Robert D. Leeper

In this workers' compensation case, Dan Hustead suffered a total and permanent disability from a work-related injury in 1930 while employed by H. E. Brown Timber Co., but an initial summary award by the Industrial Accident Board granted him only $40 based on reports indicating a minor, temporary injury. Hustead later filed a new application for full benefits, which the board granted; the district court reversed on jurisdictional grounds, holding that any further relief required a petition showing a change in condition under I.C.A. sec. 43-1407 rather than a separate proceeding. Hustead then filed such a petition, and after hearings the board awarded compensation for total permanent disability, a decision upheld by the district court. On appeal, the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed, ruling that the prior district court judgment was not res judicata because it addressed only the board's lack of jurisdiction over the new application and did not resolve the merits, and that the evidence supported a change in condition permitting modification of the original award.

labor & employmentprocedure

This case concerns an application for a writ of review after the district court denied a motion to dismiss an appeal from the justice's court and overruled a demurrer, remanding the matter for trial. The Idaho Supreme Court granted the writ, reversed the district court's order, and instructed it to dismiss the appeal from the justice's court. The court held that the district court lacked jurisdiction because an order sustaining a demurrer is not appealable without a final judgment and because no appeal bond was filed. Plaintiff had no other plain remedy by appeal or prohibition since the case had already been remanded.

procedure

The case involved a challenge to a city's general ad valorem tax levied on all property within its limits to cover shortfalls from unpaid special assessments in an improvement district and to guarantee related municipal bonds. The dissenting opinion concluded that the tax was valid and did not violate due process under the federal or state constitutions. The reasoning stressed that general taxes differ from special assessments, follow standard statutory procedures for notice and collection that satisfy due process, apply uniformly without discrimination, and serve a public purpose even if they incidentally benefit private parties. The dissent maintained that no additional individualized notice was required beyond the usual tax levy process and that the majority had misapplied due process principles.

taxespropertyprocedure

The case involved owners of farm property who obtained a mutual fire insurance policy on outbuildings from Bingham County Farmers' Mutual Insurance Company and claimed that the company's secretary orally agreed to add coverage for their dwelling without a new written application once an existing policy expired. After the dwelling was destroyed by fire and the company denied liability for lack of a written policy, the plaintiffs sued the company and secretary for negligence in failing to issue the policy. The trial court entered a verdict against the company (but not the secretary), and the Idaho Supreme Court affirmed. The court held that the mutual company's organization under statutes requiring written policies only for signing members did not exempt it from the established rule allowing tort recovery for an agent's negligent failure to issue an agreed policy, as the agent had violated company bylaws without fault by the member.

business & regulatorytorts & liability

The case involved Fred Copenbarger's conviction for second-degree murder, where the prosecution's evidence included the defendant's admissions to police claiming self-defense along with physical facts suggesting the victim was shot in the back. On appeal, the court examined jury instructions regarding the statutory presumption of malice under C.S. sec. 8952, which shifts the burden to the defendant to prove mitigation or justification once a homicide by the defendant is shown, unless the state's proof tends to indicate manslaughter or justification. The court held that the instructions contained reversible error in applying this presumption and the burden of proof, particularly given the exculpatory elements in the state's case, and therefore reversed the judgment and remanded for a new trial. The court also addressed but did not find error in the admission of certain experimental evidence on gunshot wounds.

criminal lawprocedure

The case involved a dispute among former stockholders and officers of the Consumers Oil Company over the handling of assigned accounts receivable that served as a 90-day guaranty under a 1929 asset sale contract to the Utah Oil Refining Company. Schlieff, as a statutory trustee, alleged conversion against multiple defendants after the Utah company reassigned the accounts to related entities for collection, claiming the transfers were unlawful and entitled him to the accounts' face value. The court held that the assignments for collection purposes did not constitute conversion, as they were consistent with the original guaranty arrangement and involved no wrongful dominion inconsistent with the owners' rights, and affirmed dismissal as to Bistline, Tarr, and the collection entities. It reversed and remanded only as to the Utah Oil Refining Company, directing the trial court to settle the full accounting of collections, offsets, and amounts due under the contract.

business & regulatorypropertytorts & liability

In State v. Upham, the defendant appealed his conviction for battery after being charged in an information that alleged an assault with a club but also described actual injury to the victim. The primary issues on appeal concerned whether jury instructions and other documents were properly included in the clerk's transcript rather than the reporter's transcript under Idaho statutes, and whether the information was defective for potentially charging multiple offenses or exceeding the district court's jurisdiction over a misdemeanor. The court held that instructions given or refused must be part of the clerk's transcript on appeal from a conviction under C.S. sec. 9040 and 9077, that any duplicity in the information could not be raised for the first time by a motion in arrest of judgment, and that an erroneous instruction on lesser included offenses was not prejudicial because battery was actually charged and the defendant had waived objections. It further rejected the jurisdictional challenge based on prior precedent. The judgment of conviction was affirmed.

