Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

In August 2020, Kimberly Strable, who was under 18, inquired about a managerial position at Arby’s in Great Falls but was told she could not apply due to her age. Strable filed an age discrimination claim with the Montana Human Rights Bureau (HRB), which issued a reasonable cause determination. The parties entered into a conciliation process, and Strable’s attorney and Arby’s attorney reached an agreement in principle for a $25,000 settlement, subject to a mutually agreeable settlement agreement. However, the parties did not finalize or sign the draft conciliation agreement, which included affirmative relief provisions required by the HRB.The First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, granted summary judgment in favor of Arby’s, finding that no enforceable contract existed between the parties. The court noted that the negotiations were part of an ongoing HRB case and that Arby’s had not consented to the affirmative relief provisions, which were essential terms of the conciliation agreement.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case and affirmed the District Court’s decision. The court held that the essential element of consent was lacking because the parties had not agreed on all essential terms, including the HRB’s affirmative relief provisions. The court emphasized that a binding contract requires mutual consent on all essential terms, and in this case, Arby’s could not consent to terms it was unaware of. Therefore, the court concluded that no enforceable contract existed, and summary judgment in favor of Arby’s was appropriate. View "Strable v. Carisch" on Justia Law

In April 2020, Christopher I. Toulouse was charged with multiple offenses, including misdemeanor partner or family member assault (PFMA), felony intimidation, felony stalking, and misdemeanor violation of a no-contact order, following a series of harassing incidents directed at his ex-girlfriend, L.J. Toulouse pled guilty to PFMA, intimidation, and stalking under a plea agreement, and the State dismissed the no-contact order violation. The District Court initially intended to impose a consecutive sentence for stalking but allowed Toulouse to withdraw his guilty pleas. Toulouse later re-entered his guilty pleas and was sentenced to a combination of suspended and active sentences.The Fourth Judicial District Court of Missoula County sentenced Toulouse to a total of 15 years, with 10 years suspended. In April 2021, the State filed a petition to revoke Toulouse’s suspended sentences due to new charges. Toulouse admitted to two violations, and the District Court revoked his suspended sentences, imposing a 15-year commitment to the Montana State Prison (MSP) with no time suspended.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case. Toulouse argued that the new sentence was illegal because it imposed a longer imprisonment term than his original sentence. The Court agreed, noting that under Montana law, a district court can only impose a sentence upon revocation that does not exceed the original sentence's imprisonment term. The Court found that the District Court's sentence of a 15-year MSP commitment exceeded the original suspended sentence's terms, making it illegal. The Supreme Court reversed the District Court's decision and remanded the case for further proceedings consistent with its opinion. View "State v. Toulouse" on Justia Law

Monty Clarence Petersen filed a complaint on January 27, 2020, alleging that Jennifer J. Simon, APRN, committed medical malpractice by prescribing Lovenox within 24 hours of his surgery on January 25, 2018, causing him injuries. A summons was issued on October 31, 2022, and served on Simon on January 9, 2023. Simon moved to dismiss the complaint because Petersen did not serve it within six months of filing, as required by Montana Code Annotated § 25-3-106.The Fourth Judicial District Court of Missoula County granted Simon's motion and dismissed the complaint with prejudice, citing the expiration of the two-year statute of limitations under § 27-2-205, MCA. The court interpreted the statute to allow dismissal with prejudice if the defendant had made an appearance and other substantive law supported such dismissal.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case. The court held that § 25-3-106, MCA, mandates dismissal without prejudice for untimely service unless the defendant has made an appearance, which only affects the need for service, not the nature of the dismissal. The court found that the district court erred in dismissing the complaint with prejudice based solely on untimely service. The Supreme Court also noted that it could not issue an advisory opinion on whether a new complaint would be barred by the statute of limitations or statute of repose, as no new complaint had been filed.The Supreme Court reversed the district court's order dismissing the complaint with prejudice and remanded the case for entry of an order dismissing the complaint without prejudice. View "Petersen v. Simon" on Justia Law

