INTRODUCTION... ¶1 David and Shirlene Ostermiller were both dissatisfied with the court of appeals' decision on their respective appeals from the district court rulings in their divorce action... ¶2 Shirlene appealed and contends that the court of appeals erred in reversing the district court's award of alimony to her for the period between the couple's divorce and Shirlene's remarriage. Shirlene also claims the court of appeals erred when it failed to address the merits of her claim...  

¶ 1 Defendant Brighton Title Company, LLC (Brighton) challenges the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of plaintiff Cooper Enterprises, PC (Seller). At issue is an escrow agent's responsibility as to an earnest money deposit in a situation where the seller holds only a contractual right to acquire the subject property and not actual title. We affirm the summary judgment in favor of Seller... BACKGROUND... ¶ 2 On May 25, 2007, defendant Deseret Sky Development, LLC...  

¶ 1 Defendant Henry Louis Jackson was convicted of several offenses, including attempted murder. On appeal, he raises many issues, including whether the trial court improperly admitted hearsay and photographs; whether the trial court erred in not dismissing the case after the State "destroyed" evidence in a vehicle used in the attempted murder; whether the State was racially motivated in striking a potential juror; and whether the trial court erred in reopening the case and in...  

¶1 This case involves the determination of whether the 2006 amendments to Utah's criminal offense reduction statute, which took away a trial court's discretion to reduce the level of offense for convictions that require sex offender registration,2... ... ... constitute an ex post facto law or a law impairing the obligation of contracts as applied to Defendant, who relied on the prospect of a two-level reduction in entering his guilty plea. This opinion concludes that the 2006 reduction...  

¶ 1 Petitioner Valerie J. Connell (Wife) appeals various rulings in the trial court's sixty-five-page divorce decree. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion... BACKGROUND... ¶ 2 Wife and Respondent Harold G. Connell (Husband) married in 1986. At the time, Wife had one child, whom Husband later adopted. The parties had six children together. At the time of the divorce petition, these children were ages fourteen, eleven,...  

Carl Stanley Fleming appeals the trial court's dismissal of his second petition for postconviction relief pursuant to the Post-Conviction Remedies Act (the PCRA), Utah Code sections 78B-9-101 to -405. We affirm... Under the PCRA, a person is not eligible for relief on any ground that was raised or could have been raised at trial, on direct appeal, or in a prior petition for postconviction relief. See Utah Code Ann. § 78B-9-106(1) (2008). A court may consider whether a petition is...  

Defendant Wesley Thompson appeals his sentence on convictions, based on guilty pleas, of one count of attempted sexual abuse of a child, a third degree felony, and two counts of sexual abuse of a child, second degree felonies... "[A] trial court's sentencing decision will not be overturned unless it exceeds statutory or constitutional limits, the judge failed to consider all legally relevant factors, or the actions of the judge were so inherently unfair as to constitute abuse of...  

B.G. (Mother) appeals the termination of her parental rights in C.B. Mother alleges that the juvenile court erred in denying her counsel's motion to withdraw on the day of trial. She further asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support the juvenile court's determination that Mother abandoned C.B. and that it was in C.B.'s best interest to terminate Mother's parental rights. We affirm... Mother first asserts that the juvenile court erred in denying her counsel's motion to withdraw....  

¶ 1 The Estate of Edwin Higley (the Estate) appeals from a judgment dismissing its action against the State of Utah, Department of Transportation (UDOT) to quiet title in certain real property and for equitable relief. We affirm... BACKGROUND... ¶ 2 In 1974, the district court entered a condemnation judgment in favor of UDOT, condemning land belonging to Edwin Higley (Higley) for the construction of a highway. Although most of the property condemned was in Davis county, one tract of...  

Petitioner John M. Duran appeals the order of the Career Service Review Board (the Board) upholding the termination of his employment by the Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS). We affirm... Duran first contests the Board's use of a 2003 Corrective Action Plan (the CAP), arguing that this use should be prohibited under the res judicata doctrine of issue preclusion. "[The] application of res judicata presents a question of law, which we review for correctness." Grynberg v....  