criminal lawprocedure

This case concerns a proceeding to modify an existing child custody decree, in which the trial court transferred custody of a boy over nine years old from his mother to his father based on the child's best interests. The court upheld the modification, holding that in the absence of findings or a request for them, the trial court's order is presumed supported by evidence showing changed conditions, the father's fitness, the mother's unfitness, and the child's welfare. The opinion discusses the "tender years" presumption favoring maternal custody for young children but concludes it is not absolute, particularly where the mother has not provided direct care and the child is older, leaving the decision to the trial court's discretion unless clearly erroneous. It emphasizes that custody determinations prioritize the child's welfare over parental rights and that the rule of maternal preference yields when evidence clearly requires otherwise.

family law

The case concerned the validity of a corporate reorganization by Delaware Mines Corporation, an Idaho mining company whose articles and stock certificates specified that shares were fully paid and nonassessable. Majority shareholders and directors Baumgartner and Bailey, who were also creditors of the company, called a special meeting, adopted a resolution to form a new corporation with assessable stock, transferred the old company's assets to it (with exceptions favoring themselves), and levied assessments on the new shares; minority shareholders including Whicher did not consent and refused the new certificates. The court held the reorganization invalid and ordered relief including an accounting between the directors and the corporation, cancellation of all transfer instruments and return of assets and original stock, and an injunction barring assessment of the plaintiffs' nonassessable shares. The core reasoning was that the plan was not properly approved by a majority of shareholders, lacked adequate disclosure, and improperly attempted to alter the nonassessable character of the stock without consent while involving self-dealing by interested directors.

business & regulatory

This case arose from a 1928 personal injury judgment against defendant Ed Anderson, which was affirmed on appeal as to Anderson but reversed as to co-defendant Singer Sewing Machine Company; the American Surety Company had posted a joint cost bond and a supersedeas bond for the appeal. After the remittitur, the district court entered a summary judgment against the surety on the supersedeas bond without notice or process, later vacated that judgment on the surety's motion, and the Idaho Supreme Court then reinstated it. In this latest appeal from denial of the surety's motion to set aside or amend the judgment, the majority held that the lower court had jurisdiction to enter the judgment based on the bond and that any error could be corrected only by appeal. The dissenting opinion concludes that the judgment was void for lack of due process because the bond did not authorize entry of judgment without notice or process.

procedurecivil rights

The case involved a dispute over title to a house and lot in Mullan, Idaho, originally owned by William and Beda Johnson. After obtaining a judgment against the Johnsons in Oregon and attaching the property in Idaho, creditor Harold Mellerup challenged conveyances of the property first to the Johnsons' minor daughter Vera and then to plaintiff Kantola, who sought to quiet title and enjoin a sheriff's sale. The trial court ruled for Kantola, but the Idaho Supreme Court reversed, holding that the initial transfer to Vera was fraudulent under state law because the grantors were insolvent, the deed was made to a family member with no change in possession or adequate proof of consideration, and Kantola was not a bona fide purchaser as he had notice of the circumstances. The court further held that Mellerup's judgment remained valid despite any bankruptcy proceedings and ordered cancellation of the deeds and discharge of the restraining order.

property

The case involved a school district suing a bank for wrongfully acquiring its funds through conversion, an act that occurred in October 1926, with the complaint filed in May 1930. The trial court sustained a demurrer on the ground that the action was barred by the three-year statute of limitations and struck a proposed amendment that sought to reframe the claim as one for money had and received under an implied contract, along with allegations of delayed discovery. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the substance of the action governs the applicable limitations period rather than its form, so the three-year bar for actions involving the taking of goods or chattels applies whether the claim is pleaded in tort or contract. The court further reasoned that the delayed-discovery provision applies only to actions based on fraud or mistake in the common-law sense, which was not at issue here.

procedurepropertytorts & liability

The case involved a dispute over a power of attorney authorizing the sale of land in Idaho. The agent, McWilliams, sold the property on an installment contract but then assigned the contract to Pence without the principal Eaton's authorization or knowledge, converting the proceeds. Eaton sued to cancel the assignment and recover the documents. The court affirmed the judgment for Eaton, holding that the power of attorney must be strictly construed and did not include authority to assign the contract, and there was no ratification by Eaton.

