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,…
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…
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…
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…
The Tenth Circuit affirmed the criminal conviction of the defendant on several charges over numerous challenges. Among other things, the court held as a matter of first impression that when an indictment is dismissed with prejudice by the district court…
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…
This case involved a Lanham Act claim with plaintiff asserting that defendant, a former distributor in Europe, was selling plaintiff’s exact radio remote controls used to operate heavy-duty construction equipment. A jury awarded plaintiff $100 million in damages and the…
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…
The plaintiff asserted a negligence claim against UPS based on an injury he suffered when a vinyl curtain at his place of employment fell and struck him. The vinyl curtain had been jarred loose when a UPS truck allegedly hit…
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…
