BALDWIN , J. As part of a highway improvement project, plaintiff, Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT or the state), brought this condemnation action against defendant, Alderwoods (Oregon), Inc., seeking to acquire "[a]ll abutter's rights of access, if any," between defendant's property and Highway 99W. The improvement project involved rebuilding the sidewalk along Highway 99W and eliminating two driveways that previously had allowed direct vehicular access from defendant's property...
WALTERS , J. In this case, an administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that certain taxicab drivers performed services for Broadway Cab LLC for remuneration and were not independent contractors. Therefore, the ALJ concluded, Broadway was liable for unemployment insurance taxes on the drivers' wages. The Court of Appeals agreed with the ALJ, Broadway Cab LLC v. Employment Dept., 265 Or.App. 254 , 336 P.3d 12 (2014), and, for the reasons that follow, we affirm the decision of the Court...
KISTLER , J. TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc., and its directors (collectively TriQuint) are defendants in two consolidated shareholder derivative suits filed in Multnomah County. 1 TriQuint moved to dismiss those suits on the ground that its corporate bylaws establish Delaware as the exclusive forum for shareholder derivative suits. The trial court denied TriQuint's motion to dismiss, and we allowed TriQuint's petition for an alternative writ of mandamus. We now conclude that, as a matter of...
BALMER , C.J. The issue presented in this case is one of first impression: to what extent do the confidentiality provisions of Oregon's mediation statutes, ORS 36.100 to 36.238, prevent a client from offering evidence of communications made by his attorney and others in a subsequent malpractice action against that attorney The trial court granted defendant's ORCP 21 E motion to strike certain allegations in plaintiff's complaint and then dismissed the complaint with prejudice under ORCP...
BALMER , C.J. This matter is before us on petitions for awards of attorney fees and costs. For the reasons that follow, we refer the petitions to Judge Stephen Bushong, sitting as a special master, for recommended findings of fact and conclusions of law. In Moro v. State of Oregon, 357 Or. 167 , 351 P.3d 1 (2015), this court considered challenges to legislative amendments aimed at reducing the costs of the Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). Those challenges were brought by...
BALMER , C.J. This case is before us on automatic and direct review of defendant's judgment of conviction and sentence of death for aggravated murder. ORS 138.012(1). For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgment of conviction, vacate the sentence of death, and remand this case to the circuit court for further proceedings. I. BACKGROUND We begin with an overview of relevant facts; we describe additional facts in our discussion of defendant's assignments of error. Because the jury...
BALDWIN , J. In these consolidated cases, petitioners seek review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 46 (2016) (IP 46), contending that the caption, the "yes" result statement, and the summary do not comply with requirements set out in ORS 250.035(2). We review the certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with those requirements. See ORS 250.085(5) (setting out that standard). For the reasons explained below, we refer...
BALDWIN , J. In these consolidated cases, petitioners seek review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 45 (2016) (IP 45), contending that the caption, the "yes" and "no" result statements, and the summary do not comply with requirements set out in ORS 250.035(2). We review the certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with those requirements. See ORS 250.085(5) (setting out that standard). For the reasons explained below,...
LINDER , J. Petitioner seeks review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition (IP) 40 (2016), contending that the caption, the "yes" result statement, and the summary do not comply with requirements set out in ORS 250.035(2). We review the certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with those requirements. See ORS 250.085(5) (setting out that standard). For the reasons explained below, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney...
WALTERS , P.J. Defendant was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder in 1988. This court affirmed those convictions in State v. Guzek, 310 Or. 299 , 797 P.2d 1031 (1990) ( Guzek I ), but has three times vacated defendant's sentences of death and remanded for new penalty-phase trials. See id.; State v. Guzek, 322 Or. 245 , 906 P.2d 272 , 274 (1995) ( Guzek II ); State v. Guzek, 336 Or. 424 , 86 P.3d 1106 (2004) ( Guzek III ), vac'd and rem'd, 546 U.S. 517 , 126 S.Ct....
