Justia Utah Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Petitioners, as members of Utah Term Limits NOW!, sponsored an initiative application in which Petitioners sought to initiate legislation imposing term limits on persons appointed by the Governor to state boards and commissions. The Lieutenant Governor rejected the initiative application. Petitioners filed a petition for extraordinary writ asking the Supreme Court to compel the Lieutenant Governor to rescind and withdraw his rejection of Petitioners’ application. After filing their petition, Petitioners ceased efforts to place the proposed initiative on the ballot. Thereafter, the Lieutenant Governor filed a suggestion of mootness. In response, Petitioners asked the Court to resolve the issues based on the “public interest” exception to the mootness doctrine. The Supreme Court dismissed the petition for extraordinary writ as moot and held that the public interest exception to the mootness doctrine did not apply in this case. View "Poulton v. Cox" on Justia Law

At issue in this case was how and when a party acquires title to property under the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence. This case was based on a boundary dispute between Wayne Hughes and Patricia Hampton-Hughes (collectively, Hugheses) and their neighbor, Q-2, LLC and its predecessors-in-interest (collectively, Q-2). Q-2 brought an action to quiet title to the disputed property under the theory of boundary by acquiescence. The Hugheses counterclaimed, asserting that even if Q-2 had acquired the property through boundary by acquiescence, the Hugheses had reacquired the property by adverse possession. The trial court dismissed the Hugheses’ counterclaim on summary judgment and subsequently quieted title to the property in Q-2. The court of appeals concluded (1) the trial court correctly concluded that Q-2 had obtained title to the property through boundary by acquiescence, but (2) the Hugheses introduced sufficient evidence to survive summary judgment on their claim of adverse possession. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that a party obtains title under the doctrine of boundary by acquiescence by operation of law at the time the elements of the doctrine are satisfied. View "Q-2 LLC v. Hughes" on Justia Law

Saltz Plastic Surgery, P.C. and Renalto Saltz (collectively, Saltz) performed an abdominoplasty and a breast augmentation on Conilyn Judge. Judge was subsequently interviewed by Fox News and posed for post-operative photographs showing the results of her surgery. Fox News aired redacted nude photographs of Judge both before and after the operation. Judge filed suit against Saltz, alleging five causes of action, including publication of private facts, false light, and intrusion upon seclusion. The trial court grated summary judgment for Saltz on all claims. The court of appeals reversed. The Supreme Court adopted the requirement in section 652D(b) of the Restatement (Second) of Torts that plaintiffs must show that “the matter publicized…is not of legitimate concern to the public” and affirmed the court of appeals’ reversal of the grant of summary judgment on the claims for publication of private facts and intrusion on seclusion, holding that the court of appeals did not err in concluding that disputed issues of fact precluded summary judgment Judge’s claims for publication of private facts and intrusion on seclusion. View "Judge v. Saltz Plastic Surgery, P.C." on Justia Law

Mind & Motion entered into a real estate purchase contract (REPC) with Celtic Bank to buy a piece of property the Bank had acquired from a developer through foreclosure. The REPC required Celtic Bank to record plats by a certain date for the first phase of development of condominiums on the land and allowed Mind & Motion discretion to extend the recording deadline as necessary to allow the Bank sufficient time to record. Mind & Motion extended the recording deadline once but declined to extend it a second time. Mind & Motion subsequently sued Celtic Bank for breach of contract. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of Mind & Motion, ruling that the recording provision was a covenant, not a condition. Celtic Bank appealed, arguing that the recording provision was unambiguously a condition. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the recording provision is a covenant, not a condition; and (2) there is no latent ambiguity in the REPC. View "Mind & Motion Utah Invs., LLC v. Celtic Bank Corp." on Justia Law

