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September 2022 – December 2022 Appellate Highlights

Snow Christensen & Martineau Appellate Highlights As seen in the Utah Bar Journal Sept-Dec ’22 By Rodney R. Parker, Dani Cepernich, Robert Cummings, Nathanael Mitchell, Adam Pace, and Andrew Roth Utah Supreme Court Kingston v. Kingston 2022 UT 43 (Dec. 22,…

Vanlaningham v. Hart, 2021 UT App 95 (Sept. 2, 2021)

The district court excluded plaintiff’s special damages-related evidence from trial because her initial disclosure of a “specific sum” of $130,000 in special damages failed to provide “a mathematical computation” or the “methodology” behind the amount. On an interlocutory appeal, the…

State v. Ruiz, 2021 UT App 94 (Sept. 2, 2021)

Odin, a drug detection K-9, leapt through a partially open window into the car during a drug sniff of the exterior of the car. Applying the test articulated by the Tenth Circuit, the court held Odin’s entry was lawful. Under…

OPC v. Bowen, 2021 UT 53 (Sept. 2, 2021)

Attorney used upfront flat fee agreements with clients that declared the fee was “earned upon payment,” and deposited the retainers directly into his operating account. OPC sued attorney claiming the agreements violated Utah Rule of Professional Conduct 1.15(c), which requires…

Patterson v. State, 2021 UT 52 (Aug. 25, 2021)

Analyzing a range of issues in this appeal of a post-conviction proceeding, the supreme court recognized that it possesses constitutional authority to issue post-conviction extraordinary writs independent of the Post-Conviction Remedies Act and clarified the relationship between the writ authority…

State v. Richins, 2021 UT 50 (Aug. 19, 2021)

The supreme court reversed the court of appeals, vacated the defendant’s conviction for lewdness, and remanded for a new trial where the state was allowed to admit evidence of prior instances of lewd behavior under the doctrine of chances, over…

McKitrick v. Gibson, 2021 UT 48 (Aug. 19, 2021)

Gibson, a former county commissioner, petitioned for judicial review of Ogden City’s decision to publicly release records of an investigation into his alleged official misconduct. Though he lacked standing under GRAMA to challenge the decision, the district court permitted Gibson’s…