Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Hobble Diamond Ranch, Robert and Susan Burch, and James Lowe, (collectively, Neighbors), appealed the district court's judgment affirming the Montana Department of Transportation's (DOT) decision to issue billboard sign permits under the Montana Outdoor Advertising Act. Neighbors sought removal of two billboards, arguing that the billboards were not in compliance with MOAA, DOT's granting of the permits was unlawful, and the billboards were a public nuisance. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court's ruling upholding the DOT decision was not arbitrary capricious, or unlawful, as the permit applications were in conformance with MOAA and DOT based its decision on sufficient evidence. View "Hobble Diamond Ranch v. State ex rel. Dep't of Transp." on Justia Law

Edna Banco filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits for an occupational disease (OD) in her right shoulder. Banco worked concurrently at 4B's Restaurant and the Child Development Center on Malmstrom Air Force Base (CDC). 4B's was insured by Liberty Northwest Insurance Corporation (Liberty). Liberty denied Banco's claim for workers' compensation benefits. The Workers' Compensation Court (WCC) found (1) Banco was last exposed to work of the same type and kind that gave rise to her shoulder condition while she was working at CDC; and (2) thus, since Banco was not last exposed at 4B's, Liberty was not liable under the "last injurious exposure" rule set forth in In re Mitchell. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the WCC had substantial credible evidence upon which to find Banco was last injuriously exposed at CDC to working conditions of the type and kind that led to her OD, and thus, Liberty was not liable for Banco's OD. View "Banco v. Liberty Nw. Ins." on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Charles Branham was found guilty of mitigated deliberate homicide for the fatal stabbing of Miachel Kinross-Wright and was sentenced to forty years' incarceration without the possibility of parole. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to admit evidence offered by Branham to show Kinross-Wright's propensity for violence where the evidence was unknown to Branham at the time of the stabbing; (2) Branham failed to demonstrate that the prosecutor made improper comments during trial and that he was denied a fair trial; and (3) the district court provided sufficient reasons for limiting parole eligibility. View "State v. Branham" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs, Western Tradition Partnership (WTP), Champion Painting, and Montana Shooting Sports Foundation (MSSF), sued the Montana Attorney General and the Commissioner of Political Practices, seeking a declaration that Mont. Code Ann. 13-35-227(1) violated their freedom of speech protected by the state and federal Constitutions by prohibiting political expenditures by corporations on behalf of or opposing candidates for public office. The district court declared the statute unconstitutional, granted summary judgment for Plaintiffs, enjoined enforcement of the statute, and denied the motion of Champion and MSSF for an award of attorney fees. The Supreme Court reversed and entered summary judgment in favor of Defendants after applying the principles enunciated in Citizens United v. F.E.C., holding that Montana has a compelling interest to impose the challenged rationally-tailored statutory restrictions. View "Western Tradition P'ship v. Attorney General" on Justia Law

Campbell Farming Corporation had its shares controlled by three shareholders: Stephanie Gately controlled fifty-one percent of the shares, and H. Robert Warren and Joan Crocker controlled the remaining forty-nine percent. Stephanie awarded her son, Robert Gately, who was president of the company, a bonus after a vote by the shareholders. Warren and Crocker filed a derivative and direct action against the company and the Gatelys in federal district court seeking to void the bonus. The district court entered judgment in favor of Defendants. The Supreme Court accepted certification from the Tenth Circuit to answer several questions and held (1) the safe harbor provision of Mont. Code Ann. 35-1-462(2)(c) can be extended to cover a conflict-of-interest transaction involving a bonus that lacks consideration and would be void under Montana common law; (2) the business judgment rule does not apply to situations involving a director's conflict-of-interest transaction; and (3) the holding in Daniels v. Thomas, Dean & Hoskins does not apply to the claim challenging Stephanie's role in the director conflict of interest transaction, but the Daniels test does apply to the claim of breach of fiduciary duties alleged by the minority shareholders against Stephanie in her capacity as majority shareholder. View "Warren v. Campbell Farming Corp." on Justia Law

