Justia Idaho Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

This appeal stemmed from litigation involving a motor vehicle accident. Passenger Trevor Taft was injured when driver Derek Gummersall, the son of Clay Gummersall, lost control of his vehicle. At the time of the accident, Clay was an employee of Jumbo Foods, Inc., in whose name the vehicle was titled. David, Wendy, and Trevor Taft sued Jumbo Foods under theories of negligent entrustment and imputed negligence, arguing that Jumbo Foods owned the vehicle, and thus had a right to control it. Jumbo Foods countered that it sold the vehicle to Clay Gummersall before the accident occurred, and thus could not be held liable. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Jumbo Foods and the Tafts appealed. The Supreme Court concluded the district court erred in granting summary judgment on the issue of imputed liability, an reversed with respect to that issue. The Court affirmed in all other respects, and remanded the case for further proceedings. View "Taft v. Jumbo Foods, Inc.," on Justia Law

The issue on appeal before the Supreme Court arose from a district court order that denied Defendant's motion to dismiss for the lack of probable cause, a felony charge of possession of methadone. The methadone was discovered upon the birth of the defendant's baby girl in the umbilical cord. Upon review of the matter, the Supreme Court held that for the purposes of determining whether there was probable cause to believe that the defendant had possessed a controlled substance, the magistrate judge could reasonably have inferred that the defendant consumed the methadone; that she possessed it before she consumed it; and that she knew it was either methadone or a controlled substance when she was possessing it. View "Idaho v. Neal" on Justia Law

The issue on appeal before the Supreme Court in this case arose from an order denying an employer's motion to have a laptop returned that had been seized from its employee during a search conducted at the employee's home by a probation officer. The Court affirmed the order denying the return of the laptop, but held that the laptop could not be searched without a search warrant issued upon a judicial finding of probable cause. View "Idaho v. Ruck" on Justia Law

Defendant Todd Carver was convicted of murdering the three-year-old son of his live-in girlfriend. He appealed, arguing that the district court erred in failing to appoint substitute counsel for him, in its instructions to the jury defining the crime, and in calculating his sentence. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence. View "Idaho v. Carver" on Justia Law

Liberty Northwest Insurance filed a product liability action against Spudnik Equipment Company to recover workers' compensation benefits paid to an employee of its insured, Grand 4-D Farms, who was injured while working on a potato conveyor. The district court granted Spudnik summary judgment, finding Liberty failed to adequately identify the equipment involved in the accident. Liberty appealed to the Supreme Court. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Liberty Northwest Ins. Co., v. Spudnik Equip Co.," on Justia Law

Utah resident Elham Neilsen wanted to purchase a residence close to the city of Tyler in Smith County, Texas. He contacted Plaintiff-Appellant Holli Telford because he had heard that she knew how to acquire properties through tax or other distress sales and had contacts for obtaining financing for prospective buyers. Mr. Neilsen entered into an agreement with Plaintiff that she would bid on the property and sell it to him after she had obtained the warranty deed. Plaintiff submitted a bid, but did not obtain title to the property because, according to her, it was wrongfully redeemed by the prior owners after she had spent money improving it. She sought specific performance of the alleged contract with Smith County, Texas, or damages for breach of the alleged contract. Defendants moved to dismiss this case for lack of personal jurisdiction. The district court granted the motion and dismissed the case with prejudice as to them and without prejudice as to the other defendants. The Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal for lack of jurisdiction, but vacated the dismissal with prejudice and remanded the for entry of a judgment dismissing the complaint without prejudice. View "Telford v. Smith County" on Justia Law

Heidi Beers (a minor) was injured after jumping from a bridge into the Payette River. At the time, she was attending a campout organized by ward members of her church. Her parents, Gregory and Caralee Beers, brought negligence claims individually and on behalf of their daughter against the Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a number of individual ward members. The district court granted the defendants' motions for summary judgment in part, dismissing all negligence claims, but denied the motion for summary judgment as to the statutory claim against four ward members. The Beerses appealed and the four ward members cross-appealed. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded the district court propertly granted summary judgment as to the Beerses' negligence claims, but erred by denying the ward members' motion for summary judgment as to the Beerses' claim based on tort child abuse. Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded the case for entry of judgment dismissing the Beerses' complaint. View "Beers v. Corporation of the President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints" on Justia Law

This appeal arose from a divorce and custody dispute between Christopher Hopper and Suzanne Swinnerton. In 2005, Christopher filed suit on his own behalf, as well as that of his son and parents, against his wife, Suzanne, her parents, her Montana attorney, and other individuals, alleging a variety of tort claims. The district court dismissed all claims on summary judgment. Christopher appealed on behalf of all Appellants. Finding no reversible error, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hopper v. Hopper" on Justia Law

Defendant-Appellant Jose Brunet appealed a district court's order relinquishing jurisdiction and denying his oral motion requesting leniency pursuant to Rule 35 of the Idaho Criminal Rules. Appellant also argued that the Supreme Court's order denying his motion to augment the appellate record violated his constitutional rights to due process and equal protection, and would deny him effective assistance of counsel on appeal. Upon review of the matter, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court's order and held that appellant failed to show that the denial of his motion to augment the appellate record with additional transcripts violated his constitutional rights. View "Idaho v. Brunet" on Justia Law

Appellant Intermountain Real Properties, LLC, appealed a district court's grant of summary judgment to Respondent Draw, LLC. Intermountain initially brought a cause of action, as an assignee of a materialmen's lien, against Draw and other defendants to recover payment on work paving a private drive a property development project. The district court granted summary judgment to Draw on the grounds that Intermountain failed to raise a material issue of fact as to Draw's liability on the contract. Specifically, the district court found that Intermountain's lien as it applied to Draw's property was void, and that Draw should have quiet title to its property. Finding no error or abuse of discretion, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court. View "Intermountain Real Properties, LLC v. Draw, LLC" on Justia Law