William L. Paulson

The case involved an appeal by the City of Casselton and related local entities from a North Dakota Public Service Commission order requiring upgrades to three railroad crossings and closure of a fourth in Casselton due to safety concerns from increased coal traffic. The district court dismissed the appeal for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and the Supreme Court affirmed. The court held that under N.D.C.C. § 28-32-15, appeals from PSC orders must be taken to the district court of the county where the hearing occurred, which was Cass County rather than Burleigh County. The court also noted potential untimeliness in filing but did not reach that issue or others because jurisdiction was lacking.

procedurebusiness & regulatory

This case involved a dispute over payment for window repairs performed by plaintiff Gerald Meier on defendant Vivian Novak's house, which had been damaged in a hailstorm; after the roofing contractor failed to pay Meier and became insolvent, Meier sued Novak for the $63.64 bill based on alleged promises to pay and agency principles. Novak counterclaimed for slander arising from a public confrontation in which Meier called him an "asshole" while demanding payment. The district court awarded Meier the amount claimed and dismissed the counterclaim, and the Supreme Court affirmed, reasoning that the facts supported liability under ratification of agency and that the statement was not slander per se under state law because it did not impute a disqualifying characteristic and no special damages were alleged or proved.

torts & liabilityprocedure

This case involved an appeal from a summary judgment in a dispute over an option contract to purchase real property granted in 1976 by Alex Generous to the Wessels brothers. After Generous's death, the estate's personal representative repudiated the option, and the Wesselses attempted to exercise it through letters offering to buy the land at appraised or proposed prices, but without following the option's specified procedures for selecting appraisers or entering a contract for deed. The Supreme Court of North Dakota affirmed the denial of specific performance, holding that the option was never properly exercised because the Wesselses failed to comply with its terms for determining fair market value and tendering payment or a contract. The court found no genuine issue of material fact regarding the improper exercise of the option rights.

propertyprocedure

This case is an appeal by Richard Skjonsby from the summary dismissal of his application for post-conviction relief following his convictions for murder and attempted murder in a 1980 shooting incident. Skjonsby alleged ineffective assistance of counsel based on claims that his attorneys suborned perjured testimony, that his physical, mental, and emotional condition plus medications rendered him unable to assist in his defense, and that a psychiatric examination was invalid. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed the district court's dismissal, ruling that the allegations raised material issues of fact under the Uniform Post-Conviction Procedure Act that required a full evidentiary hearing rather than disposition on the pleadings and record alone.

criminal lawprocedure

Linda Johnson sued her former employer Northwestern Bell Telephone Company after being denied job reinstatement following an extended child care leave taken after the birth of her child in 1979. Johnson had relied on employer-provided summaries and supervisor statements indicating up to 12 months of leave with guaranteed reinstatement, but the union contract limited guaranteed reinstatement to six months, and no positions were available when she sought to return after seven months. The trial court dismissed her contract claim but submitted estoppel and failure-to-make-reasonable-efforts theories to the jury, which awarded $45,000 in compensatory damages and $15,000 in punitive damages. On appeal the North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed the compensatory award, holding that sufficient evidence supported liability on the submitted theories and that evidentiary rulings were not prejudicial, but reversed the punitive damages because they are unavailable in a pure contract action absent an independent tort.

labor & employmentproceduretorts & liability

This case involves an appeal by the State of North Dakota from a district court order suppressing evidence obtained during a search of defendant Russell Metzner's residence. Metzner had been arrested and charged with felony possession of marijuana after officers executing a federal search warrant for a firearm and related documents discovered the drugs. The warrant was based on an affidavit detailing how Metzner, a convicted felon, had been identified as the purchaser of a rifle using a false name. The North Dakota Supreme Court reversed the suppression order, holding that the affidavit provided sufficient facts and permissible inferences for a magistrate to find probable cause that the rifle would be located at Metzner's home.

criminal lawprocedureguns