Christine Snyder (Snyder) appeals the district court's order dismissing its August 4, 2004 protective order. Snyder asserts that the district court's decision to dismiss the protective order was against the weight of the evidence. We affirm the district court's order dismissing the protective order... Under the Cohabitant Abuse Act, a court may issue a protective order on behalf of "any cohabitant who has been subjected to abuse or domestic violence, or to whom there is a substantial...  

M.H. (Mother) appeals the juvenile court's March 25, 2010 order terminating her parental rights. We affirm... Mother asserts that the State's claims were not materially different than its claims in her prior parental rights termination proceeding. Thus, Mother asserts, the termination of her parental rights in K.W. and L.W. is barred by the claim preclusion branch of res judicata... In order to invoke the claim preclusion branch of res judicata: (1) the two cases must involve the same parties...  

Michelle Lee Spurgers appeals her conviction of retail theft, see Utah Code Ann. § 76-6-602 (2008), arguing that the evidence presented during her bench trial was insufficient to warrant a conviction. We affirm... In reviewing a bench trial for sufficiency of the evidence, we "sustain the trial court's judgment unless it is against the clear weight of the evidence, or if [we] otherwise reach[] a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made." State v. Gordon, 2004 UT 2,...  

A.F. (Mother) appeals the termination of her parental rights in M.P., A.P., K.B., and K.B. Mother alleges that the juvenile court erred in determining that the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) provided her with reasonable services. She further asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support the grounds for terminating her parental rights... We "review the juvenile court's factual findings based upon the clearly erroneous standard." In re E.R., 2001 UT App 66, ¶...  

Defendants (collectively Access Auto) seek to appeal the district court's December 7, 2009 order. This matter is before the court on its sua sponte motion for summary disposition based upon lack of jurisdiction... This court does not have jurisdiction to consider an appeal unless it is taken from a final judgment or order, or qualifies for an exception to the final judgment rule. See Loffredo v. Holt, 2001 UT 97, ¶¶ 10, 15, 37 P.3d 1070. An order is final only if it disposes of the...  

¶ 1 Angela Johnson challenges the trial court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Scott and Tiffany Wilson. Johnson contends that summary judgment was inappropriate because the seller financing addendum (SFA-1) to the Real Estate Purchase Contract (the REPC) was not binding upon her. Johnson alternatively argues that even if SFA-1 is enforceable, she was excused from performance because the Wilsons materially breached the contract by failing to tender $160,000 in cash and by failing to...  

INTRODUCTION... ¶ 1 In this appeal, we review a district court's grant of summary judgment on three claims: misappropriation of trade secrets, breach of a confidentiality and nondisclosure agreement, and breach of an attorney's fiduciary duties of confidentiality and loyalty... ¶ 2 In August 2002, USA Power, LLC, a power plant developer, entered into negotiations with PacifiCorp, a utility company, to construct a power plant named Spring Canyon in Mona, Utah. PacifiCorp signed a...  

INTRODUCTION... ¶ 1 Francisco Candedo was placed on nine years of probation after pleading guilty to three felonies arising from his participation in a fraudulent investment scheme. Candedo did not object to the term of probation at sentencing. Instead, on direct appeal to the court of appeals, he challenged the legality of his probation sentence under rule 22(e) of the Utah Rules of Criminal Procedure or, alternatively, under the doctrine of exceptional circumstances. Candedo argued that...  

INTRODUCTION... ¶ 1 This appeal comes from a district court's grant of summary judgment on Ms. Gudmundson's claims against third parties for injuries she sustained in the workplace. Ms. Gudmundson, a former employee of the Utah State Prison, claims that ozone exposure from a newly installed ozone-laundry system injured her, causing significant brain injuries... ... ... ¶ 2 Ms. Gudmundson initially sought workers' compensation benefits. The Utah Labor Commission denied her claim...  

INTRODUCTION... ¶ 1 Defendant Jose Baltarcar Roybal was convicted of one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Before trial, he moved to suppress the admission of the evidence obtained from a traffic stop, arguing that the traffic stop constituted an unreasonable search and seizure in violation of his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as article I, section 14 of the Utah Constitution. The district court denied his motion to suppress,...