Justia Wyoming Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court reversing in part and affirming in part the decision of the Wyoming Board of Medicine to suspend Dr. Rebecca Painter's medical license, holding that the district court did not err.The Board appointed two members (Petitioners) to file a complaint and petition alleging that Painter had violated certain provisions of the Wyoming Medical Practice Act, Wyo. Stat. Ann. 33-26-101 through -703. After a contested case hearing, the Board terminated Painter's license upon finding that Painter had exploited her professional relationship with a patient and the patient's family and improperly terminated the physician-patient relationship. The Board then assessed costs and fees against Painter. The district court affirmed some violations, reversed other violations, reversed the Board's assessed fees and affirmed all other costs. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the contested case hearing procedure did not violate Painter's due process rights; (2) the Board's finding that Painter exploited her professional relationship with the patient was supported by clear and convincing evidence; and (3) the Board's finding that Painter improperly terminated the physician-patient relationship was supported by substantial evidence. View "Hallingbye ex rel. Wyoming Board of Medicine v. Painter" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the juvenile court dismissing this juvenile case, holding that Mother's opening brief misstated the record and failed to comply with the Wyoming Rules of Appellate Procedure.Mother had six children, four of which were minors. The two fathers of three of the minor children were involved in this case. Due to allegations of abuse and neglect, the juvenile court ordered the children to be placed into protective custody. The three children were placed with their fathers and the fourth was placed in a foster home. Later, the district court granted the fathers temporary custody of their children, and the fathers moved for discharge of the three children from the juvenile court action. The juvenile court granted the fathers' motion and dismissed the juvenile case. Mother filed a notice of appeal, listing twelve orders from which she was appealing. The Supreme Court summarily affirmed the juvenile court's dismissal order because Mother's brief misstated the record and failed to comply with the rules of appellate procedure. View "In re FP" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Appellants' motion to intervene in this wrongful death action, holding that heirs of the decedent cannot intervene in a wrongful death action brought by the wrongful death representative.Carrie Linn died after undergoing elective surgery. Carrie's niece, Kallista Mills, was appointed Carrie's wrongful death representative. Mills brought this wrongful death action against Charles Linn, Carrie's husband, alleging that he had negligently caused Carrie's death. One year later, Mills signed a release releasing Charles from all causes asserted against him. Mills and Charles then filed a stipulated motion to dismiss the wrongful death action with prejudice. After the execution of the release but before the filing of the stipulated motion to dismiss, Appellants - Carrie's daughters - filed a motion to intervene in the wrongful death action. Because Appellants did not timely serve counsel the motion, the court dismissed the action with prejudice. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that beneficiaries, unless appointed as the wrongful death representative, are precluded from intervening in wrongful death actions. View "Archer v. Mills" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the district court granting summary judgment to Defendants and dismissing Plaintiff's claims for negligent misrepresentation and intentional interference with a contract, holding that Defendants were entitled to summary judgment.Plaintiff sued Defendants, her adult stepchildren, claiming that they caused their father - and Plaintiff's late husband - to remove Plaintiff as the primary beneficiary of his insurance plan. The district court determined that Plaintiff failed to present evidence to establish any genuine dispute of material fact for trial and awarded summary judgment for Defendants. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that summary judgment was proper because Plaintiff failed to establish a dispute of material fact as to whether Defendants supplied false information and as to whether a valid contract existed between her and Defendants. View "Page v. Meyers" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the judgment of the district court denying Plaintiff's motion to amend and dismissing her survival action against Westview Health Care Center for injuries her deceased father received while in Westview's care, holding that the district court erred in dismissing Plaintiff's survival action.After Plaintiff filed her complaint, she moved to amend the complaint to add a wrongful death claim. The district court denied the motion to amend and dismissed the survival action on the grounds that Plaintiff was not the real party in interest. The Supreme Court reversed in part, holding (1) the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying Plaintiff's motion to amend because the wrongful death claim was barred by a two-year condition precedent; and (2) because Westview's motion was untimely, the court erred in dismissing Plaintiff's survival action on the grounds that she was not the real party in interest. View "Gaston v. Life Care Centers of America, Inc." on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court denying Defendant's Wyo. R. App. P. 21 motion asserting that his trial counsel provided ineffective assistance when he failed to raise a challenge under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986), holding that the district court did not err.Defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. During trial, the State used two peremptory challenge to strike the only minority jurors in the venire. Defendant's counsel failed to raise a Batson challenge to the State's use of peremptory challenges. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) there is no direct appeal of a Batson claim if it was not raised in the trial court; (2) the failure to raise a Batson challenge is not usually structural error when it is brought in the context of an ineffective assistance of counsel claim; (3) the district court correctly ruled that trial counsel was not ineffective for failing to raise a Batson challenge; and (4) the district court had not duty sua sponte to raise Batson on its own under the facts of this case. View "Yazzie v. State" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court deciding that Plaintiffs failed to establish the elements required to establish an implied easement, holding that the district court did not err.Plaintiffs sued Defendant, their neighbor, for quiet title and a declaratory judgment that they had an implied easement across Defendant's property for commercial recreational activities. The district court concluded that Plaintiffs did not have an implied easement across Defendant's property because they failed to carry their burden to prove the claimed easement was necessary and beneficial to the enjoyment of their property. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) applied the correct "necessity" standard to establish an implied easement; and (2) did not find that Defendant was a bona fide purchaser entitled to statutory and common law protections. View "Wheeldon v. Elk Feed Grounds House, LLC" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court awarding Father custody of the parties' minor child subject to Mother's visitation, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it dismissed Mother's motion for an order to show cause.Upon the parties' divorce, the district court awarded Father custody of the parties' child subject to Mother's specified visitation. After Father and the child moved to Bahrain, Mother, who lived in Russia, filed a petition to modify custody and visitation. Mother filed a motion for an order to show cause. The district court dismissed the show cause motion and granted Father's modification petition, applying the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) and the common law doctrine of forum non conveniens. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in dismissing Mother's show cause motion for inconvenient forum under the UCCJEA. View "Pokrovskaya v. Genderen" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court reversed the decision of the district court denying KA's unopposed petition for adoption of minor child under Wyo. Stat. Ann. 1-22-101 et seq., holding that the adoption statutes did not prohibit KA from adopting the child.KA sought to adopt his ex-wife's son, with whom he had a loving relationship. Until recently, the child believed KA was his biological father, and when he learned the truth, he requested that KA adopt him. KA filed an unopposed petition to adopt the child. The district court denied the petition on the grounds that KA was married and thus not a "single adult," he did not jointly filed to adopt the child with his current wife, and his current wife was not the child's mother. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for further proceedings, holding that that the adoption statutes did not prohibit KA from adopting the child. View "In re Adoption of ATWS" on Justia Law

The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the district court setting aside an investigative subpoena served by the Consumer Protection Unit of the Wyoming Office of Attorney General, holding that there was no error or abuse of discretion.WyoLaw, LLC filed this petition to set aside the Attorney General's subpoena, claiming that it was not subject to the Attorney General's investigative authority, that the Attorney General lacked probable cause to support its subpoena, and that the documents were protected by the work product doctrine and the attorney client privilege. The district court denied the request to modify or set aside the subpoena and ordered WyoLaw to produce the documents. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion. View "WyoLaw, LLC v. State, Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Unit" on Justia Law