Justice DURHAM, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Alexander Kerr injured himself when he tripped on a sidewalk defect in Salt Lake City. He sued the city and obtained a judgment in his favor. Salt Lake City now appeals, alleging: (1) the city is entitled to discretionary function immunity, (2) Mr. Kerr did not present evidence that the city had adequate notice of the sidewalk defect during summary judgment proceedings or at trial, and (3) the trial court erroneously excluded opinion...
Justice LEE, opinion of the Court: 1 This case presents an important constitutional question we recently reserved without resolving — whether site-specific rezoning is legislative action subject to referendum. See Carter v. Lehi City, 2012 UT 2, 75 n. 52, 269 P.3d 141 . We now answer that question in the affirmative. I 2 Capital Assets Financial Services owns approximately twelve acres of property within the City of Saratoga Springs. In 2012, Capital Assets asked the city council to...
AMENDED OPINION Justice DURHAM , opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Appellants Delta Canal Company, Melville Irrigation Company, Abraham Irrigation Company, Deseret Irrigation Company, and Central Utah Water Company (collectively, Irrigation Companies) and Appellee Frank Vincent Family Ranch, LC (Vincent) are water-rights holders on the Sevier River system. The Irrigation Companies claim that Vincent's water right has been partially forfeited and partially abandoned. The district...
Justice PARRISH, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 This appeal arises from the Central Utah Water Conservancy District's (CUWCD) January 7, 2003 agreement (Agreement) to improve irrigation structures belonging to Upper East Union Irrigation Company (UEU), East River Bottom Water Company (ERB), and Timpanogos Canal Company (TCC) (collectively, Canal Companies) in exchange for rights to the increased water flow arising from the improvements. CUWCD failed to complete its obligations under...
Associate Chief Justice NEHRING, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 We have agreed to answer the following question certified to us by the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit: Under Tenth Circuit decisions at the time Gerardo Thomas Garza filed his complaint, approximately two years remained in [the] limitations period [before his claim would become time-barred]. A Supreme Court decision soon after filing, however, overturned those decisions and rendered his complaint...
Associate Chief Justice NEHRING, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 The Federal District Court for the District of Utah has certified the following question to this court: Does section 78B-3-425 of the Utah Code clarify existing law and therefore retroactively apply to bar negligent credentialing claims that arose prior to its enactment Utah Code section 78B-3-425 reads: Prohibition on cause of action for negligent credentialing. It is the policy of this state that the question of...
Justice PARRISH, opinion of the Court. INTRODUCTION 1 We are presented with two consolidated cases. The first is a direct appeal (Appeal) from an injunction entered against Ogden Trece (Trece), a criminal street gang. The second is a petition for extraordinary writ (Petition) brought by three alleged Trece members who were served with the injunction. 2 Weber County (County) obtained a permanent injunction against Trece and its members under a public nuisance theory pursuant to section 76-...
Chief Justice DURRANT, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Officer Dennis Nelson was terminated from his position as a police officer with the Orem City Police Department (OCPD) after using excessive force during a booking at Orem City Jail. Both the Orem City Employee Appeals Board (Board) and the court of appeals upheld Officer Nelson's termination. The court of appeals reviewed the Board's decision for an abuse of discretion and agreed with the Board that OCPD's decision to terminate...
Justice DURHAM, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Appellants Delta Canal Company, Melville Irrigation Company, Abraham Irrigation Company, Deseret Irrigation Company, and Central Utah Water Company (collectively, Irrigation Companies) and Appellee Frank Vincent Family Ranch, LC (Vincent) are water-rights holders on the Sevier River system. The Irrigation Companies claim that Vincent's water right has been partially forfeited and partially abandoned. The district court granted summary...
On Certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals. Chief Justice DURRANT, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 In 2002, Ella Turner was severely injured in an automobile accident. She received treatment for her injuries at the University Hospital (Hospital), where she claims she was rendered a paraplegic due to the Hospital's negligence. At trial, the jury found unanimously that the Hospital was not negligent. Ms. Turner appealed to the court of appeals, which upheld the jury's verdict. Ms....
