BURKE, Justice. [ 1] Appellant, Jeffrey Arnott (Father), challenges the district court's order denying his petition for modification of the parties' divorce decree, which granted primary physical custody of the parties' two daughters to Appellee, Paula ("Polly") Arnott (Mother). Father sought modification of custody after Mother gave notice of her intention to relocate to Virginia with the children. Relying on this Court's decision in Watt v. Watt, 971 P.2d 608 , 614 (Wyo.1999), the...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] This appeal involves two permitting actions for a wind energy project in the mountains of Converse County. In Case No. S-12-0060, the Northern Laramie Range Alliance, LLC (NLRA), Northern Laramie Range Foundation (NLRF) and White Creek Ranch, LLC ("the objectors") challenge the district court's affirmance of the Converse County Board of County Commissioners' (Board) decision to grant Wasatch Wind Intermountain, LLC's (Wasatch) application for a Wind Energy Conversion...
VOIGT, Justice. [ 1] Nanette Holbrook, the appellee, left her car unattended with the motor running in her private driveway while she briefly returned to her home to retrieve her pocketbook. In the interim, Colbey Emms (Emms), a methamphetamine user, stole her vehicle. Emms later got into a high-speed chase with the police, which ended when the car he was driving collided with a vehicle driven by Katrina Lucero (Lucero), one of the appellants, and mother of EL and IL, also appellants. Lucero...
VOIGT, Justice. [ 1] This opinion encompasses two separate cases that have been consolidated for the purpose of decision. NLT, who is one of the appellants in this matter, is the mother of KAT, SAT, and JGS. The other appellant, MDS, is the father of JGS. Following a five-day bench trial, the district court terminated NLT's and MDS's parental rights to the minor children. Both parents appealed, claiming that the Department of Family Services (DFS) failed to provide clear and convincing...
PRICE, District Judge. [ 1] This case arises out of a home construction contract between the contractors, Big-D Signature Corporation (Big-D) and two LLCs, Sterrett Properties, LLC and 3 Creek Ranches, LLC (LLCs). Morris Sterrett (Mr. Sterrett) is the owner of the property on which the home was built. Big-D filed suit against the LLCs and Mr. Sterrett, who then counterclaimed. The district court entered a partial summary adjudication which was later partially vacated. Then a jury trial...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] This appeal involves the issuance by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) of two general permits for the discharge of produced water from coal bed methane operations in northeastern Wyoming. Yates Petroleum Corporation and Marathon Oil Company (Yates and Marathon) appealed the DEQ's decision to the Environmental Quality Council (EQC), challenging certain conditions of the two general permits. The Wyoming Outdoor Council (WOC) also sought EQC review of...
VOIGT, Justice. [ 1] The appellant received disability benefits due to a work-related injury. Those benefits were terminated as a result of the appellant's incarceration. Following his release, the appellant applied for reinstatement of the benefits. Although that application was initially denied, benefits were awarded following a contested case hearing. At that time, the appellant filed one application for retroactive benefits for the period during which his prior claim was contested and two...
PARK, District Judge. [ 1] Judee Pennington was sexually assaulted by Todd Hoover, a Uinta County detention officer, while she was an inmate at the Uinta County Detention Center. Ms. Pennington filed claims under the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act, Wyo. Stat. Ann. 1-39-101, et seq., against Hoover, Uinta County Sheriff Louis Napoli, and the Uinta County Board of Commissioners for damages stemming from this assault. Sheriff Napoli, Uinta County, and the County Commissioners are the...
VOIGT, Justice. [ 1] Donna Ray Teeples, the appellant, was to receive a cash payment from her exhusband, Neal J. Teeples, the appellee, as a result of the division of their marital assets pursuant to a divorce. The appellant claims that the payment, made with the funds of an S corporation owned jointly prior to the divorce, impermissibly increased her tax liability and was made with funds that were rightfully owed to her as a prior shareholder in the company. We affirm the district court's...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] James Creel and Brenda Creel (collectively the Creels) attended the 2006 Wyoming Open Golf Tournament (Wyoming Open) as spectators. During the tournament, James Creel (Mr. Creel) was struck by a golf ball and suffered a head injury. The Creels thereafter filed an action for damages against several parties, including the golfer who hit the ball, a tournament official, and the operators of the golf course and tournament — L & L, Inc. and its owners Lew Lepore and Mike...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] The issues presented in these appeals involve three parcels of land formerly owned by Appellant, Anne Uhr White, in the Table Mountain Ranches ("TMR") subdivision in Laramie County, Wyoming. In early 2011, Appellees Shane Edeburn Construction, LLC, Paris Edeburn, and Paul Tozer, initiated legal action to terminate Ms. White's lease on Lot 2 and Tract 12 of the TMR subdivision. Ms. White counterclaimed against these parties and added Shane Edeburn as a third-party...
