Justia Idaho Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

This was an appeal of a judgment denying a claim for contribution on equitable principles in an action by one co-guarantor against another co-guarantor. One of two independent grounds for the district court’s decision was not challenged on appeal, and we therefore affirm the judgment of the district court without addressing either ground. In his opening brief, plaintiff-appellant R. Gordon Schmidt did not state the basis for the trial court’s rulings, did not state the standard of review and, therefore, did not present any argument and authority showing how the court abused its discretion. Therefore, he waived those issues on appeal. More significantly, the district court based its ruling on two alternative grounds. Although Schmidt argued the Supreme Court should reweigh the equities as to the first ground addressed by the district court, he did not mention the second ground. "Where a lower court makes a ruling based on two alternative grounds and only one of those grounds is challenged on appeal, the appellate court must affirm on the uncontested basis." Therefore, the Supreme Court did not address the merits of either ground on appeal. The judgment of the district court was affirmed. View "Schmidt v. Huston" on Justia Law

Blair Olsen served as sheriff of Jefferson County from January 1989 until May 2015, when he resigned due to his conviction in this case. While he was the sheriff, the county provided Olsen with two cell phones and paid the bills for those phones. It initially did so because of unreliable service in different sides of the county. He also carried a personal cell phone and paid the charges for that service plan from his own funds. Once county-wide coverage was available from one of the providers, he discontinued service with the other provider and had both of his county-provided cell phones with the same provider. One cell phone was to be his primary cell phone and the other was to be his backup cell phone. At the same time, he terminated his personal cell phone service, but had the telephone number of his personal cell phone transferred to the backup cell phone. At some point, he permitted his wife to carry the backup cell phone for her personal use. The issue of Olsen’s wife using the backup cell phone became an election issue. Olsen asked the county commissioners to refer the matter to the Attorney General in an attempt to clear his name. A deputy attorney general obtained an indictment against Olsen charging him with three felony counts of knowingly using public money to make purchases for personal purposes based upon his wife’s use of the backup cell phone. Prior to trial, Olsen moved to dismiss the indictment or merge the three counts into one on the ground that the prosecution for three counts violated his right against double jeopardy. The charges were tried to a jury, and Olsen was found guilty of all three counts. The district court withheld judgment and placed Olsen on three years’ probation, and he appealed. The district court ruled that "I think the statute gives the prosecutor very clearly a substantial amount of discretion that says that the incidents may be aggregated into one count, but it doesn’t say they have to be aggregated into one count." In so holding, Supreme Court found that the district court erred. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of one count of misuse of public funds and remanded this case to vacate two other counts and amend the order withholding judgment accordingly. View "Idaho v. Olsen" on Justia Law

This was an appeal of a judgment against a bail bondsman who revoked a bail bond for an illegal alien at the request of an agent of United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The district court awarded damages in the amount of the bail bond premiums, and the appellants contended on appeal that they were entitled to additional damages. The Supreme Court found no reversible error in the district court's judgment and affirmed. View "Garcia v. Absolute Bail Bonds" on Justia Law

Appellants appealed the district court's denial of their motion for summary judgment and the grant of summary judgment in favor of the Board of the Local Improvement District No. 1101 and the Ada County Board of Commissioners (the Boards) in a case regarding assessments levied on properties within the Sage Acres Local Improvement District. Appellants also appealed the district court’s award of attorney fees to the Boards. Ada County Ordinance No. 780 established the Ada County Local Improvement District No. 1101, known as Sage Acres Local Improvement District (LID). The ordinance was adopted in 2011. The purpose of the LID was to construct a water delivery system for residential and irrigation use by properties within the Sage Acres Subdivision (Sage Acres) in Boise. water system was completed in 2014. Appellants challenged the creation of the LID and Ada County Ordinance No. 809, which confirmed the assessments levied on properties affected by the LID. In 2013, Appellants filed a Notice of Appeal from Assessments; the district court set the matter for trial in 2014, and ordered the parties to mediate no later than 90 days prior to trial. Prior to mediation, the Boards moved for summary judgment, arguing that Appellants’ claims were not legally or factually supported. Finding no reversible error in the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of the Boards, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hoffman v. Bd of Local Improvement Dist No. 1101" on Justia Law

In 2008, plaintiff Sharon Hammer began working as the City Administrator for the City of Sun Valley (City) pursuant to a written employment agreement. In 2011, DeWayne Briscoe defeated the incumbent mayor, Wayne Willich, in the mayoral election. The City’s council conducted a special executive session to discuss allegations of improper use of public funds and equipment by plaintiff. The following day, her husband, an attorney, sent a letter to Mayor Willich threatening litigation. The City placed the Plaintiff on paid administrative leave, and three days later her husband filed a lawsuit on her behalf against the City and members of city government. Following an investigation, Plaintiff resumed her duties, and no disciplinary action was taken. In early 2012, Briscoe was sworn in as the mayor. The next day, he placed Plaintiff on paid administrative leave and notified her of another investigation. Plaintiff voluntarily dismissed her pending lawsuit against the City and members of city government. A few days after dismissing her case, Plaintiff was terminated from employment based upon the unanimous vote of the Mayor and city council. Plaintiff brought another lawsuit seeking to recover under the Idaho Protection of Public Employees Act. The district court ruled that the Plaintiff had waived her claim against the City of Sun Valley pursuant to a release she had signed, and that the Act did not provide a cause of action against City officials. Finding no reversible error in that judgment, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hammer v. City of Sun Valley" on Justia Law