Chris Landon Loberg was convicted of Criminal Possession of Dangerous Drugs after a guilty plea. He appealed a decision by the Tenth Judicial District Court, which denied his motion to suppress evidence found in his vehicle. Loberg argued that the law enforcement officers lacked sufficient particularized suspicion to conduct a canine sniff of his vehicle.The Tenth Judicial District Court found that Officer Connelly had particularized suspicion based on several factors: Loberg's pinpoint pupils, the smell of a masking agent, his presence at a casino, old reports associating him with drug users, and his delayed response to being pulled over. The court concluded that these factors collectively justified the canine sniff and denied Loberg's motion to suppress the evidence.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case and reversed the District Court's decision. The Supreme Court found that the totality of the circumstances did not amount to particularized suspicion. The court noted that pinpoint pupils alone were insufficient for a drug possession investigation, the smell of a single air freshener was not enough to suggest masking illegal drugs, and the old, uncorroborated reports in the police database were unreliable. Additionally, Loberg's brief stop at the casino and his delayed but safe pull-over did not provide specific indicia of criminal activity. The Supreme Court held that the evidence obtained from the canine sniff should be suppressed, as the officer's suspicion was no more than a generalized hunch. The decision of the lower court was reversed. View "State v. Loberg" on Justia Law

Wilfred L. Doll and Cheri L. Doll (Dolls) were members of Little Big Warm Ranch, LLC (LBWR), a business formed to manage water rights in Phillips County. Dolls negotiated a settlement with Finch/Dements for senior water rights, which devalued LBWR’s property. LBWR members consented to the settlement on the day they closed on the Finch/Dement property. Dolls later filed a complaint seeking dissolution of LBWR or a buy-out of their shares. LBWR amended its operating agreement to expel adverse members and seek attorney fees and costs, excluding Dolls from the meeting where these amendments were ratified.The Seventeenth Judicial District Court, Phillips County, ruled that Dolls dissociated from LBWR on February 2, 2018, when they filed their complaint. The court also granted LBWR summary judgment on its counterclaims for breach of fiduciary duties and the obligation of good faith and fair dealing, applying the eight-year statute of limitation for contracts. A jury awarded LBWR $2.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages. The District Court ordered Dolls to pay LBWR with 11.25% interest and LBWR to pay Dolls $434,000 per share with 7.5% interest.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana affirmed the District Court’s ruling that Dolls dissociated on February 2, 2018, and upheld the calculation of Dolls’ distributional interest. The court determined that the eight-year statute of limitation for contracts applied to LBWR’s counterclaims, as the fiduciary duties arose from the operating agreement. However, the court found that punitive damages were improper because they are not allowed in breach of contract actions under Montana law. The case was remanded to the District Court to modify its judgment to exclude punitive damages. View "Doll v. Little Big Warm Ranch, LLC" on Justia Law

In 2021, the Montana Legislature amended the Opencut Mining Act to create "dryland" permits for mining projects that do not affect water sources and are located away from populated areas. LHC, Inc. applied for such a permit for a project near the Clearwater River. The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved the permit after LHC addressed initial deficiencies. Protect the Clearwater, an environmental group, challenged the permit, arguing it did not meet statutory requirements and that DEQ's environmental assessment was inadequate.The Fourth Judicial District Court granted a preliminary injunction to Protect the Clearwater, halting LHC's mining activities. The court found that Protect the Clearwater was likely to succeed on the merits of its claim that DEQ erred in issuing the dryland permit. The court also determined that Protect the Clearwater would suffer irreparable harm without the injunction, that the balance of equities favored the injunction, and that the injunction was in the public interest. The court's decision was based on Montana's general preliminary injunction statute, rather than the specific provisions of the Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA).The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case and concluded that the District Court improperly applied the general preliminary injunction statute. The Supreme Court held that Protect the Clearwater should have sought relief under MEPA's exclusive remedy provisions, given that the permit was issued under Title 75 and Title 82. The Supreme Court vacated the District Court's preliminary injunction and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the application for the injunction. View "Protect the Clearwater v Department of Environmental Quality" on Justia Law

Andrew McCurdy entered a plea agreement in February 2022, pleading guilty to felony criminal mischief and agreeing to pay restitution. The District Court ordered a presentence investigation (PSI) report, which included McCurdy’s juvenile records without a Youth Court order. McCurdy filed motions to strike the juvenile records from the PSI and to determine his ability to pay certain fees. The District Court denied the motion to strike, stating the records were provided pursuant to a court order, and imposed a $50 PSI fee and probation supervision costs without inquiring into McCurdy’s ability to pay.The Eleventh Judicial District Court denied McCurdy’s motion to strike his juvenile records, reasoning that the records were provided under a court order and could be considered at sentencing. The court also imposed the PSI fee and probation supervision costs without determining McCurdy’s ability to pay, despite his motion requesting such an inquiry. McCurdy appealed these decisions.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana reviewed the case. It affirmed the District Court’s decision to include McCurdy’s juvenile records in the PSI, finding that any error in the procedure was harmless as McCurdy did not demonstrate prejudice. However, the Supreme Court reversed the imposition of the $50 PSI fee and probation supervision costs, noting that the District Court failed to inquire into McCurdy’s ability to pay, as required by law. The case was remanded for the District Court to conduct the necessary inquiry into McCurdy’s financial situation before imposing these costs. View "State v. McCurdy" on Justia Law

