Justia Wyoming Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Anthony Smith was involved in an accident that caused extensive damage to his vehicle, which was insured by State Farm. The vehicle was taken to Lewis Auto Body for repairs, after which State Farm determined that the car was a total loss. State Farm requested that Lewis release the vehicle. In response, Lewis requested payment from State Farm amounting to $30,816 for labor and storage. Lewis then asserted a lien against the vehicle in the amount of $30,816, conducted a lien sale, and obtained title to the vehicle. Smith filed a complaint for replevin and conversion. The district court granted summary judgment to Smith, finding Lewis did not file a valid lien and did not provide proper notice of the sale. Lewis then filed a complaint for money judgment against Smith. In response, Smith filed an emergency petition to prohibit the sale or other disposition of the vehicle. The district court consolidated the actions and awarded damages to Lewis in the amount of $20,516, including $15,240 in storage fees. On appeal, the Supreme Court reversed, holding that Lewis was not entitled to accumulate storage charges after the date that a demand was made for the return of the automobile. Remanded. View "Smith v. Lewis Auto Body" on Justia Law

Despite a divorce in 1971, appellant Christina Maycock and Bill Maycock and their children lived together as a family in a home jointly owned by the couple. In 1992, Christina, an employee of the county cemetery district, enrolled in an insurance plan that limited coverage to the district's employees, their spouses, and their dependent children. On the insurance enrollment form, Christina listed Bill as her spouse. In 2010, Christina was convicted of obtaining property by false pretenses because of her alleged misrepresentation on the insurance enrollment form. Christina appealed, challenging the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction. The Supreme Court held that there was insufficient evidence to sustain Christina's conviction. The Court then reversed the conviction, concluding that there was no evidence on the record that Christina's misrepresentation was the determining factor in the board's decision to pay the cost of insuring Bill. Remanded. View "Maycock v. State" on Justia Law