Justia Montana Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the order entered by the district court granting Big Foot Dumpsters & Containers, LLC's motion to dismiss this action as moot following Big Foot's withdrawal of its application for a garbage hauling certificate from the Montana Public Service Commission (PSC), holding that there was no error.Big Foot filed an application for a Class D carrier certificate of public convenience or necessity to haul garbage in Flathead County. Ultimately, Big Foot requested an order allowing the withdrawal of its application and sought dismissal of the action. The district court granted dismissal. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court did not err by concluding that the case was mooted; and (2) the district court did not err by failing to apply any exception to the mootness doctrine. View "In re Class D Application of Big Foot" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court affirming the justice court's denial of Defendant's motion to suppress, holding that particularized suspicion did not exist to support extending Defendant's traffic stop into a drug investigation.Defendant pleaded guilty to criminal possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal possession of marijuana. On appeal, Defendant challenged the denial of his motion to suppress the State's evidence as the product of an illegal extension of the stop, arguing that the police officer lacked particularized suspicion to justify extending the traffic stop and ordering a canine sniff search. The Supreme Court agreed and reversed, holding that the justice court erred in denying Defendant's motion to suppress. View "State v. Harning" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court dismissing Appellant's complaint against eighteen defendants relating to the installation of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units at a property owned by Yellowstone Lodging, LLC, holding that Appellant did not meet the constitutional or prudential requirements of standing.Yellowstone, which owned and operated a hotel in West Yellowstone, hired and entered into contracts with several HVAC contractors to upgrade the HVAC system at the motel. Appellant, the sole member of Yellowstone, brought this complaint alleging thirty-nine claims related to the HVAC system, as well as claims of legal malpractice against the law firm and attorney Appellant originally engaged to pursue these claims on behalf of Yellowstone. The district court concluded that Appellant lacked standing to sue. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellant may not, through an assignment, bring Yellowstone's claims on his own behalf and without counsel. View "Sagorin v. Sunrise Heating & Cooling, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court in this litigation related to the expansion of an agricultural zoning district through citizen initiative to include the area where Montana Artesian Water Company had been developing a large-scale water bottling plant, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion.At issue on appeal was whether Montana Artesian's water bottling facility was a valid nonconforming use under the Egan Slough Zoning District Regulations. Montana Artesian raised numerous issues on cross appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) properly denied Montana Artesian's motion for summary judgment on the validity of the ballot initiative process; (2) did not err in affirming the conclusion that Montana Artesian's facility was a legal nonconforming use; and (3) did not err in concluding that the initiative was not unconstitutional or illegal reverse spot zoning. View "Egan Slough Community, Yes! v. Flathead County Board of County Commissioners" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the order of the district court in this case, holding that the district court applied an overly narrow legal standard in denying a motion to vacate or modify an arbitration award but did not err in refusing to grant attorney fees.Sutey Oil Company brought a complaint against Monroe's High County Travel Plaza and Marvin Monroe (collectively, Monroe), and the parties stipulated to arbitration. After a hearing, the arbitrator entered judgment for Sutey and awarded $220,750. Monroe moved to either modify or vacate the arbitration award. The district court denied the motion and refused to grant Sutey's request for attorney fees and costs. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) remand was required for clarification of the amount of the award pursuant to Mont. Code Ann. 25-5-217; and (2) the district court did not err in denying Sutey's motion for an award of attorney fees. View "Sutey Oil Co. v. Monroe's High Country Travel Plaza, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying relief to Appellant Advocates for School Trust Lands on its claim that House Bill 286 (HB 286), passed by the 2019 Montana Legislature and codified as Mont. Code Ann. 85-2-441, is unconstitutional, holding that there was no error.Appellant brought this action alleging that HB 286 is facially unconstitutional because it violates the State's trust obligations imposed by the 1889 Enabling Act and the Montana Constitution by creating a presumption against State ownership in ground water diverted from private property for use on leased school trust land, thereby reducing the value of those lands. The district court granted summary judgment to the State, concluding that Appellant's claim was unripe and that its proposed amendment was futile. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not err by granting summary judgment to the State; and (2) did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellant's motion to amend its complaint. View "Advocates v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the order of the district court ordering equitable division of a jointly-owned retirement annuity, holding that the district court erred.The property settlement agreement that the parties entered into distributed more than $3 million in assets that were either Charles "Bo" Harms's premarital assets or primarily gifted to or inherited by Bo. At issue was whether a remainder clause in the parties' property settlement agreement providing that "all other real and personal property" would be distributed to Bo provided for distribution to him of all assets not otherwise identified. Sharon Harms argued that the parties' annuity was mistakenly omitted from the parties' settlement agreement. Bo filed a motion for contempt, claiming that Sharon was noncompliant with the final decree for failing to transfer the annuity to Bo. The district court denied Bo's motion and ordered that the annuity be equitably divided. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the district court erred in finding that there was a mutual mistake in omitting the annuity from the settlement agreement. View "In re Marriage of Harms" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court the decision and final judgment of the district court in favor of Truss Works, Inc. to foreclose a construction lien against Oswood Construction Company, holding that the district court did not err.After Truss Works filed its construction lien it brought this action seeking to foreclose on its lien. Oswood counterclaimed, alleging that Truss Works caused Oswood $118,571 in damages. After a trial, the district court entered judgment in Truss Works's favor. Oswood appealed, arguing that the district court's findings of fact were clearly erroneous because the court never addressed Oswood's counterclaim. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the district court's findings implicitly addressed Oswood's counterclaim; and (2) the court's findings of fact were supported by substantial evidence, and the court did not commit an error of law. View "Truss Works, Inc. v. Oswood Construction Co." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the district court dismissing pending abuse and neglect proceedings after Child was returned to the care of Mother in South Carolina, holding that the district court did not err by dismissing the proceedings and placing Child with the non-offending parent.The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Child and Family Services Division removed Child from Father's care after he was arrested and incarcerated for assaulting his girlfriend. Mother requested that the district court dismiss the abuse and neglect proceedings or, in the alternative, place Child with her and confer with the South Carolina family court under the provisions of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The district court granted custody to Mother and ordered that the matter be dismissed upon confirmation of Child's return to South Carolina. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err by dismissing the abuse and neglect proceedings after Child was returned to Mother's care in South Carolina. View "In re D.H." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's summary judgment order affirming a decision by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to issue a mining permit to Glacier Stone Supply, Inc. and an ensuing order denying the motion to supplement the administrative record filed by Henry and Diane Belk, holding that there was no error.At issue on appeal was whether the district court erred in its interpretation of a Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) provision concerning regulatory impacts on private property rights. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court's judgment, holding that the district court (1) did not err in concluding that the DEQ's analysis of regulatory impacts was sufficient under Mont. Code Ann. 75-1-201(1)(b)(iv)(D); (2) did not err in granting summary judgment to DEQ on its compliance with MEPA; and (3) did not err in denying the Belks' motion to supplement the record. View "Belk v. Montana Department of Environmental Quality" on Justia Law