HILL, Justice. [ 1] Todd Rogers challenges an order from the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) denying benefits to him for lower back treatment. The OAH ruled that Rogers did not prove his 2010 condition was related to his 2002 work injury. We affirm. ISSUE [ 2] Rogers phrases his single issue as follows: 1. Did the hearing examiner error [sic], as a matter of law, in concluding that Mr. Rogers failed to meet his burden of proof that his 2010 injuries are related to his 2002 work...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] In 2005, the Wyo Central Federal Credit Union (Credit Union) filed an action in state district court against Mark Broderick (Broderick) seeking judgment and foreclosure on a note and mortgage on which Broderick had defaulted. Broderick immediately filed a Chapter 13 bankruptcy petition, which stayed the Credit Union's state court action. Following the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings, which cured Broderick's original default under the note and mortgage but did...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] Appellants, George and Geraldine Zeimens, contend that the right-of-way for Sheep Creek Road is sixty-six feet wide. If they are correct, an electric power line built by the City of Torrington is located, in part, outside of the right-of-way and on the Zeimens' property. Torrington and Goshen County contend that the right-of-way is eighty feet wide, and that the electric power line is located entirely within the right-of-way. Unable to resolve their differences, the...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] The South Wilderness Ranch Homeowners Association (HOA) filed an action against William R. Fix to recover $2,500 in assessments he allegedly owed as a lot owner in the South Wilderness Ranches Subdivision. The HOA also sought interest and attorney fees. Mr. Fix denied that he owed the assessments and filed a counterclaim seeking a judicial determination that the covenants pursuant to which the assessments were to be paid were null and void. In the alternative, he...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] This appeal arises out of Ryan Dorman's petition for an extension of his worker's compensation temporary total disability (TTD) benefits and for reimbursement of travel expenses incurred in travelling from Idaho to Cheyenne, Wyoming, to obtain medical care. The Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division (Division) denied those benefits, and that denial was upheld by the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and the district court. We affirm. ISSUES [ 2] Ryan Dorman (...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] In July 2008, Monica Claman (Claman) purchased a house in Rock Springs, Wyoming, from Jean Popp (Popp). In September 2008, Claman filed an action against Popp based on subsidence-caused defects in the house. The district court entered summary judgment against Claman on her breach of contract and negligent misrepresentation claims, and following a bench trial, it entered judgment against her on her fraudulent inducement claim. We affirm. ISSUES [ 2] Claman presents...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] Wagonhound Land and Livestock Company, LLC (Wagonhound), VenJohn Oil, Inc., and Steven M. VenJohn (VenJohn) (collectively Applicants) filed a petition with the Wyoming State Board of Control (Board) seeking to change the place of use, point of diversion and means of conveyance for water appropriations attached to 174.8 acres. VenJohn owned the appropriations from the North Platte River and requested that the point of diversion and place of use of the rights be moved...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] Bill Kuhl brought wrongful termination claims against his former employer, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The district court granted summary judgment against him and in favor of Wells Fargo, and Mr. Kuhl appeals that ruling. We will affirm. ISSUES [ 2] Mr. Kuhl raises these issues: 1. Did the district court err in granting summary judgment in favor of Wells Fargo on Mr. Kuhl's claim for breach of an express contract of employment 2. Did the district court err in granting...
VOIGT, Justice. [ 1] The district court granted summary judgment to Elkhorn Construction, Inc. (Elkhorn), a subcontractor, on its mechanic's lien claim against KM Upstream, LLC (KM), the owner of an amine plant, the construction of which plant underlies all the issues of this case. 1 KM appealed, arguing that summary judgment was improper because of the existence of genuine issues of material fact, and because the district court did not have jurisdiction to proceed with the case, given the...