Gary Martin and Lewistown Miller Construction Company entered into a written contract for the construction of a dwelling on Martin's property. When construction was completed, Martin refused to pay additional amounts above the bid price, and LMCC filed a construction lien on the property. LMCC then filed suit, seeking damages for breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and foreclosure of the lien. Martin counterclaimed for declaratory relief that the lien was invalid and to quiet title, among other things. The district court (1) granted foreclosure of LMCC's construction lien and awarded damages to LMCC; and (2) denied LMCC's and Martin's request for attorney fees. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part, holding (1) the district court did not err in ordering foreclosure of the construction lien, and the award of damages was not clearly erroneous; but (2) the district court erred in failing to award statutorily mandated attorney fees to LMCC, as it established its lien. Remanded. View "Lewistown Miller Constr. v. Martin" on Justia Law

The district court entered an order for contact between Grandmother and Granddaughter, whose parents were incarcerated. The court's order was entered over Mother's objection. Grandmother subsequently filed a petition for additional grandparent contact. After the district court held a hearing on that petition, Grandmother appealed. No written judgment or order disposing of the issues raised at the hearing appeared in the district court record, however. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal after noting that the Court was left with a record that was impossible to properly review as to the three issues raised on appeal. Remanded to the district court with directions for the court to enter written findings, conclusions, and an order addressing the issues raised by Grandmother's petition and at the hearing. View "In re Vistation of Larsen" on Justia Law

Bryan LeMay was convicted of numerous offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to assault with a weapon, in three separate causes of action. The Supreme Court consolidated the causes of action into this opinion and affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err when it denied LeMay's motion to dismiss on the grounds of outrageous government conduct; (2) the assistance of LeMay's counsel was reasonable considering all the circumstances; (3) the district court properly denied LeMay's motion to withdraw his nolo contendere pleas, as they were voluntarily entered; (4) the district court did not err when it denied LeMay's motion to suppress because the officer had sufficient facts to form a particularized suspicion of wrongdoing to initiate an investigative stop; and (5) the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied LeMay's motion to dismiss for lack of state criminal jurisdiction. View "State v. LeMay" on Justia Law

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana (BCBS) and New West Health Services (collectively TPAs) administered a self-funded employee healthcare benefit plan for the State's employees. Jeannette Diaz and Leah Hoffmann-Bernhardt (Plaintiffs), who were both injured in accidents, filed suit against the state, BCBS, and New West for allegedly violating their made-whole rights by failing to conduct a made-whole analysis before exercising subrogation rights. Plaintiffs moved for class certification seeking to include in the lawsuit individuals who had their benefits reduced under the State plan, as well as individuals who had their benefits reduced under policies independently issued and administered by the TPAs. The district court denied class certification and determined that Montana's made-whole laws did not apply to TPAs. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the district court's finding that BCBS and New West, in their capacities as TPAs in the present case, were not subject to the made-whole laws under either the subrogation statutes or under a third-party beneficiary theory; and (2) reversed the district court denial of class certification, as Diaz and Hoffmann-Bernhardt demonstrated that the requirements of Mont. R. Civ. P. 23 were met. View "Diaz v. Blue Cross & Blue Shield" on Justia Law

Late one night, a Jefferson County reserve deputy came upon a car parked in a posted "day use only" fishing access site in Madison County. The deputy made contact with the car's driver, Floyd Updegraff, and ascertained that Updegraff was intoxicated. A second deputy Jefferson County deputy responded to the scene and placed Updegraff under arrest for DUI. A jury ultimately convicted Updegraff of felony DUI and other offenses. Updegraff appealed, arguing that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence because (1) if the deputies were acting under color of law, they had no authority to make an arrest in Madison County, or (2) the deputies were acting as private citizens, in which case they failed to comply with the private person arrest statute. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) in order to make a warrantless arrest, an out-of-jurisdiction officer must meet the arrest standard that would apply to a private person in the same circumstances, but if this standard is met, the officer may then follow the procedures applicable to peace officers in processing the arrest; and (2) applying this approach to the circumstances in this case, Updegraff's arrest was legal. View "State v. Updegraff" on Justia Law