James Morris

The case involved stockholders of Dakota Bankers Trust Company (later renamed Bankers State Bank and Trust Company), which was incorporated in 1961 under North Dakota statutes as a surety and trust company. The company amended its articles to include general banking powers, began conducting commercial banking without approval from the State Banking Board or compliance with banking organization statutes, and the stockholders sought a declaratory judgment and injunction against these activities. The district court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, holding that the banking operations were unauthorized and ultra vires, that the stockholders were not obligated on their stock subscriptions while the company engaged in illegal banking, and that the company must be enjoined from such activities until it obtained proper certification. On appeal, the Supreme Court of North Dakota affirmed, reasoning that Chapter 6-05 (under which the company was organized) does not confer general banking powers and that the company had not met the requirements of Chapters 6-02 and 6-03 for banking associations. The court also upheld the grant of injunctive relief in the declaratory judgment action and stayed enforcement of the injunction for 60 days to allow adjustment of affairs.

business & regulatory

This case involved a personal injury suit brought by the parents of seven-year-old Rodney Avron against the tenants (the Castoreños) and the landlord (Harriet D. Plummer) for burns the boy suffered in 1961 while playing with a fire around a tree stump on the rented Minnesota property. A jury awarded damages against all defendants, but the landlord appealed, arguing insufficient evidence of her liability. The North Dakota Supreme Court, applying Minnesota law, reversed the judgment as to the landlord. It held that a lessor has no duty to abate dangerous conditions created by tenants after taking possession or to evict them, even with notice, absent a lease violation, public nuisance, or illegal activity, and that the tenants alone controlled the premises.

torts & liabilityproperty

The case involved Ambrose Little Bear, who was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Fred Shaw and John Johnson but convicted by a jury of second-degree murder for Shaw's killing. Little Bear appealed the judgment and the denial of a new trial, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, with no other legal errors claimed. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, holding that substantial evidence—including fibers from the defendant's jacket found on the victims, their clothing, and a weapon; accomplice testimony; and the defendant's own statements—supported the jury's finding that he either committed or aided in the murder. The court applied precedents requiring deference to jury verdicts based on competent evidence and noted that state law treats aiders and abettors as principals.

criminal law

This case involved the revocation of William Kirchmeier's driver's license by the North Dakota State Highway Department for six months following an administrative hearing. Kirchmeier appealed the revocation to the district court, which initially ordered the license restored after the suspension period and dismissed the case, but later entered a judgment declaring the revocation null and void. The Supreme Court of North Dakota dismissed the appeal, reasoning that the issues had become moot because the suspension period had expired, the license had been returned, and there was no remaining justiciable controversy for the court to resolve, as courts are limited to actual controversies and do not issue advisory opinions.

procedure

In McDonald v. Ferguson, a driver whose license was revoked under North Dakota's implied consent law for refusing a chemical breath test after a warrantless DUI arrest sued to void the revocation, noting that he had been acquitted of the underlying criminal charge. The trial court ruled the revocation invalid, and the state appealed. The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, holding that under the implied consent statute and precedent in Colling v. Hjelle, a lawful arrest is a prerequisite to revocation for test refusal, and an acquittal establishes that the warrantless arrest was unlawful. The court also rejected a constitutional challenge to the statute's approval of the Harger Drunkometer, finding the device statutorily approved by the legislature itself without need for external validation in this case.

criminal lawprocedure

This case concerned a motion to dismiss an appeal in a guardianship proceeding on the ground that the appellants had filed a defective undertaking on appeal, executed only by themselves rather than by two sureties as required by statute, and a cross-motion to substitute a cash deposit of $250 in lieu of the undertaking. The court held that it possessed jurisdiction to permit the substitution even after the six-month appeal period had expired. The core reasoning was that timely service and filing of a notice of appeal confers jurisdiction under North Dakota statutes, that Section 28-27-26 allows the court to permit curative amendments or acts when an appeal is taken in good faith but other steps are omitted by mistake or accident, and that the service of an undertaking is not itself jurisdictional.

procedurefamily law