LARRY JOPLIN, Vice-Chief Judge. 1 Defendant/Appellant PSA-Dewberry, Inc., a foreign corporation (Architect), seeks review of the trial court's post-judgment order granting prevailing party attorney's fees to Plaintiff/Appellee Stillwater National Bank & Trust Company, a national banking association (Bank), for its successful defense of Architect's action to impose and enforce a mechanic's and materialman's lien. In this appeal, Architect complains the trial court erred in granting attorney's...
JOHN F. FISCHER, Chief Judge. 1 Darrall and Doris Wilson appeal the denial of their motion to vacate a judgment entered in favor of MidFirst Bank in this mortgage foreclosure action. The appeal has been assigned to the accelerated docket pursuant to Oklahoma Supreme Court Rule 1.36(b), 12 O.S.2011, ch. 15, app. 1, and the matter stands submitted without appellate briefing. The district court erred in denying the Wilsons' motion to vacate because MidFirst's motion for summary judgment does...
BAY MITCHELL, Judge. 1 Plaintiff/Appellant, K.M., a minor, by and through his mother and next friend, Melissa McDaniel Arnold, appeals from the trial court's order granting Defendant Steger Lumber Company of Durant, Oklahoma d/b/a/ Steger Lumber Company's ("Steger") Motion for Summary Judgment in this products liability action. Plaintiff additionally appeals the trial court's subsequent order denying Plaintiff's motion for new trial or in the alternative, motion to vacate or amend judgment....
LARRY JOPLIN, Vice-Chief Judge. 1 Petitioner City of Oklahoma City, Own Risk (#7800) (Employer), seeks review of an order of a three-judge panel of the Workers' Compensation Court vacating in part and sustaining in part an order of the trial court adjudicating the extent of permanent partial disability suffered by Respondent Michael Ray Johnson (Claimant). In this review proceeding, Petitioner challenges the lower court's judgment as contrary to the clear weight of the evidence. 2...
BAY MITCHELL, Judge. 1 Defendant, Ken Yazel, Tulsa County Assessor (Assessor), seeks review of the trial court's order sustaining Plaintiff Thornton Family, L.L.C.'s Motion for Summary Judgment, and denying Assessor's Motion for Summary Judgment. 2 In this appeal, Assessor asserts the trial court erred in determining that the fair cash value of Plaintiff's real property as fixed by Assessor for the tax year 2010 exceeded the actual fair cash value of the property. Specifically, Assessor...
KENNETH L. BUETTNER, Presiding Judge. 1 Petitioner/Appellant Steven Charles Harvey (Harvey) filed a Petition for Change of Name in the District Court of Oklahoma County. Harvey sought to have his name changed from "Steven Charles Harvey" to "Christie Ann Harvey," because he was in the process of undergoing sexual/gender change. Harvey's Petition alleged that he did not seek to have his name changed for any illegal or fraudulent purpose or to delay or hinder creditors. The trial court denied...
JERRY L. GOODMAN, Presiding Judge. 1 Karen K. Medlin (Customer) appeals from the trial court's September 16, 2011, Journal Entry of Judgment which memorialized an April 6, 2011, jury verdict rendered in favor of Pilot Travel Centers, L.L.C. (Pilot). We hold reversible error occurred when the trial court instructed the jury on the defense of assumption of the risk. We reverse and remand for a new trial. BACKGROUND 2 This is the second appeal arising from Customer's claim for injuries she...
JOHN F. FISCHER, Chief Judge. 1 Ashley Brewer appeals the district court's order granting the motion for summary judgment filed by Vicky Jackson in Brewer's negligence claim. The appeal has been assigned to the accelerated docket pursuant to Oklahoma Supreme Court Rule 1.36(b), 12 O.S.2011, ch. 15, app. 1, and the matter stands submitted without appellate briefing. Because we find that Jackson owed Brewer a duty of care and that there are disputed issues of fact concerning whether Jackson...
DEBORAH B. BARNES, Presiding Judge. 1 Petitioner City of Norman, Oklahoma (Employer) seeks review of an Order of a three-judge panel of the Workers' Compensation Court, filed on December 22, 2011, affirming in part and modifying in part the decision of the trial court. After review of the record and applicable law, we conclude the Order of the three-judge panel is contrary to law and, therefore, we vacate the Order. We remand with directions to enter an order denying compensability. FACTS...
JANE P. WISEMAN, Judge. 1 Plaintiffs Todd Dean, Dean Group, LLC, William Snipes, Roger Rock, Sterling Management Group, LLC, Joe Strunk, Guy Strunk, Alexander & Strunk, Inc., and Lance P. Morton appeal the trial court's order granting the motion to dismiss due to lack of subject matter jurisdiction filed by Defendant State of Oklahoma ex rel. John Doak, Oklahoma Insurance Department (OID). This appeal is governed by Supreme Court Rule 1.36, 12 O.S.2011, ch. 15, app. 1, and proceeds without...