ACORN International sued the Montana Secretary of State, Christi Jacobsen, seeking records to justify the costs of accessing the Montana voter file and a declaratory judgment that the Secretary violated the "right to know" provisions of the Montana Constitution. The Secretary charges $1,000 for a one-time request or $5,000 for an annual subscription to the voter file. ACORN argued these fees were unreasonably high and not justified under the law.The First Judicial District Court of Lewis and Clark County granted summary judgment in favor of the Secretary, ruling that the fees were lawful. The court did not address ACORN's claim regarding the violation of the "right to know" provisions.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana affirmed the lower court's decision. The court held that the fees charged by the Secretary for access to the voter file are lawful under Montana law, as they reflect the actual costs of maintaining the voter registration system, Montana VOTES. The court also found that the fees do not violate the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) because the NVRA does not specifically address electronic voter databases. Additionally, the court ruled that the Secretary did not violate ACORN's "right to know" under the Montana Constitution, as the Secretary's response to ACORN's request was reasonable given the information provided.The main holdings are that the Secretary's fees for the voter file are lawful and do not violate the NVRA, and that there was no violation of the "right to know" provisions of the Montana Constitution. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's ruling. View "ACORN International v. Jacobsen" on Justia Law

The case involves a challenge to the Parental Consent for Abortion Act of 2013 (Consent Act) in Montana, which requires minors to obtain parental consent or a judicial waiver to have an abortion. The plaintiffs, Planned Parenthood of Montana and Dr. Samuel Dickman, argue that the Act violates the Montana Constitution by infringing on minors' fundamental rights to privacy and equal protection.The First Judicial District Court in Lewis and Clark County initially issued a preliminary injunction against the Consent Act, keeping the Parental Notice of Abortion Act of 2011 (Notice Act) in effect. The District Court later granted summary judgment in favor of Planned Parenthood, ruling that the Consent Act violated the Montana Constitution. The court found that the Act was not narrowly tailored to achieve the State's compelling interests, such as protecting minors from sexual offenses, ensuring informed decision-making, and promoting parental rights. The court did not address the equal protection challenge but noted that the Notice Act, while serving similar ends, was less onerous.The Montana Supreme Court reviewed the case de novo. The Court held that the Consent Act violates minors' fundamental rights to privacy and equal protection under the Montana Constitution. The Court found that the Act's classification between minors seeking abortions and those carrying pregnancies to term was unjustified. The State failed to demonstrate that the Act was narrowly tailored to serve compelling state interests, such as protecting minors from sexual victimization, psychological and physical harm, and immaturity, or promoting parental rights. The Court also found that the judicial waiver provision did not save the Act, as it introduced unnecessary delays and burdens on minors seeking abortions.The Montana Supreme Court concluded that the Consent Act infringes on minors' fundamental rights without adequate justification and does not enhance their protection. Therefore, the Court held that the Consent Act is unconstitutional. View "Planned Parenthood v. State" on Justia Law

Greg Phillips died on October 11, 2019, after receiving medical care from Dr. Anna Robbins at Logan Health. On April 22, 2021, Phillips' estate filed a medical malpractice claim with the Montana Medical Legal Panel (MMLP), which issued a decision on December 9, 2021. Subsequently, on January 5, 2022, Phillips filed a complaint in the District Court alleging wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, a survivor’s claim, and respondeat superior. However, the complaint was not served on Logan Health. On February 10, 2023, Phillips filed a First Amended Complaint (FAC) adding claims of common law negligence and negligent misrepresentation, which was served on Logan Health on February 20, 2023.The Montana Eleventh Judicial District Court dismissed the FAC with prejudice on April 28, 2023, because Phillips failed to serve the original complaint within the six-month period required by § 25-3-106, MCA, and the two-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims under § 27-2-205, MCA, had expired. Phillips' motion to alter, amend, or set aside the dismissal was denied on June 13, 2023, as the court found that the statute of limitations resumed running after the six-month service deadline passed and that the FAC did not relate back to the original complaint.The Supreme Court of the State of Montana affirmed the District Court's dismissal. The court held that the statute of limitations was not tolled during the six-month period for serving the complaint and that the FAC was filed outside the two-year limitations period. The court also determined that Logan Health's motion to dismiss did not constitute an appearance under § 25-3-106, MCA, and that the District Court did not abuse its discretion in denying Phillips' post-judgment motion. View "Phillips v. Robbins" on Justia Law