GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] Excel Construction, Inc. (Excel) entered into a contract with the Town of Lovell to replace the Town's water and sewer system mains and service connections. Excel subsequently filed a complaint against the Town for breach of that contract and related claims. The district court dismissed Excel's claims for failure to submit a governmental notice of claim that met the itemization requirements of the Wyoming Constitution and the Wyoming Governmental Claims Act. We reverse....
HILL, Justice. [ 1] In his appeal from a divorce decree, Gerry Lewis Rosendahl (Husband) challenges the property distribution, the award of attorney's fees to Janelle A. Rosendahl (Wife), and the order that he pay one-half of an orthodontia bill incurred by Wife's children. We affirm. ISSUES [ 2] Husband raises five issues on appeal: 1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion in the distribution of the parties' marital assets and the allocation of the parties' marital debts 2....
CRANFILL, District Judge. [ 1] This case arrives before the Court once again from a decision rendered by the State Board of Equalization ("Board") concerning the valuation point for tax purposes of the natural gas production from the LaBarge Field in Sublette County. Previously, in Exxon Mobil Corp. v. State of Wyo., Dep't of Revenue, 2009 WY 139, 219 P.3d 128 (Wyo.2009), this Court interpreted the terms "initial dehydrator" and "processing facility" and analyzed the proportionate profits...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] Appellants Ralph E. Platt and Ronald R. Platt challenge an order from the district court modifying a partition of land made by court-appointed commissioners. Appellants contend that the district court did not have authority to modify the partition. We affirm. ISSUE [ 2] Appellants present the following issue: Is a district court authorized, as a matter of law, to unilaterally—without review or approval of the commissioners—modify the partition made by commissioners...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] The Wyoming Workers' Compensation Division (Division) denied Rick D. Bodily (Bodily) benefits for medical expenses related to his L5-S1 micro-lumbar discectomy performed by Dr. Debra Steele on January 8, 2008, because Division determined Mr. Bodily's medical treatment to his lower back after June 2, 2005, was not related to his compensable work-related back injuries of March 11, 1996, and July 8, 2004. Mr. Bodily requested a contested case hearing before the Office of...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] Appellant, Randal Joe Craft, entered a conditional guilty plea to felony possession of a controlled substance in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. 35-7-1031(c)(i)(A). He reserved the right to appeal whether he entered a valid waiver of counsel in a prior conviction that was used to enhance the present charge to a felony. We affirm. ISSUE [ 2] Appellant presents the following issue: Should Appellant's municipal court conviction have been used to enhance this charge to a...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] Celeste C. Grynberg, d/b/a/ Grynberg Petroleum Company (Grynberg Petroleum), filed a complaint for declaratory relief, breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and conversion against L & R Exploration Venture and numerous individuals and entities having an interest in the venture (collectively L & R). In essence, Mrs. Grynberg claimed that L & R owes her compensation for services Grynberg Petroleum provided to L & R and she is entitled to payment of those amounts. The...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] This case comes before us a second time. Previously, we reversed a grant of summary judgment in favor of Union Pacific after finding that the railroad had a duty to exercise ordinary and reasonable care in the operation of its railway. 1 After remand, the jury determined that both parties, as well as two non-party actors, were negligent and awarded damages to Mr. Glenn. Mr. Glenn appeals, contending that the district court erred in refusing to admit evidence of a prior...
VOIGT, Justice. [ 1] The district court dismissed the appellants' civil action against the appellees for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The dismissal and this appeal raise issues of statutory construction and the constitutionality of a statute, with the focal question being the liability of a provider of alcohol for damages caused to a third person by the person to whom alcohol was provided. 1 We affirm. ISSUES [ 2] 1. Does the word "legally" in Wyo. Stat. Ann....
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] Marvin Brent Rageth and Sherri L. Rageth (Rageths) irrigate 559.75 acres in Big Horn County, Wyoming, under an adjudicated appropriation of 8 cubic feet per second (c.f.s.) from Bitter Creek which is conveyed to their property a distance of 6.5 to 7 miles through the Sidon Canal owned by the Sidon Irrigation District (District) organized and existing under pertinent provisions of Wyo. Stat. Ann. Title 41, Chapter 7 (LexisNexis 2011). Rageths are not members of District,...
