Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Westmoreland Resources Inc. (WRI) mines coal owned by the Crow Tribe and pays coal severance and gross proceeds taxes to the Tribe. In 2005, WRI filed a tax return with the Department of Revenue for coal produced and sold at its Absaloka Mine, located on the Crow Reservation, during tax year 2004. The return deducted the coal severance and gross proceeds taxes it had paid to the Tribe. The Department disallowed WRI’s deduction. WRI filed a complaint with the State Tax Appeal Board. WRI and the Department later filed a joint petition for an interlocutory adjudication of a substantive question of law with the district court. At issue was whether WRI’s coal severance and gross proceeds deduction was proper. The district court held in favor of the Department, concluding that WRI may not deduct taxes paid to the Tribe as “taxes paid on production” from the “contract sales price” when calculating the Resource Indemnity Trust and Ground Water Assessment Tax. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the phrase “any tax paid to the federal, state, or local governments” within Mont. Code Ann. 15-35-102(11) does not include those taxes WRI pays to the Tribe. View "Westmoreland Res., Inc. v. Dep’t of Revenue" on Justia Law

This case arose from a restriction placed on a certain parcel of real property providing that the land would be used exclusively for agricultural purposes. Greg Hampton, a developer, requested the consent of Lewis and Clark County to revoke the agricultural covenant. The County approved the lifting of the covenant subject to thirteen conditions. Hampton then began working on developing his residence on the parcel. The County later filed a complaint requesting injunctive relief and an order requiring Hampton to complete the conditions. A jury determined that Hampton had notice of the thirteen conditions prior to building his home and that he failed to complete four conditions prior to development. The district court then entered final judgment, ordering Hampton to pay the proportionate share of the cost to upgrade Lodgepole Road to County road requirements, among other orders. The Supreme Court largely affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err in ruling on summary judgment that the County consented to revocation of an agricultural covenant on Hampton’s property; (2) the district court erred in determining that Hampton was only proportionally responsible for the cost of upgrading Lodgepole Road; and (3) the district court did not err in the remainder of its judgment. View "Lewis & Clark County v. Hampton" on Justia Law

Petitioners filed a combined petition challenging the legal sufficiency of Initiative No. 171 (I-171), a proposed ballot measure that would prohibit the state and its political subdivisions from using funds, resources, or personnel to administer or enforce the federal Affordable Care Act, among other things. Petitioners sought an order enjoining the Secretary of State from approving petitions for circulation to the electorate for signatures or otherwise submitting the measure for approval by the voters and further sought a declaration that I-171 was unconstitutional and void. The Supreme Court denied the petition, holding (1) the Attorney General correctly determined that I-171 was legally sufficient; and (2) the ballot statements for I-171 satisfy the requirements of law. View "Hoffman v. State" on Justia Law

Appellant filed an application with the Montana Board of Psychologists to become licensed as a psychologist. The Board denied the application on the ground that Appellant did not meet the education-related qualifications. Following a requested case hearing, the hearing officer entered proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law in favor of Appellant, and accordingly, recommended that the Board grant Appellant’s application for licensure as a psychologist. The Board rejected or modified several of the hearing officer’s findings and conclusions and reinstated its denial of Appellant’s application. The district court affirmed the Board. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Board did not misapply the standards of review in reinstating its denial of Appellant’s application, and the district court did not err in affirming the Board’s final agency decision. View "Mayer v. Bd. of Psychologists" on Justia Law

Plaintiff, registered voters seeking to invalidate the Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission’s (Commission) assignment of two “holdover senators” in its final 2013 redistricting plan, filed a complaint against the State and Secretary of State (collectively, "State") seeking injunctive and declaratory relief. The district court granted the State’s motion for summary judgment and denied Plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in concluding that (1) the Commission did not violate the public’s “right to know”; (2) the Commission is part of the legislative branch and is not an agency, and that it is therefore exempt from statutes promulgating the right of participation; and (3) Plaintiffs’ argument that the Commission violated Plaintiffs’ right of suffrage was without merit. View "Willems v. State" on Justia Law

From 2003 to 2011, Jasvinder Singh worked for America’s Best Contractors, Inc. (ABC) as a salesperson and estimator. After his employment with ABC ended, Singh filed a claim with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI), alleging that he was owed unpaid commissions for the period of June 2010 to June 2011. The DOLI hearings bureau determined that ABC owed Singh unpaid commissions and a penalty totaling $60,575. The district court affirmed DOLI’s final agency decision. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the hearing officer did not adjudicate collateral matters beyond DOLI’s jurisdiction when he excluded certain payments; and (2) the hearing officer’s factual determinations that certain checks issued to Singh were payments on collateral obligations were supported by the evidence. View "America's Best Contractors, Inc. v. Singh" on Justia Law

C.S., who turned eighteen in March 2012, received special education services from the Butte School District until June 2013. In January 2013, the Montana Office of Public Instruction directed the School District to obtain appointment of a surrogate parent for C.S., who lived with his Foster Father, for educational purposes. The district court subsequently appointed Mary Jo Mahoney as C.S.’s surrogate parent. In March 2013, C.S. filed a motion to vacate the appointment of Mahoney and to substitute Foster Father as his surrogate parent. The court denied the request. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the district court’s refusal to vacate its appointment of Mahoney was not mooted even though C.S. no longer qualified for special education services from the School District; and (2) the district court erred when it refused to remove Mahoney and appoint Foster Father as C.S.’s surrogate parent for educational purposes. View "In re C.S." 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

After Petitioner was involved in an accident from allegedly hitting a building with his truck, Petitioner was cited for DUI, third offense. Petitioner’s driver’s license was seized based on his refusal to submit to a blood or breath test. Defendant subsequently filed a petition to reinstate his driver’s license. The hearing on Petitioner’s petition was continued several times. Meanwhile, a jury found Defendant not guilty of the underlying DUI charge. Based on this acquittal and “res judicata and/or collateral estoppel” principles, Petitioner filed a petition asking the district court to enter judgment against the State on his petition and to permanently reinstate his license. The district court denied the petition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in denying Petitioner’s petition for reinstatement of his driver’s license, as the acquittal in municipal court did not establish res judicata or collateral estoppel in Petitioner’s reinstatement proceeding. View "Ditton v. Dep't of Justice Motor Vehicle Div." on Justia Law

After K.L. was removed from her parents’ custody, K.L. was adjudicated a youth in need of care, and the Department of Public Health and Human Services (Department) petitioned to terminate the parental rights of both parents. After a hearing, the district court terminated the parents’ rights to K.L. Both parents appealed the order of termination. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in (1) granting the Department’s motion for an extension of temporary legal custody over K.L; (2) terminating Father’s parental rights after finding that the condition rendering Father unfit to parent was unlikely to change within a reasonable time; and (3) terminating Mother’s parental rights. View "In re K.L." on Justia Law