Appellant Leo Gilbride contended that the district court erred by refusing his request for attorney’s fees. The underlying dispute arose out of a sale of real property between Respondent David Kosmann and Gilbride, which was executed with the alleged understanding that Gilbride would re-convey the property back to Kosmann at a later time. After purchasing the property, with down payment funds provided by Kosmann, Gilbride refused to re-convey the property to Kosmann. Accordingly, Kosmann filed a complaint against Gilbride alleging, inter alia, unjust enrichment and demanding specific performance of Gilbride’s promise to re-convey the property. The district court dismissed the specific enforcement claim, awarded Kosmann $30,990 based on his unjust enrichment claim, and denied both parties’ claims for attorney’s fees. Finding no reversible error in the district court's order, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. View "Kosmann v. Gilbride" on Justia Law

Appellant Antranick Harrentsian alleged that the district court erred in its enforcement of a constructive trust. Respondents, Gennieve and Frank Hill were the parents of Sarah Correa, who was Appellant's ex-girlfriend. In 2008, Appellant entrusted Correa with $400,000. In 2009, Correa loaned $101,500 of the $400,000 to Respondents. Respondents used the funds to purchase a house in Boise. Thereafter, Respondents spent nearly $40,000 of their own money to improve the Property. Also in 2009, Appellant sued Correa in California. The California lawsuit resulted in the creation of a constructive trust on the $400,000. Appellant filed this lawsuit in an effort to recover the Property, which was acquired by Respondents with money subject to the constructive trust. The district court found that Respondents were not aware that the money they received from Correa was wrongfully obtained. Accordingly, the district court ordered that title to the Property be transferred to Appellant, but that Respondents were entitled to an equitable lien against the Property for $33,689 for the improvements they made. The district court provided Appellant with 180 days to satisfy the lien. Appellant appealed that judgment, but finding no reversible error, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. View "Harrentsian v. Hill" on Justia Law

Edgar Farfan-Galvan appealed his conviction for felony driving under the influence (“DUI”). Farfan-Galvan moved to dismiss or remand the charge, based upon his claim that one of the prior DUI convictions upon which the State relied to enhance the charge from a misdemeanor to a felony was obtained in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The district court denied the motion. The Supreme Court reversed. The record before the district court did not contain any indication that Farfan-Galvan had waived the right to counsel in the prior 2010 case. Therefore, that conviction could not serve as the basis to enhance the charge to a felony. The district court’s decision denying his motion to dismiss or remand. was reversed, and in light of this, the Court vacated Farfan-Galvan’s conviction. View "Idaho v. Farfan-Galvan" on Justia Law

NeYada, Inc., a Nevada corporation, appealed a district court’s order granting summary judgment to Respondent Marian Hoke, and declaring a lease (the “Lease”) and an option to purchase (the “Option”) between the parties invalid and unenforceable. In November 2014, Hoke executed the Lease and Option with NeYada for the transfer of an interest in real property located in Canyon County, Idaho. A mere two months later, Hoke filed suit seeking to invalidate the Lease and the Option alleging, inter alia, that neither document complied with the statute of frauds. Both parties moved for summary judgment on that issue. The district court held that the Lease and Option (together, the “Contract”) were invalid and unenforceable because neither complied with the statute of frauds. Further, the district court held that the doctrine of part performance did not require the enforcement of the otherwise invalid Contract. The Supreme Court vacated the district court's holding, finding that the district court erred by failing to specifically enforce the Contract via the doctrine of part performance. At the time this lawsuit was initiated, NeYada’s performance was essentially complete. At oral argument, Hoke’s counsel admitted that NeYada took actual possession of the Property, and there was “probably nothing” more NeYada could have done. "Such an admission undercut Hoke’s argument against the application of the doctrine of part performance. All that remained to be done was to make monthly payments and to convey title." View "Hoke v. NeYada, Inc." on Justia Law

Appellants The Source Store LLC (“Source 1”), The Source LLC (“Source 2”), Michael L. Hodge (“Hodge”), George M. Brown (“Brown”), and Christopher Claiborne (“Claiborne”) appealed the district court’s order denying their Joint Motion to Dismiss, by which they sought to dismiss the derivative claims brought by respondents Donnelly Prehn and Dwight Bandak on behalf of Source 1. The Supreme Court did not reverse the district court’s decision not to hear Appellants’ Joint Motion to Dismiss. Further, the Court affirmed the district court’s finding that Hodge breached his fiduciary duty to Source 1 and its members. Specifically, the Court affirmed the district court’s awards related to the following: (1) Hodge’s breach of his fiduciary duty as to the management of the asset auction; (2) Hodge’s breach of his fiduciary duty related to his failure to minimize expenses during dissolution; (3) Prehn’s entitlement to back salary and reimbursement for the loan; and (4) the unjust enrichment of Hodge and Source 2. The Court affirmed the district court’s award of attorney’s fees. View "Prehn v. Hodge" on Justia Law