Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Cody McDonald was injured while working on the construction of a building. RTK Construction, Inc. hired Ponderosa Enterprises Inc. to frame the building, and Ponderosa hired McDonald as an independent contractor to assist with the framing. McDonald brought suit against Ponderosa and RTK, alleging, inter alia, negligence and violation of the Montana Occupational Safety and Health Act (MOSHA). The district court granted partial summary judgment on the MOSHA claims, concluding that because McDonald was an independent contractor at the time of his injury, Ponderosa and RTK did not owe him any duties of safety under MOSHA. RTK was subsequently dismissed from the case, and a jury found that Ponderosa was not negligent. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that MOSHA does not create a duty for employers to meet certain safety guidelines with respect to independent contractors. View "McDonald v. Ponderosa Enters., Inc." on Justia Law

Plaintiff’s position of employment with the Emergency Services Division of the State of Montana Department of Military Affairs was eliminated during implementation of the Division’s reduction-in-force policy. After her position was eliminated, Plaintiff filed a grievance with the Department of Labor and Industry Hearings Bureau alleging that the Division terminated her in retaliation for her complaint that sexual favoritism had occurred within the Division. The Bureau dismissed the complaint, and Plaintiff chose not to appeal. Instead, Plaintiff filed a discrimination complaint with the Montana Human Rights Bureau of the Department of Labor and Industry, restating her claims. The Department dismissed the complaint. Plaintiff later filed the present complaint in the district court. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, concluding that Plaintiff’s claims were time-barred under the Montana Human Rights Act (MHRA). The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err by holding that Plaintiff’s claims were subject to the procedures set forth in the MHRA, and as a result were time-barred. View "Lay v. Dep’t of Military Affairs" on Justia Law

Valerie Addis left her position as supervisor of food services with the Missoula County Public Schools (Schools) after the Schools conducted an investigation of Addis into whether she had engaged in fraudulent or illegal financial transactions. Certain media organizations (Respondents) requested that the Schools release documents related to Addis’ termination. The Schools, in order to avoid being sued by either the media outlets or Addis, commenced the present action in district court seeking an in camera review of the Addis documents and a determination as to whether they should be released. After conducting an in camera examination of the Schools’ records, the district court concluded (1) Addis had a right of privacy in some of the documents and they, therefore, should not be released; but (2) six documents relating to misuse of public money, misuse of public facilities, and careless management practices should be released. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court properly determined that the six disputed documents should be released. View "Missoula County Pub. Schs. v. Addis" on Justia Law

Oliver Arlington, who worked for Miller’s Trucking for one year, claimed he was owed wages in accordance with a verbal employment agreement and was also owed unpaid overtime wages. On remand, a hearing officer with the Montana Department of Labor and Industry Hearings Bureau denied Arlington’s claims. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) substantial evidence supported the hearing officer’s finding that Arlington and Miller’s Trucking did not have an oral employment agreement guaranteeing over $60,000 per year in wages; (2) the hearing officer’s conclusions of law were contrary to applicable wage and hour law; (3) the hearing officer’s factual findings were clearly erroneous; and (4) the hearing officer did not abuse his discretion when he refused to admit documents pertaining to regulatory violations by Miller’s Trucking. View "Arlington v. Miller’s Trucking, Inc." on Justia Law

The City of Bozeman dismissed Robert Chase, a building inspector, and Chase claimed that the dismissal was improper. The Montana Public Employees’ Association (MPEA) gave notice to the City Manager of its decision to arbitrate Chase’s grievance according to the grievance procedure but failed to timely request a list of potential arbitrators from the Montana Board of Personnel Appeals. More than one year after the dispute arose, MPEA contacted the City to proceed with arbitration. The City declined to cooperate. More than four years after the dispute first arose, MPEA filed suit seeking a declaratory judgment that the City must participate in arbitration. The City asserted a counterclaim for declaratory relief. The district court granted summary judgment and issued declaratory relief to the City, concluding that Chase’s grievance did not survive MPEA’s failure to follow the agreement’s time limits and that MPEA waived any right to arbitrate through its four-year delay. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) whether a dispute remains arbitrable despite the failure to follow the an arbitration agreement’s procedures, including time limits, is a question of procedural arbitrability that is for an arbitrator and not for a court to decide; and (2) the City’s waiver argument was an issue for an arbitrator to decide. View "Mont. Pub. Employees Ass’n v. City of Bozeman" on Justia Law