property

This case is a criminal appeal from a homicide conviction in which the defendant was found guilty largely on the testimony of another person present at the scene. The majority affirmed the conviction, concluding that the challenged jury instruction on flight did not mislead the jury into believing the court had found flight as a fact. The dissent argues that the instruction improperly assumed the existence of flight—an issue on which the evidence was disputed and different inferences were possible—contrary to the rule that courts may not assume material facts in controversy when charging the jury, and that the weakness of the overall proof required closer scrutiny of the instructional error.

criminal law

The case involved eight local improvement districts created by the City of Idaho Falls in 1920 for street and sewer projects, financed by special assessment bonds due in ten years. Some property owners defaulted on assessments, leading to the properties being acquired by the county for unpaid general taxes, which eliminated the bond liens and left the collected funds short of covering all outstanding bonds. The plaintiffs, holders of higher-numbered unpaid bonds, sought a writ of mandate for pro rata distribution of the remaining funds, while intervenors with lower-numbered bonds argued for payment in numerical order. The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's judgment ordering pro rata payment from each district's fund, reasoning that the bonds are payable solely from the special assessment funds under the governing statutes, which incorporate equality provisions as part of the contract and do not permit priority claims once the security is lost.

propertytaxesbusiness & regulatory

The case involved a daughter-in-law's quantum meruit claim against the estate of her deceased mother-in-law for services rendered over approximately four years at $25 per month, offset by rent, with the administrator denying the claim and cross-complaining about alleged conversion of funds. The jury awarded the plaintiff the full amount sought. The court held that the family relationship presumption of gratuitous services did not apply because the parties maintained entirely separate households in the same apartment building, with each managing independent living arrangements. It reasoned that the primary presumption of an obligation to pay for valuable services received therefore governed, that the evidence supported an express or implied agreement for compensation, and that any evidentiary errors were harmless given other competent proof of the services and contract. The judgment was affirmed after a $75 reduction for a three-month period without services.

family lawprocedure

In Aker v. Aker, a wife sued her husband for divorce on grounds of cruelty and joined her mother-in-law as a defendant, alleging the latter held community property in trust; the mother-in-law answered claiming sole title and sought to quiet title. The trial court ordered separate trials for the divorce and property issues, conducted the divorce trial without the mother-in-law, then held a distinct property hearing and entered a single judgment granting the divorce and dividing the property. On appeal by the mother-in-law solely from the property portion of the judgment, the court held that the appellate record need include only the evidence from the separate property trial, not testimony from the divorce proceeding, because the issues had been bifurcated, the appeal was limited, and the transcript as prepared was certified complete for the property adjudication. The orders requiring supplementation of the record were reversed with directions to settle the transcript as originally lodged.

family lawprocedureproperty

This case arose from a 1923 lawsuit by the City of American Falls against an insolvent bank and its sureties on two depository bonds securing municipal deposits, resulting in a 1924 joint and several judgment against the sureties for $17,556 plus interest. After partial satisfaction through property sales and redemptions under the judgment, a dispute emerged over whether a 1925 revivor of the unsatisfied deficiency created an enforceable lien on land conveyed to appellant J. Paul Evans, who had redeemed the property. The court held that the original judgment created no lien on the redeemed land during the redemption period, that revival could not retroactively impose one, and that the subsequent foreclosure sale was therefore void. It reversed the lower court's decision and directed entry of judgment quieting title in the appellant while making permanent an injunction against the sheriff.

propertyprocedure

This case involved a seller suing buyers on promissory notes and a chattel mortgage for a threshing machine, with the buyers counterclaiming for rescission based on fraudulent misrepresentations by the seller's sales agents that the machine was identical to one owned by a trusted neighbor. The trial court, adopting the jury's findings, ruled for the buyers after determining that all elements of fraud were present, including knowing false statements relied upon by the buyers, and that the buyers had promptly offered to return the machine. The appellate court affirmed, holding that contract clauses disclaiming other representations or limiting agents' authority could not bar a fraud claim, that the seller was liable for its agents' fraud while retaining the benefits, and that the tender of return was sufficient. The court also noted that fraud remedies were not excluded by potential warranty claims under the Uniform Sales Act.

business & regulatorytorts & liability

This case involved plaintiffs, members of a marital community, suing the sheriff to recover $249.75 in beet crop proceeds that had been levied upon under a writ of execution to satisfy a judgment against their son-in-law Clark. The court affirmed the judgment for the plaintiffs after a jury trial. It held that the original oral cropping contract, which created a joint tenancy in the crop between the plaintiffs and Clark, had been rescinded by mutual agreement before the levy, converting Clark's role to that of an employee with no ownership interest subject to his creditors' claims. The ruling was based on the jury's resolution of conflicting evidence in favor of rescission, the legal principle that a cotenant's share remains subject to execution only while the contract is effective, and the determination that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict without requiring a directed verdict or new trial.

propertyprocedure