Justice PARRISH, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 On certiorari, we are asked to decide whether Henry Day Ford (Henry Day) and Tom Watkins abandoned Motor Vehicle Sales Contracts (Vehicle Contracts or Contracts) for the sale of two Ford GT40s; whether the Contracts contained a latent ambiguity regarding the identity of the vehicles to be sold; and, in the event that Henry Day breached the Contracts, whether Mr. Watkins adequately mitigated his damages. The district court entered summary...
INTRODUCTION Associate Chief Justice NEHRING, opinion of the Court: 1 This case presents an issue of first impression for this court — whether law enforcement owes a duty of care to fleeing suspects. Under a plain language analysis of the governing statute, we hold that law enforcement officers engaged in pursuit owe a duty to all persons, including fleeing suspects. The appellants, however, fail to meet their burden on appeal on their separate claim that Weber County owes a fleeing suspect...
Justice LEE, opinion of the Court: 1 Max Hill, in his capacity as Special Representative of the Estate of William J. Hannifin, appeals from a district court order awarding Willis Nakai a portion of that estate. Though Nakai is neither biologically nor legally related to Hannifin, the district court determined that he was nonetheless entitled to inherit under the doctrine of equitable adoption. 2 We reverse. We hold that the doctrine of equitable adoption, first recognized in In re...
Justice PARRISH, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Appellant Loraine Sundquist appeals from an interlocutory order requiring her to vacate her home during the pendency of an unlawful detainer action. Appellee Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) initiated the unlawful detainer action, claiming ownership of Sundquist's home. FNMA claimed ownership pursuant to a trustee's deed that it obtained from ReconTrust. ReconTrust is a national bank that conducted a nonjudicial foreclosure...
On Writ of Certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals Justice LEE, opinion of the Court: 1 While traveling home from work in his personal vehicle, petitioner Layne Jex sustained back injuries in a roll-over accident. He filed a workers' compensation claim shortly thereafter, which was denied. Jex appealed, first to the labor commission and then to the court of appeals. In each forum, Jex argued that in light of the benefits his employer received through various work-related uses of his vehicle,...
On Certiorari to the Utah Court of Appeals Justice LEE, opinion of the Court: 1 Wade Maughan confessed to helping Glenn Griffin commit murder. After being granted use immunity, Maughan was called as a witness at Griffin's murder trial. Maughan refused to testify and was charged with obstruction of justice. 2 At the preliminary hearing on that charge, the magistrate declined to bind Maughan over for trial, concluding that the State had failed to present evidence of the specific intent...
Chief Justice DURRANT, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Appellant Jeffrey S. Record seeks appellate review of the district court's order compelling him to arbitrate various claims that arose out of his employment with Appellee Zions Management Services Company (Zions). Mr. Record argues that the district court erred in compelling arbitration because the plain language of the arbitration clause in his employment contract allows him to pursue administrative remedies prior to submitting to...
Justice PARRISH, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 At issue in this appeal is the question of whether a contingency fee agreement extends to an award of attorney fees. Appellant Virginia Hill entered into a contingency fee agreement (Agreement) with attorney and Appellee Don Redd. The Agreement stated, in part, that "Attorney is entitled to ONE THIRD (33 1/3%) of all monies paid to or in client[']s behalf for what ever [sic] cause related to this cause of action." Hill does not dispute...
This opinion is subject to revision before final Publication in the Pacific Reporter JUSTICE PARRISH, opinion of the Court. INTRODUCTION 1 On certiorari, we are asked to decide whether Henry Day Ford (Henry Day) and Tom Watkins abandoned Motor Vehicle Sales Contracts (Vehicle Contracts or Contracts) for the sale of two Ford GT40s; whether the Contracts contained a latent ambiguity regarding the identity of the vehicles to be sold; and, in the event that Henry Day breached the Contracts,...
Justice DURHAM, opinion of the Court: INTRODUCTION 1 Wolf Mountain Resorts, L.C. (Wolf Mountain) appeals following a trial in which the jury found it liable to ASC Utah, Inc. (ASCU) for $54,437,000 in damages. Wolf Mountain argues that the district court committed reversible error when it denied Wolf Mountain's motions for summary judgment, determined that the Amended and Restated Development Agreement for the Canyons Specially Planned Area (SPA Agreement) is ambiguous, and denied Wolf...
