Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

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 voted to terminate Faith Lutheran’s affiliation with ELCA. Thereafter, the majority continued as Faith Lutheran, and approximately half of the minority formed the group that would become New Hope Lutheran Ministry. New Hope subsequently filed an action seeking a declaration that the minority was the rightful owner of all church property, including property held by the Foundation for the Endowment of Faith Lutheran Church, Inc. The district court determined that New Hope was entitled to all Faith Lutheran property and all property held by the Foundation. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) correctly determined that New Hope was entitled to property held by Faith Lutheran because the ninety percent super-majority necessary for Faith Lutheran to retain the property under its constitution was not obtained; but (2) erred in holding that New Hope was entitled to the Foundation’s property because New Hope failed to prove that an express trust existed over the Foundation’s property in favor of the church members. View "New Hope Lutheran Ministry v. Faith Lutheran Church of Great Falls, Inc." on Justia Law

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 jury instruction on negligent endangerment as a lesser included offense of criminal endangerment, but the court declined to give the instruction. The jury subsequently found Defendant guilty of criminal endangerment. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court abused its discretion when it failed to give Defendant’s proposed jury instruction of negligent endangerment as a lesser included offense of criminal endangerment, and Defendant was prejudiced by this error. View "State v. Shegrud" on Justia Law

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 detention center, officers conducted an inventory search of Defendant’s purse and found drugs and drug paraphernalia. The State charged Defendant with criminal possession of dangerous drugs with intent to distribute and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia. Defendant filed a motion to suppress or dismiss, which the district court denied. Defendant pleaded guilty to both counts. Defendant subsequently appealed the denial of her motion to suppress and dismiss, asking the Supreme Court to overturn State v. Pastos, in which the Court held that a compelling state interest justifies a routine, administrative inventory search of the personal property in the possession of the arrestee at the station house following a lawful arrest. The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Defendant’s motion and, in so doing, reaffirmed its decision in Pastos, holding (1) safety concerns and procedural safeguards justify the inventory searches at issue; and (2) the search of Defendant’s purse was a valid inventory search under Pastos. View "State v. Demontiney" on Justia Law

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. Defendant appealed, arguing that his attorney provided ineffective assistance by moving to preclude evidence of accountability or conspiracy, which Defendant alleged alerted the State to its “charging error," thus prompting the State to amend the charges and thereby assuring his conviction. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Defendant’s argument was entirely without merit and that the efforts of Defendant’s attorney were well within the wide range of reasonable professional conduct. View "State v. Carter" on Justia Law

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 County Stockgrowers Association filed a petition that raised a public nuisance claim, among other claims. That petition was consolidated with another petition, and several other petitioners intervened. Two of the intervenors filed a joint amended petition, which Park County did not join, adding a claim based on changes to Mont. Code Ann. 87-1-216. After a hearing, the district court rejected all of the claims and dismissed all of the petitions. Park County appealed, contending that the district court erred in its interpretation of section 87-1-216. Because Park County neither raised a claim based on section 87-1-216 in the proceedings before the district court, nor adopted the arguments of the other petitioners, the Supreme Court affirmed, holding that consolidation did not permit Park County to appeal an issue raised in a separate case by another party. View "Park County Stockgrowers Ass'n v. State" on Justia Law

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 estate and denying maintenance to Teresa. Teresa appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) did not err in its valuation and division of the marital estate; (2) erred by denying maintenance to Teresa based on the court’s incorrect evaluation of Teresa’s income and necessity; (3) erred by refusing to award attorney fees to Teresa; (4) did not err by refusing to hold Michael in contempt for failing to pay part of his military retirement to Teresa; and (5) did not err by holding Teresa in contempt for destroying property awarded to Michael, and awarding attorney fees. Remanded. View "In re Marriage of Novak" on Justia Law

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 operations, it owed approximately $14,000. That same year, Bilt Rite transferred real property it had purchased to Anita Bartz, who had loaned Rankin or Bilt Rite $45,000. In 2007, Casey Rankin, a partner in Bilt Rite, signed a contract agreeing to pay Larson Bilt Rite’s debt. In 2009 and 2010, Larson Lumber Company (Larson) filed suit against Bilt Rite, Rankin, and Bartz, among others. The district court entered judgment in favor of Larson, holding (1) Rankin and Bilt Rite breached a written contract with Larson; and (2) the transfer of the real property from Bilt Rite to Bartz was fraudulent. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding that the district court (1) did not err by denying summary judgment to Defendants; (2) did not err by holding that Rankin and Bilt Rite were jointly and severally liable to Larson; (3) erred by holding that the Bartz loan was made to Rankin personally; and (4) erred by holding that the transfer of the real property to Bartz was a fraudulent transfer. View "Larson Lumber Co. v. Bilt Rite Constr. & Landscaping LLC" on Justia Law

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 subsequently failed to appear at an indigence hearing to determine Appellant’s eligibility for appointed counsel. The district court dismissed the appeal for Appellant’s failure to appear for the scheduled court date. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in dismissing Appellant’s appeal from the justice court because (1) Appellant failed to appear for a scheduled court date; and (2) there was not good cause precluding the district court from dismissing Appellant’s appeal. View "State v. Ziolkowski" on Justia Law

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 convictions for felony assault with a weapon; (2) the district court did not abuse its discretion in limiting a justifiable use of force defense to the felony assault with a gun charge; (3) the district court did not abuse its discretion in allowing the State to present rebuttal evidence to impeach defense witness testimony; and (4) the district court did not err in denying Appellant’s motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial. View "State v. Redlich" on Justia Law

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 court determined that the victim was competent to testify, but by the time of trial, the victim’s health had deteriorated and she was unable to testify. At trial, Appellant asked the district court to admit a transcript of the victim’s testimony at the competency hearing. The district court denied the request, determining that the victim’s competency hearing did not pertain to the issues in the bench trial. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court properly applied Mont. R. Evid. 804(b)(1) and did not abuse its discretion in determining that the prior testimony was not sufficiently reliable to come within the exception to the rule excluding hearsay. View "State v. Homer" on Justia Law