BALDWIN , J. This is a legal malpractice and negligent misrepresentation case where we review a trial court judgment directing a verdict in favor of Platten (defendant). In an earlier lawsuit, defendant had represented the Harknesses (plaintiffs) against Kantor, a loan officer, and her successive employers, Sunset Mortgage (Sunset) and Directors Mortgage, Inc. (Directors), as the result of a fraudulent investment and loan scheme directed at plaintiffs by Kantor. That case did not settle to...
LANDAU , J. ORS 12.135(1)(a) provides that an action arising from the "construction, alteration or repair of any improvement to real property" must be commenced within "[t]he applicable period of limitation otherwise established by law." The question in this construction defect case is precisely what is the period of limitation "otherwise established by law." Plaintiffs argue that their action is subject to a six-year statute of limitations set out in ORS 12.080(3), which applies to...
KISTLER , J. Defendant was convicted in 2011 of felony public indecency after previously having been convicted of three other felony sex crimes. Pursuant to ORS 137.719(1), the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Throughout this litigation, defendant has argued that, as applied to him, a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole violates Article I, section 16, of the Oregon Constitution and the Eighth Amendment to the...
WALTERS , J. This ballot title review proceeding is before us for a second time. Previously, we referred the Attorney General's certified ballot for Initiative Petition 62 (2016) (IP 62) for modification. Conroy v. Rosenblum , 358 Or. 807 , 371 P.3d 1180 (2016). The Attorney General has prepared and filed a modified ballot title, which two sets of petitioners now challenge. See ORS 250.085(10) (prescribing procedure for addressing objections to a modified ballot title). For the...
WALTERS , J. This case involves a challenge to a juvenile court's decision to waive its jurisdiction over a 13-year-old boy who was alleged to have committed aggravated murder. Under the relevant statutes, ORS 419C.352 and ORS 419C.349, a youth under the age of 15 who is alleged to have committed murder may be waived into adult court only if, at the time of the conduct, he or she "was of sufficient sophistication and maturity to appreciate the nature and quality of the conduct involved."...
BREWER , J. This is an action brought by an injured construction worker and his wife. The injury occurred when a defective board broke. Plaintiffs Kevin Rains and Mitzi Rains obtained a judgment based on claims of strict products liability and loss of consortium, respectively, against both the retailer, Stayton Builders Mart (Stayton), and the manufacturer, Weyerhaeuser Company (Weyerhaeuser), of the defective wooden board. Stayton, in turn, obtained a judgment against Weyerhaeuser based...
BALMER , C.J. Through this action, the City of Eugene (the city) attempts to collect from Comcast of Oregon II, Inc. (Comcast) a license fee that the city, acting under a municipal ordinance, imposes on companies providing "telecommunications services" over the city's rights of way. Eugene City Code (ECC) 3.410(1)(b). Comcast does not dispute that it uses the city's rights of way to operate a cable system providing customers with a telecommunications service — namely, broadband Internet...
KISTLER , J. The question that this case presents is whether a statute limiting a state employee's tort liability violates either the remedy clause of Article I, section 10, of the Oregon Constitution or the jury trial clauses of Article I, section 17, and Article VII (Amended), section 3, of the Oregon Constitution. The trial court held that the statute, as applied to the state employee, violated each of those provisions and entered a limited judgment against the employee for the full...
WALTERS , J. Petitioners seek review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 61 (2016) (IP 61), arguing that the ballot title does not satisfy the requirements of ORS 250.035. We review a certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with those statutory requirements. See ORS 250.085(5) (stating standard of review). For the reasons that follow, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification. IP 61 has three...
WALTERS , J. Leonard and Judith Peverieri and Peverieri Investments, LLC (landlords) appeal from the trial court's general judgment confirming an arbitration award in favor of Couch Investments, LLC (tenant). Landlords argue that the arbitrator exceeded his powers when he found not only that landlords were liable for the cost of storm water drainage improvements required by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), but also ordered remedies. Landlords contend that the trial court...
BALMER , C.J. This case arises from a helicopter crash in a remote part of Peru, which resulted in the deaths of everyone on board. Plaintiffs brought wrongful death actions in Oregon against Evergreen Helicopters, Inc. (Evergreen), an Oregon corporation that provided the helicopter and the pilot. Evergreen filed motions to dismiss plaintiffs' actions on the ground that, under the doctrine of forum non conveniens, Peru was the appropriate forum in which to litigate those cases. The trial...
KISTLER , J. Two sets of petitioners seek review of the certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 69 (2016) (IP 69). See ORS 250.085(2) (specifying requirements for seeking review of certified ballot titles). We review the ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with ORS 250.035(2). See id. (stating standard of review). For the reasons explained below, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification. IP 69, if enacted, would alter the rights...
BREWER , J. Petitioners seek review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 51 (2016) (IP 51), arguing that the ballot title does not satisfy the requirements of ORS 250.035(2). This court reviews a certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with the requirements of that statute. ORS 250.085(5). For the following reasons, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification. IP 51 is a proposed constitutional...
WALTERS , J. Petitioners seek review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 62 (2016) (IP 62), arguing that the ballot title does not satisfy the requirements of ORS 250.035. We review a certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with those statutory requirements. See ORS 250.085(5) (stating standard of review). For the reasons that follow, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification. IP 62 applies to...
BREWER , J. This case presents the issue of whether ORS 471.565(2) provides an independent statutory right of action against a social host who served alcohol to a visibly intoxicated guest, who in turn caused injuries to a third party. Plaintiff, who was injured in a motor vehicle accident, brought this action against the driver of the other vehicle, Bunch, and the social host who served that driver. 1 Plaintiff asserted two claims against the social host, King: One for common-law...
BALMER , C.J. Defendant has petitioned for reconsideration of our decision in State v. Agee, 358 Or. 325 , 364 P.3d 971 (2015). He argues that this court erred in two respects in affirming his judgment of conviction for aggravated murder. He contends, first, that the court erred in holding that the trial court did not err in allowing the prosecutor's extensive cross-examination of defense witness Davenport at a pretrial hearing until after defendant interposed a second objection to...
LANDAU , J. Petitioners seek review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 65 (2016) (IP 65), arguing that the ballot title does not satisfy the requirements of ORS 250.035(2). This court reviews a certified ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with the requirements of that statute. See ORS 250.085(5). For the following reasons, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification. IP 65, if enacted, would establish...
KISTLER , J. Petitioner seeks review of the Attorney General's certified ballot title for Initiative Petition 52 (2016) (IP 52). See ORS 250.085(2) (specifying requirements for seeking review of certified ballot titles). We review the ballot title to determine whether it substantially complies with ORS 250.035(2). See ORS 250.085(2), (5) (stating standard of review). For the reasons explained below, we refer the ballot title to the Attorney General for modification. IP 52, if enacted,...
WALTERS , J. This case is before the court on two certified questions from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. See ORS 28.200-28.255 (providing for certification of certain questions of Oregon law from specified federal courts and appellate courts of other states to Oregon Supreme Court). As framed by the Ninth Circuit, the questions are (1) whether individual employees responsible for repairing, maintaining, and operating improvements on City-owned recreational...
WALTERS , J. Rowlett and his two companies, Westlake Development Company, Inc., and Westlake Development Group, LLC (plaintiffs), filed an action for malpractice against the law firm Schwabe, Williamson, and Wyatt, PC, (Schwabe) and lawyers Fagan and Finn (collectively, defendants), alleging claims for negligence, negligent misrepresentation, breach of fiduciary duty, and claims related to attorney fees. Defendants had represented plaintiffs in an action against plaintiffs' business...