In the process of hiring a new city manager, the City Commission of the City of Polson held a closed executive session with the description, “Personnel-meet with interview panels and deliberate on selection of city manager.” The Commission later unanimously voted to approve a city manager employment contract with Mark Shrives. Citizens for Open Government brought suit, contending that the executive session violated Citizens’ right to participate under the Montana Constitution and Montana statutory law. The district court ruled in favor of the City on the merits of Citizens’ claims. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Commission did not comply with the open meeting laws when it closed its executive session without first determining that the demands of individual privacy clearly exceeded the merits of public disclosure; but (2) because the Commission did not finalize its hiring decision until it held two additional open public meetings, the district court did not err in declining to void the Commission’s decision to present Shrives with an offer letter. View "Citizens for Open Gov’t., Inc. v. City of Polson" on Justia Law

Edwin Moreau worked at the W.R. Grace mine from 1963 until 1992. Edwin died of asbestos-related lung cancer in 2009. In 2013, Transportation Insurance, W.R. Grace’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier, accepted liability for Edwin’s medical expenses. Both the Libby Medical Plan, an entity established and funded by W.R. Grace to pay the medical care expenses of employees who were injured by asbestos exposure, and W.R. Grace refused to accept reimbursement from Transportation for the medical expenses the Plan had paid on Edwin’s behalf. Cristita Moreau, as personal representative of Edwin’s estate, demanded that the amount of reimbursement declined by the Plan and W.R. Grace should be paid either to Edwin’s Estate or to a charity selected by the Estate. After Transportation refused to pay the money, Moreau filed this petition to the Workers’ Compensation Court (WCC) to resolve the dispute. The WCC denied the petition, determining that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter because Moreau lacked standing. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Estate had standing and was entitled to have its petition determined on the merits. Remanded. View "Moreau v. Transp. Ins. Co." on Justia Law

In 1999, Randall Simms was injured while on the job. Thereafter, Simms became totally disabled and, since 2006, had been receiving total disability benefits. Dr. Michael Schabacker was Simms’ workers’ compensation doctor from 2004 through 2007. In 2010, Simms filed a complaint against Schabacker and his employer, alleging that Schabacker had unlawfully disseminated his private, confidential healthcare information to a law enforcement officer without Simms' permission. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Schabacker. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in concluding (1) Schabacker was statutorily authorized to release relevant healthcare information regarding Simms to the workers’ compensation insurer, and (2) Schabacker did not knowingly assist a law enforcement agency when he discussed Simms’ medical condition with the workers’ compensation insurer. View "Simms v. Schabacker" on Justia Law

Matthew Tubaugh, a police officer with the City of Livingston, was discharged from the police force after a series of incidents. Tubaugh protested his discharge pursuant to his rights under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) then in effect between the City and the Montana Public Employees Association. An arbitrator determined that there was just cause to discipline Tubaugh but that the proper disciplinary action was a three-month suspension without pay. The district court vacated the arbitrator’s award. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded with instructions to confirm the arbitration award, holding that the district court (1) incorrectly determined that the arbitrator exceeded her authority in her interpretation of the CBA; (2) erred in holding that the arbitrator violated public policy by requiring the City to reinstate Tubaugh to his previous position or to one of comparable pay; (3) erred by determining that the arbitrator’s award should be vacated because of its findings related to a fitness for duty examination; and (4) erred by holding that the arbitrator exceeded her authority by directing removal of the fitness for duty examination from Tubaugh’s personnel file. View "Livingston v. Mont. Pub. Employees Ass’n" on Justia Law

Petitioner, the owner and president of a Montana corporation, stopped paying himself a salary but continued working. Petitioner applied for and received unemployment benefits but reported to the State of Montana Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) that he worked zero hours per week. When DLI discovered that Petitioner worked fifty hours a week, DLI determined that Petitioner had wrongfully received benefits. DLI ordered Petitioner to repay the overpaid benefits and imposed an administrative penalty. The district court reversed in part, concluding that when Petitioner drew no salary he did not need to report the hours he worked and was eligible to receive benefits. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) a corporate officer working full-time without pay for his corporation is engaged in employment under Montana’s Unemployment Insurance Law and is required to report his hours of work when seeking unemployment benefits; and (2) DLI correctly imposed a penalty on Petitioner for misrepresenting the amount of hours he worked. View "Sayler v. Dep’t of Labor & Indus., Ins. Div." on Justia Law