Justice BETH BAKER delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 The Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Intervenor NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern) appeal the Fifth Judicial District Court's judgment in favor of Petitioner Jefferson County. Appellants argue the District Court erred in issuing a writ of mandamus, granting summary judgment to Jefferson County, and enjoining DEQ from releasing a draft environmental impact statement. We reverse the District Court and remand with...
Justice JIM RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(d), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court's quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports. 2 Pascal Redfern appeals from the dismissal, by the Fourth Judicial District Court,...
Justice Jim Rice delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(d), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court's quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports. 2 Pascal Redfern appeals from the dismissal, by the Fourth Judicial District Court,...
Justice JIM RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Gary Martin (Martin) appeals from the judgment entered by the Tenth Judicial District, Fergus County, in an action by Lewistown Miller Construction Co., Inc., (LMCC) to foreclose a construction lien. LMCC cross-appeals from the denial of statutory attorney fees. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand. We address the following issues: 2 1. Did the District Court err in ordering foreclosure of the construction lien 3 2....
Chief Justice MIKE McGRATH delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 The Attorney General of Montana and the Commissioner of Political Practices appeal from the District Court's Order on Cross-Motions for Summary Judgment filed October 18, 2010. We reverse. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND 2 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...
Justice JIM RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 On October 7, 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit certified to this Court questions of Montana law related to this matter. Warren v. Campbell Farming Corp., No. 09-2169, 400 Fed.Appx. 312 (10th Cir.2010) (unpublished). The Tenth Circuit Court's order set forth three certified questions, which it acknowledged could be reformulated by this Court, the factual and procedural background, a summary of the District...
Justice JAMES C. NELSON delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Bryan LeMay appeals the Judgment and Sentence of the District Court for the Seventh Judicial District, Richland County, convicting him of numerous offenses ranging from disorderly conduct to assault with a weapon, in three separate causes of action. We affirm. 2 Because many of LeMay's issues and arguments in these three causes of action overlap, we have consolidated them into this one Opinion in which we address the following...
Justice MICHAEL E. WHEAT delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 The First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, denied Jeannette Diaz (Diaz) and Leah Hoffmann-Bernhardt's (Hoffmann-Bernhardt) motion for class certification and concluded third-party administrators of the State of Montana's (State) employee healthcare benefit plan are not subject to made-whole laws established under 2-18-901 to -902 and 33-30-1101 to -1102, MCA. Diaz and Hoffmann-Bernhardt appeal. 1 2 We...
Chief Justice Mike McGrath delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(d)(v), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court's quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports. 2 Stephen Forbes and several members of his family, appearing...
Justice BETH BAKER delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 M.S. (Father) appeals the First Judicial District Court's order requiring him to provide support for his disabled adult twin sons. We consider on appeal whether 40-6-214, MCA, grants authority for the District Court's ruling. PROCEDURAL AND FACTUAL BACKGROUND 2 M.A.S. and C.M.S. are the twin children of Father and V.L-S. (Mother), who divorced when the twins were eight years old. Now twenty-two years old, the twins were born with...
Chief Justice MIKE McGRATH, delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Jesse William Kirk (Kirk) was convicted by a jury of one count of burglary ( 45-6-204(1), MCA) and one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs ( 45-9-102(4), MCA). He was sentenced as a persistent felony offender on the burglary conviction, receiving 45 years in the Montana State Prison with 30 years suspended. He was sentenced to a concurrent five-year term on the drug count. Kirk appeals from the District Court's...
Justice Michael E Wheat delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(d), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court's quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports. 2 Michael Carlstrom ("Carlstrom") appeals from two orders of the Eighth...
Justice BRIAN MORRIS delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Appellant Daniel Dodson (Dodson) appeals his sentence for felony criminal endangerment imposed by the Fourth Judicial District Court, Missoula County. We affirm. 2 We review the following issues on appeal: 3 1. Whether the District Court improperly imposed restitution for Dodson's felony criminal endangerment conviction. 4 2. Whether the District Court abused its discretion in imposing a 10-year sentence with all but 180...
Justice PATRICIA O. COTTER delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Jesse and Tera Hein rented a house from Julia Benintendi and Joey and Sarah Perkerewicz (hereinafter B & P). B & P alleged the Heins caused considerable damage to the property when they vacated the premises. The Heins countered that B & P unlawfully retained their security deposit and refused to reimburse the Heins for home and lawn improvements. B & P sued and obtained a default judgment. Subsequently, the District Court...
Justice JAMES C. NELSON delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 The State charged Michael Harlow Hass by Information in the Thirteenth Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, with three offenses alleged to have been committed in August 2009: Count I, driving a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (DUI); Count II, driving while license is suspended or revoked; and Count III, unlawful possession of an open alcoholic beverage container. The State alleged that Hass has three...
Justice BETH BAKER delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Petitioners Robert Flynn and Carl Miller (collectively "Flynn") appeal the Order of the Workers' Compensation Court (WCC) defining the term "paid in full," as used in the definition of "settled" workers' compensation claims, for purposes of determining the retroactive application of judicial decisions. On appeal, we consider whether the WCC properly applied retroactivity principles in formulating a definition of "paid in full."...
Justice Brian Morris delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Pursuant to Section I, Paragraph 3(d), Montana Supreme Court Internal Operating Rules, this case is decided by memorandum opinion and shall not be cited and does not serve as precedent. Its case title, cause number, and disposition shall be included in this Court's quarterly list of noncitable cases published in the Pacific Reporter and Montana Reports. 2 Appellant Patrick Keith Hirt (Hirt) appeals the District Court's order...
Justice BRIAN MORRIS delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Dawn Wrigg (Wrigg) appeals from a declaration of the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, that Junkermier, Clark, Campanella, Stevens, P.C. (JCCS) could enforce its covenant not to compete against Wrigg. We reverse. 2 Wrigg raises a dispositive issue that we rephrase as follows: 3 Can an employer enforce a covenant not to compete when the employer ends the employment relationship 4 Wrigg is a certified...
Justice MICHAEL E. WHEAT delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 Defendant Lewis and Clark County (the "County") appeals from a jury verdict in the First Judicial District Court, Lewis and Clark County, finding the County negligent under 75-10-1306(1), MCA, and awarding $563,592 in damages to Plaintiffs James and Josephine Slack ("Slacks"). The Slacks cross-appeal the District Court's denial of their motion for attorneys' fees. We affirm. BACKGROUND 2 On April 13, 2002, the Missouri...
Justice PATRICIA O. COTTER delivered the Opinion of the Court. 1 In 2010, the Billings Police Department instituted an administrative investigation of one of its employees who was suspected of wrongdoing. The Billings Gazette sought access to a document generated by the Department as a result of its investigation. Because the conduct of the employee could potentially result in criminal charges against her, the City of Billings declined to provide the requested document to the Gazette. The...