HILL, Justice. [ 1] The State of Wyoming challenges the district court's "Order Granting [Douglas Juarez's] First Motion to Suppress (for an illegal traffic stop)." On appeal, the State contends that the district court erred in ruling that Juarez was not required to signal his merge from an entrance ramp onto an interstate highway. [ 2] We affirm the district court. ISSUE [ 3] The State raises one issue before this Court: The district court erred in holding that Wyo. Stat. Ann. 31-5-...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] George M. Sonnett, Jr., and Wendy Z. Burgers-Sonnett purchased approximately twenty acres of land and improvements in Sublette County, Wyoming, from Elk Ridge Lodge, Inc. To finance part of the purchase price, the Sonnetts gave Elk Ridge a promissory note secured by a mortgage on the property. They later defaulted on the note, and Elk Ridge filed suit against the Sonnetts seeking judgment and foreclosure on the property. The Sonnetts responded with counterclaims against...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] Appellant Will Torres sought worker's compensation benefits relating to an August 2007 back surgery that he claimed was the product of a work-related injury he suffered in December 2006. The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division (Division) denied benefits. The Division's denial was upheld by the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) and, later, by the district court. We will also affirm the denial of benefits. ISSUE [ 2] Torres presents the following...
BURKE, Justice. [ 1] In an effort to address a perceived drug and alcohol problem among its students, Goshen County School District No. 1 adopted a policy requiring all students who participate in extracurricular activities to consent to random testing for alcohol and drugs. Appellants initiated litigation, claiming that the Policy is unconstitutional. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the School District. Appellants challenge that decision in this appeal. We affirm....
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] In these two consolidated appeals, the Town of Evansville Police Department (Department) appeals the district court's order of reversal for agency inaction filed July 23, 2009, in No. S-09-0178 and the district court's order denying motion for relief from an order filed April 15, 2010, in No. S-10-0133. The appeals arise from the Department's effort to terminate the employment of Lonnie Porter (Porter), a police officer in the Department. For the reasons set forth...
GOLDEN, Justice. [ 1] Vision 2007, LLC (Vision) entered into a contract with Lexstar Development and Construction Company, LLC (Lexstar) for the construction of a hotel. After seventeen months of work on the project, Vision terminated the contract with Lexstar, and Lexstar subsequently filed a lien against the hotel property for amounts it claimed remained owing. Vision filed a petition to strike the lien pursuant to Wyo. Stat. Ann. 29-1-311(b), which the district court denied on the ground...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] Following a bench trial, the district court concluded that Eva D. and Lee J. Kelly (the Kellys) exercised undue influence over Robert Lee McNeel. Accordingly, the district court invalidated the trust and will in which Mr. McNeel had named Mrs. Kelly as one of two beneficiaries in place of his son, Roby McNeel. In a separate proceeding, the district court granted Roby McNeel's motion to remove Mrs. Kelly as Mr. McNeel's guardian and conservator, and appointed Roby...
HILL, Justice. [ 1] Beau Lefferdink challenges the district court's denial of his motion to suppress after he was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children. We affirm. ISSUES [ 2] Lefferdink raises three issues before this Court: 1. Should the misstatement of fact in the affidavit for a search warrant be stricken as knowingly and intentionally made or in reckless disregard for the truth 2. Was [Lefferdink]'s right to confrontation and due process violated for a...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] After a jury found that Concrete Works of Colorado, Inc. (CWC) breached its contract with Joe's Concrete and Lumber, Inc. (Joe's Concrete), Joe's Concrete presented evidence documenting its claim for attorney fees. The district court declined to consider the documentation on the ground that it was not presented at trial, concluded the evidence presented at trial did not support an attorney fees award and denied the attorney fees claim in its entirety. On appeal, Joe'...
KITE, Chief Justice. [ 1] Mule Shoe Ranch, Inc. (Mule Shoe) sought to exercise its preferential right to renew a state lease. Two Y Ranch (Two Y) submitted a competing bid at a higher rate. The director of the Office of State Lands and Investments (State Lands Office) issued a decision requiring Mule Shoe to match the higher bid in order to exercise its preferential right. Mule Shoe requested an administrative hearing. [ 2] The State Lands Office and Mule Shoe filed motions for summary...