BREWER , J. In this negligence action, plaintiffs alleged in their complaint that, after being served alcohol at defendant's bar when he was visibly intoxicated, a patron, Mayfield, walked down the street to another business location and, without intending to do so, fired a gun through the doorway, causing injuries to plaintiffs for which they now seek recovery. 1 The trial court granted defendant's summary judgment motion, concluding that plaintiffs had presented insufficient evidence...
LINDER , J. Plaintiffs are two individuals who purchased Marlboro Light cigarettes in Oregon. Defendant Philip Morris is the company that manufactures, markets, and sells Marlboro Lights. Plaintiffs brought this action under Oregon's Unlawful Trade Practices Act (UTPA), 1 alleging that defendant misrepresented that Marlboro Lights would deliver less tar and nicotine than regular Marlboros and that, as a result of that misrepresentation, plaintiffs suffered economic losses. Plaintiffs...
BALDWIN , J. In this mandamus proceeding, we consider a challenge to the validity of a trial court's Sell order directing relator, Oregon State Hospital (OSH), to administer involuntary medication to the adverse party (defendant) in a criminal case for the purpose of restoring defendant's capacity to stand trial on felony charges. 1 For the reasons we explain below, we conclude that ORS 161.370(1) granted the trial court implied authority to issue the order — which was based on the...
LANDAU , J. This case is before us on a certified question of Oregon law from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. A & T Siding, Inc. v. Capitol Specialty Ins. Corp., 356 Or. 399 , 337 P.3d 128 (2014) (accepting certified question); ORS 28.200 to 28.255 (granting Oregon Supreme Court authority to answer certified questions and describing procedure). The question arises out of a construction contract dispute in which a homeowner's association sued a builder in...
LINDER , J. Defendants Dale and Shannon Hickman were convicted of second-degree manslaughter (ORS 163.125) after they declined to seek medical treatment for their son David, who died about nine hours after he was born prematurely. Defendants are members of the Followers of Christ Church. That church encourages its members to rely on God to heal sickness and injury, and considers resorting to conventional medicine as a failure in faith. At trial, defendants argued that, because they...
BREWER , J. The issue on review in this case is whether the trial court erred in denying defendants' 1 motion for a new trial under ORCP 64 B(4), 2 based on the asserted ground of newly discovered evidence. The trial court determined that defendants' proffered evidence did not satisfy the legal standard for granting a new trial under that rule. The Court of Appeals reversed, concluding that defendants' post-trial proffer qualified as newly discovered evidence, that the evidence was...
BALDWIN , J. In this appeal from the Oregon Tax Court, appellants are three municipal corporations located in Washington State: The City of Seattle, the City of Tacoma, and Public Utility District No. 1 of Snohomish County (taxpayers). Respondent is the Oregon Department of Revenue (department). Each taxpayer owns an interest in electrical transmission capacity that was purchased from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and is used for transmitting electricity over the Northwest's...
BALMER , C.J. In this direct appeal from the Oregon Tax Court Regular Division (Tax Court), we must decide whether the Tax Court properly applied administrative rules governing property tax appraisals. Specifically, this case requires us to consider the relationship between two terms defined in the Department of Revenue's administrative rules: "highest and best use" and "value of the loss." See OAR 150-308.205-(D)(1)(c) (defining highest and best use); OAR 150-308.205-(F)(3)(k) (defining...
KISTLER , J. In Danforth v. Minnesota, 552 U.S. 264, 128 S.Ct. 1029 , 169 L.Ed.2d 859 (2008), the United States Supreme Court held that state courts may apply new federal constitutional rules retroactively in state post-conviction proceedings even though those rules do not apply retroactively in federal habeas corpus proceedings. We allowed review in this case to consider the principles that Oregon courts should follow in exercising the authority that Danforth recognized. However,...
BALMER , C.J. In this declaratory judgment action, we consider whether a home-rule city can impose a five-percent franchise fee on a sanitary authority with overlapping jurisdiction. The trial court concluded that the city had authority to impose the fee at issue in this case, but declined to reach an additional question whether the amount of the fee was reasonable, because that issue was not presented by the pleadings. The Court of Appeals affirmed, concluding that the city had authority...