Monsour Al Shammari, a citizen of Saudia Arabia, was arrested and charged with rape. The Royal Consulate of Saudia Arabia provided the cash funds to post bail. Al Shammari subsequently attempted to cross the border into Mexico but was detained by the United States Customs and Border Patrol. Thereafter, Al Shammari failed to appear for a scheduled hearing, and the district court ordered the cash bail forfeited. Al Shammari moved to set aside the order of forfeiture, contending that the forfeiture was procedurally deficient because the Consulate was not given notice. The district court ordered the bail forfeited, concluding that the Consulate was not a “surety” for purposes of Chapters 20 and 20b of Title 77 of the Utah Code. The Supreme Court denied the Consulate’s petition for extraordinary relief, concluding that the Consulate was not a surety that was constitutionally or statutorily entitled to notice. View "Royal Consulate v. Hon. Pullen" on Justia Law

The State charged Defendant with official misconduct under Utah Code 76-8-201 and with witness tampering under Utah Code 76-8-508(1). At a preliminary hearing, the magistrate judge refused to bind Defendant over for trial, concluding that the State had not met its burden of presenting sufficient evidence to support a reasonable belief that Defendant had committed witness tampering or official misconduct. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) the magistrate and court of appeals erred in weighing the evidence in search of the most reasonable inference; and (2) the State presented evidence supporting a reasonable belief that each offense in question was committed by Defendant. View "State v. Jones" on Justia Law

Petitioner’s son assaulted Petitioner’s co-worker. Petitioner was convicted of aggravated assault because phone records showed that calls were made Petitioner’s phone and his son’s phone just before and after the assault. Petitioner appealed, arguing that the trial court erred in admitting preliminary hearing testimony about the phone records from a detective who had dried before trial and that his lawyer’s objection on this point violated his constitutional right to the effective assistance of counsel. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) any error in admitting the detective’s testimony was not invited because there was no clear affirmative statement by counsel inviting the court to err; and (2) even if the trial court erred in admitting the detective’s testimony, Petitioner was not prejudiced by the admission of the testimony. View "State v. McNeil" on Justia Law

Rent-A-Center West, Inc. leases and sells a variety of consumer goods. Customers may opt to participate in a liability waiver program for an extra fee. Rent-A-Center charges sales tax on rental payments but not on the liability waiver fee. In 2010, the Utah State Tax Commission issued a statutory notice to Rent-A-Center imposing taxes and interest on the amounts Rent-A-Center charged for the liability waiver fee. In a formal hearing, the Commission found the waiver fee taxable. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the liability waiver fee is not subject to sales and use tax under the plain text of the Utah Tax Code. View "Rent-A-Center v. Tax Comm’n" on Justia Law

The litigation surrounding this appeal has lasted more than a decade. Watergate Resorts first sued Shaun Adel and Consumer Protection Group, LLC (together, CPG) for breach of contract. CPG counterclaimed for fraud under the Utah Pattern of Unlawful Activity Act (UPUAA). An arbitration panel decided the UPUAA claims in CPG’s favor, but, claiming bias, Westgate moved the district court to vacate the panel’s decision. The court granted the motion. The Supreme Court reversed and confirmed the arbitration panel’s award of damages against Westgate. On remand, the arbitration panel awarded attorney fees to CPG. The Supreme Court reversed in part and affirmed in part, holding (1) the panel’s award of fees for the the court proceedings confirming the panel’s decisions on the merits is void; but (2) the panel’s award of attorney fees expended during arbitration is allowed, and CPG is entitled to attorney fees for this appeal. View "Westgate v. Adel" on Justia Law

After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of child kidnapping and sentenced to a term of ten years to life. During trial, Defendant moved to put on an expert in eyewitness testimony. The motion was denied because Defendant failed to establish that such testimony was reliable, but the jury was instructed on the issues surrounding eyewitness testimony. The court of appeals reversed, concluding that this case called for the retroactive application of the Supreme Court’s decision in State v. Clopten. In Clopten, the Court held that where eyewitness are identifying a stranger, expert eyewitness testimony meets the requirements of Utah R. Evid. 702 if certain established factors affecting accuracy are present. Prior to Clopten, there was a presumption against the admission of eyewitness expert testimony. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Clopten applies retroactively to Defendant’s case; but (2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion under the Clopten standard in denying Defendant’s motion to admit eyewitness expert testimony. View "State v. Guard" on Justia Law