Justia Injury Law Opinion Summaries

Benjamin Morris appealed an order of the Idaho Industrial Commission that denied his motion to set aside a lump sum settlement agreement he made with his employer's surety, Liberty Northwest Insurance. Morris initiated his workers' compensation action after he suffered injuries while working construction for his employer, Hap Taylor & Sons, Inc. Morris sustained a serious head injury on when a twenty-five pound rock thrown by a piece of heavy machinery struck him in the head. Morris initiated settlement discussions with Liberty Northwest Insurance, Hap Taylor & Sons' insurer. Liberty responded with a counter-offer—a single lump sum payment which Morris accepted "with the clear understanding this is a partial settlement and does not resolve the medical side." The parties executed a Stipulation and Agreement of Partial Lump Sum Discharge (LSSA) and submitted it to the Commission for approval. Approximately eighteen months later, on July 8, 2011, a Notice of Appearance was filed with the Commission whereby Morris substituted attorney Michael Walker with his then present counsel, attorney Starr Kelso. On the same day, Morris filed a motion to review the LSSA, accompanied by an affidavit signed by Kelso. Kelso's affidavit expressed concern that Morris may not have been "competent to testify" due to his injury—though, no credible evidence of incompetence was ever offered. Liberty filed an objection to Morris' motion to review. Ultimately, the Commission denied Morris' motion. Following the Commission's refusal to review the LSSA, Morris filed a Motion to Set Aside Lump Sum Settlement Agreement, seeking to void the LSSA on grounds of illegality and constructive fraud. The Commission issued an order denying Morris' motion to set the LSSA. Morris filed a timely appeal to the Supreme Court. After its review, the Supreme Court concluded that the Commission did not err in denying Morris' request for a hearing on his fraud claim. Furthermore, the Court affirmed the Commission's decision to deny Morris' motion to set the LSSA. View "Morris v. Hap Taylor & Sons" on Justia Law

This case arose from the water loss claims Appellant Roger Daniel Rizzo made under Respondent State Farm Fire and Casualty Company's homeowners insurance policy. All of Appellant's claims were for water damage to his home's basement. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the insurance company, effectively dismissing all of Appellant's causes of action because his homeowner's policy did not cover his water damage claims. Appellant also appealed the district court's denial of his motion to amend his complaint to include various new causes of action and the district court's grant of State Farm's motion for protective order against certain overbroad discovery requests. Finding no error in the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of State Farm, the Supreme Court affirmed the district court's decisions. View "Rizzo v. State Farm Insurance" on Justia Law

At issue before the Supreme Court in this case was appeal and cross-appeal of summary judgments dismissing claims against Defendants Ada County, Deputy Jeremy Wroblewski, Kate Pape, and James Johnson in a 42 U.S.C. 1983 civil rights action brought by Rita Hoagland on behalf of herself and the estate of her deceased son, Bradley Munroe ("Munroe"), claiming a violation of a Fourteenth Amendment right to medical care and safety while Munroe was detained at Ada County Jail where he committed suicide. Munroe had a history of incarceration at Ada County Jail ("ACJ"). During the evening of September 28, 2008, Munroe was arrested and charged with the armed robbery of a convenience store. Munroe was intoxicated and uncooperative. During booking, Munroe was screaming and being rowdy. Munroe took a string and wrapped it around his neck. Because of his bizarre behavior throughout the night, Munroe was placed in a holding cell for observation until he was sober. The next morning booking continued. At that time, Munroe requested protective custody. Munroe was placed in a cell by himself and a well-being check was scheduled to occur every thirty minutes. Later that evening during a well-being check, the performing deputy found Munroe hanging from his top bunk by a bed sheet. Munroe was pronounced dead later that evening. Among the issues on appeal were: whether the decedent's estate could assert a 42 U.S.C 1983 action for alleged violations of the decedent's constitutional rights; whether the parent had standing to assert a 42 U.S.C. 1983 action for the death of her adult child while incarcerated; and whether the district court erred in awarding costs to Defendants. Upon review, the Supreme Court concluded that the district court: (1) was affirmed in dismissing Hoagland's 1983 claim on behalf of Munroe's estate; (2) was reversed in finding that Hoagland had a 1983 cause of action for violations of her own constitutional rights; (3) was partially affirmed in its award of costs as a matter of right; (4) was reversed in its award of discretionary costs; and (5) was affirmed in denying attorney fees. The case was remanded for the reconsideration and entry of express findings regarding the district court's award of discretionary costs. View "Hoagland v. Ada County" on Justia Law

Plaintiff-Appellant Larry Hansen was involved in an automobile accident with Defendant-Respondent Matthew Roberts. At trial, Plaintiff sought to recover damages for his injuries and Defendant sought to recover property damage for his vehicle. The jury found Plaintiff to be 90% at fault and awarded Defendant damages for his vehicle. Plaintiff appealed the district court's decision to allow Defendant's experts, an accident reconstructionist and a biomechanical engineer, to testify. Plaintiff also appealed the district court's ruling that he waived his objections to Defendant's deposition testimony. Finally, Plaintiff appealed the district court's decision to grant Defendant's motion in limine so far as it limited him from asking whether prospective jurors or one of their family members were or had ever been employed by an insurance carrier. Finding no abuse of the district court's discretion, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Hansen v. Roberts" on Justia Law

