway. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: April 11, 2024, Case #: 20220403-CA, Categories: Civil Procedure, Property
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the district court properly adjusted the $100 monthly restitution payments defendant was making toward a $50,000 total. The new $1,100 monthly payments, which were based on an updated financial declaration, changed only the payment schedule, not the underlying restitution order or the original sentence, so statute, double jeopardy or due process rights were not violated. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: April 4, 2024, Case #: 20230253-CA, Categories: Fraud, Restitution, Securities
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court erred in binding defendant over on an aggravated kidnapping charge. The state failed to show that he intentionally or knowingly assisted another inmate who locked two officers in a cell during a prison riot. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: January 11, 2024, Case #: 20220886-CA, Categories: Kidnapping
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the Labor Commission was within its discretion to reject the conclusions of the first medical panel that reviewed a worker's claims and appoint a second medical panel because of the first panel's qualifications and because it did not conduct a physical or virtual examination.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: December 29, 2023, Case #: 20220597-CA, Categories: Workers' Compensation
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J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court erred in excluding evidence that the state's key witness in a drug-dealing case had himself been arrested on a drug charge before trial. The evidence is admissible for the non-character purpose of showing the witness had a motivation to further his relationship as an informant for the police. Reversed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: December 21, 2023, Case #: 20210541-CA, Categories: Drug Offender
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court's parental termination order was based on a valid determination that it was strictly necessary and placement options other than termination and adoption were not feasible. The father was not prejudiced by delays in the completion of paperwork required by the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: November 24, 2023, Case #: 20220635-CA, Categories: Family Law
J. Christiansen Forster holds that the district court must revisit its $20,000 restitution order to establish if a homeowner's damages resulted from defendant's theft of his possessions. Defendant agreed to pay restitution for the burglary he pleaded guilty to, but he never admitted responsibility for property damages or losses. Vacated.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: November 24, 2023, Case #: 20220275-CA, Categories: Burglary, Theft, Restitution
J. Christiansen Forster finds that evidence showing that relocating a father's children back to Utah from Washington would not be in their best interest. The trial court did not err in denying his petition to modify a divorce decree, even if some evidence could support relocation. Also, the trial court was within its discretion to reject an evaluator's recommendations and testimony. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: 20210278-CA, Categories: Family Law
J. Christiansen Forster finds that a mother did not receive ineffective assistance at a parental rights termination proceeding. The family court refused to grant mother's counsel's motion to withdraw, and the mother was not required to attend the proceeding, so her absence, which may have hurt her case, was not evidence of ineffective counsel. Her failure to communicate with counsel prior to the proceeding was solely her fault. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 20220629-CA, Categories: Family Law
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court must hold further proceedings to determine if defendant, who pleaded guilty but mentally ill to four felonies, must pay restitution. A motion for restitution filed two weeks after sentencing was well within the seven-year statutory deadline. The state's victim advocacy office that filed the motion was not bound by the prosecution's plea agreement since they are separate entities. A restitution order would not violate defendant's double jeopardy rights. Vacated.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: September 28, 2023, Case #: 20220466-CA, Categories: Restitution, Plea
J. Christiansen Forster finds that an appeals board supported its conclusion that an employee suffered retaliation with evidence of adverse actions. Her supervisor intensified his public reprimands of her after she complained that he had made unwelcome comments about her appearance. However, the board erred in ordering her reinstatement as she voluntarily retired early. On remand the board must determine the attorney fees she paid to file her Antidiscrimination Act claim. Reversed in part.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 20200391-CA, Categories: Attorney Fees, Employment Retaliation
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court properly denied defendant bail. Substantial evidence supported his felony drug charge for fentanyl distribution, he is likely to continue selling fentanyl, which poses a danger to the community due to its deadliness, and he is a flight risk. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 20230303-CA, Categories: Drug Offender, Bail
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court properly dismissed a traffic collision action because the injured party's expert witness did not disclose the intake form he relied on to conclude that the injuries stemmed entirely from that one collision. He also failed to disclose the literature he relied on to conclude that lifelong treatment would be required. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: August 24, 2023, Case #: 20210894-CA, Categories: Civil Procedure, Negligence, Experts
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court properly tossed a negligence complaint filed by a scooter rider who crashed during a motorcycle licensing test because of hot tar on the test roadway. Immunity applied because the test was part of a government function, yet immunity was waived because her injury were caused by Driver License Division negligence. But immunity is ultimately applicable because her injury satisfies the licensing exception to the waiver of immunity. Affirmed.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 20220046-CA, Categories: Immunity, Negligence
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court's award of sole physical and legal custody of a child to his mother conflicted with its order for joint decision-making, which must be vacated. The child support calculation included a math error and did not include all evidence regarding the father's income. Reversed in part.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: July 20, 2023, Case #: 20210779-CA, Categories: Family Law
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the trial court erred in dismissing a county commissioner's defamation and invasion of privacy complaint against other commissioners and a county employee who accused him of sexual harassment. Sufficient facts supported the claims and governmental immunity does not shield individuals accused of willful misconduct. However, governmental immunity was properly applied to the dismissal of the same tort claims against the county. Reversed in part.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 20200296-CA, Categories: Immunity, Defamation, Privacy
J. Christiansen Forster finds that the jury received potentially confusing instructions before it determined that a doctor did not breach his duty to obtain a patient's informed consent about the risks posed by an antibiotic he prescribed. The consent instruction given by the trial court was inadequate for jurors to establish that the patient's consent to receiving the drug was informed, and the doctor's repeated references to a "consent form" the patient had signed made it likely the jury was confused. Vacated.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 20220027-CA, Categories: Jury, Medical Malpractice
J. Christiansen Forster finds that defendant failed to meet her burden to show that the trial court's admission of other-acts evidence resulted in any prejudice in the jury's conclusion that she violated a civil stalking injunction. However, her waiver of counsel at sentencing was not knowingly and intelligently made, as the trial court failed to hold an adequate colloquy. Vacated in part.
Court: Utah Court Of Appeals, Judge: Christiansen Forster, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 20210335-CA, Categories: Evidence, Harassment