JOHN F. FISCHER, Chief Judge. 1 Thomas Kurtz, Derrick Shoemake, Steve Kile, Jess Goins and Jim Simmons (Plaintiffs) appeal an order of the district court granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants Don Clark and Bruce Bradley, an order awarding Clark and Bradley attorney fees, and denial of Plaintiffs' motion for new trial. BACKGROUND 2 This case involves a shareholders derivative suit by shareholders of Efftec International, Inc. (Efftec), who at the time of filing were also...
ROBERT D. BELL, Presiding Judge. 1 Plaintiff/Appellant, Linda Schmidt a/k/a Smith, as the personal representative of the estate of her deceased son, Damon Patrick Schmidt (Damon), appeals from the trial court's grant of summary judgment to Defendant/Appellee, OG & E Electric Services, Inc. (OG & E), in Plaintiff's wrongful death action. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm. 2 On the morning of August 26, 2008, Damon was electrocuted at the site of a 7200 volt transformer owned by OG...
Released for Publication by Order of the Court of Civil Appeals of Oklahoma, Division No. 1. LARRY JOPLIN, Vice-Chief Judge. 1 Plaintiff/Appellant Cactus Drilling Company (Plaintiff) seeks review of the trial court's order granting the motion to dismiss of Defendants County Assessor, County Treasurer and Board of Equalization (collectively, Defendants), thereby denying Plaintiff's protest of ad valorem taxes. In this proceeding, Plaintiff challenges the trial court's order as affected by...
JOHN F. FISCHER, Chief Judge. 1 Eric Vance Mullendore (Father) appeals the denial of his motion to modify custody and related rulings. Finding no error, we affirm. BACKGROUND 2 The parties were divorced in June 2007. An August 2007 order awarded custody of the parties' four minor children, aged three to six at the time, to Sabrina P. Mullendore (Mother). Father undertook various efforts to address concerns regarding his parenting ability raised by the district court during the initial...
JANE P. WISEMAN, Judge. 1 Michael A. Brady appeals from an order of the trial court awarding the interim successor trustee of the Living Trust of Bonner and Marguerite Brady (Trust) interim fees and costs. The issue on appeal is whether the trial court's decision awarding fees and costs to the interim successor trustee, who was appointed by the trial court, was contrary to the clear weight of the evidence or contrary to law. We hold that Michael Brady failed to show that the award of fees...
KEITH RAPP, Judge. 1 The plaintiff, Eloise E. Olsen (Olsen), Individually and as Personal Representative of the Estate of Billy W. Olsen (Mr. Olsen), deceased, appeals an Order granting summary judgment to the defendant, Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG & E). The plaintiff sued two other defendants, Georgia Pacific, LLC and Union Carbide Corporation, but the summary judgment order also contains an Order pursuant to 12 O.S.2011, 994(A). The appeal proceeds under the procedures of Okla....
DEBORAH B. BARNES, Presiding Judge. 1 Plaintiff/Appellant Cabinet Solutions, L.L.C., a limited liability company, a/k/a Cabinet Solutions & Innovations, L.L.C., (Cabinet) appeals the trial court's Order filed on May 2, 2011, granting summary judgment in favor of Defendants/Appellees Bill Kelley, and Bill Kelley and Associates, Inc., (collectively, Kelley). The question presented on appeal is whether the applicable statute of limitations, 12 O.S.2011 95(A)(3), 1 had run prior to Cabinet...
LARRY JOPLIN, Vice-Chief Judge. 1 Defendant/Appellant, Unit Petroleum Company (Unit), seeks review of the trial court's order certifying this matter as a class action. We hold Plaintiffs/Appellees (collectively Class Representatives) failed to show a class action is a superior method for adjudicating their claims. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order certifying a class. 2 Class Representatives filed their petition on December 18, 2007 seeking to bring a class action against...
KENNETH L. BUETTNER, Presiding Judge. 1 Petitioner/Counter-Respondent Jeffery Blaine Harvey (Claimant) appeals an order of a three-judge panel of the Workers' Compensation Court affirming the trial court's order. Claimant asserts that Respondents/Counter-Petitioners Auto Plus of Woodward and Acadia Insurance Company (collectively, Employer) waived a defense based on 85 O.S.Supp.2010 11(B)(5), 1 because it was not specifically pleaded in a Form 10. Employer counter-appeals and argues that...
Wm. C. Hetherington, Jr. , Judge : 1 Involved here is one of nine appeals by taxpayers from an order of the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC/Tax Commission) denying their protests to the disallowance of a tax credit for investments in "qualified electric motor vehicle property" available under 68 O.S. Supp. 2008 2357.22(C). By Supreme Court order, taxpayers' appeals were made companion cases. We disagree with OTC's interpretation of 2357.22(C) and simultaneously issue a decision in each...