Plaintiff-Appellant Brian Woodworth brought suit against the State and the City of Nampa to recover damages for injuries he sustained while pushing a shopping cart across a state highway. Both defendants moved for summary judgment. Following a motion hearing, the court granted both motions. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the State on two separate grounds: (1) the State was entitled to immunity from suit; and (2) regardless of immunity, the court found that Woodworth failed to raise a genuine issue of material fact that the State acted negligently. Following the summary judgment ruling, Woodworth reached a settlement with Nampa whereby the City was dismissed from the case. Woodworth filed an appeal with regard to the court’s dismissal of his claim against the State. Upon review of the district court record, the Supreme Court concluded that the district court correctly applied the immunity test as outlined in applicable precedent. Because Woodworth failed to present a viable negligence claim against the State, the Court affirmed the district court's judgment. View "Woodworth v. Idaho Transportation Bd" on Justia Law

Boise Baseball, LLC, Boise Hawks Baseball Club, LLC, and Home Plate Food Services, LLC, (collectively "Boise Baseball") sought, and the Supreme Court granted, a permissive appeal of a district court's order. Plaintiff-Respondent Bud Roundtree Rountree was a Boise Hawks season ticket holder. In 2008, he took his wife and two grandchildren to a Boise Hawks game at Memorial Stadium in Garden City. "Most" portions of the stadium are protected by vertical mesh netting approximately 30 feet high, and several areas are protected from above by horizontal netting. Rountree's tickets were in the "Viper" section, which is protected by netting. The stadium also has an area known as the "Hawks Nest," which is a dining area along the third base line covered by both vertical and horizontal netting. Adjacent to the Hawks Nest, at the "very end of the third base line," is the "Executive Club." The Executive Club, while covered by horizontal netting, "is one of the only areas in the whole stadium not covered by vertical netting." At some point during the game, Rountree and his family went to the Hawks Nest to eat. After eating, they went to the Executive Club. While in the Executive Club, Rountree started talking to someone and stopped paying attention to the game. Approximately ten minutes later, Rountree heard the roar of the crowd and turned his head back to the game. He was struck by a foul ball and, as a result, lost an eye. Rountree brought suit alleging that their negligence caused the loss of his eye. Boise Baseball moved for summary judgment, arguing that the district court should adopt the Baseball Rule, which limits the duty of stadium operators to spectators hit by foul balls, and find that Boise Baseball complied with it. Alternatively, Boise Baseball argued that Rountree impliedly "consented to the risk of being hit by a foul ball." The district court denied the motion on both grounds. Upon review, the Supreme Court found no compelling public policy requiring it to adopt the "Baseball Rule." Based on that analysis, the Court was not persuaded that primary implied assumption of the risk should be treated any differently. "Allowing assumption of risk as an absolute bar is inconsistent with our comparative negligence system, whether the risks are inherent in an activity, or not. We decline to adopt the Baseball Rule. We further hold that, apart from express written and oral consent, assumption of the risk, whether primary or secondary, is not a valid defense in Idaho." View "Rountree v. Boise Baseball" on Justia Law

Plaintiff-Appellant Jerry Doherty appealed a district court order that dismissed him as a party in the medical malpractice action against respondents Dr. Gordon Dixon and Blackfoot Medical Clinic. The district court, on September 16, 2010, ruled that because Doherty failed to disclose this claim as an asset in his Chapter 13 bankruptcy proceeding, he was judicially estopped from pursuing this claim against Respondents. The district court further ordered that Doherty take nothing from Respondents, and that the bankruptcy trustee be substituted as the party-plaintiff. On appeal, Plaintiff argued that the district court abused its discretion in granting summary judgment. Finding no abuse of discretion, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "McCallister v. Dixon" on Justia Law

This issue before the Supreme Court in this case centered on an action to recover damages from a well driller who drilled a well that later caved in. The district court granted the well driller's motion for summary judgment on the ground that the alleged claims of negligence and breach of contract were barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, and the court dismissed the action. Upon review, the Supreme Court held that that the breach of contract claim was indeed barred by the statute of limitations and that the negligence claim was barred by the economic loss rule. The Court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the case. View "Stapleton v. Jack Cushman Drilling" on Justia Law

At issue in this case was the definition of the width of an easement for an irrigation pipeline. Dalton Gardens Irrigation District (the District) owned pipeline and intended to replace an existing four-inch pipe with a ten-inch pipe. A portion of the pipeline crosses Diane Ruddy-Lamarca's property. The parties agreed that an easement of some kind existed in favor of the District. However, they disagreed regarding the nature and width of that easement. The district court held that the District had an express easement and an easement by prescription that were identical in location and sixteen feet wide. The District appealed, claiming that the district court erred by restricting the easement to sixteen feet in width and requiring it to make every effort to preserve trees and a drain field on Ruddy-Lamarca's property. Upon review of the district court order, and finding no error in its decision, the Supreme Court affirmed. View "Ruddy-Lamarca v. Dalton Gardens" on Justia Law

The issue before the Supreme Court in this case stemmed from the grant of summary judgment in favor of an insurance company. The insureds contended that the liability coverage provision in their homeowner's policy required the insurer to defend a lawsuit brought by a contractor they hired to repair fire damage to their home and to remodel the home, and that the insurer was required to indemnify against any recovery by the contractor. Upon review of the policy underlying this case, the Supreme Court found no such duties as the insureds contended and affirmed the district court's judgment. View "Linford v. State Farm Fire & Casualty" on Justia Law