Justia Nebraska Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Norman Kroemer, an employee of Ribbon Weld, LLC sustained an eye injury in connection with the use of Omaha Track Equipment, LLC’s (OTE) tools. Kroemer and Ribbon Weld entered into a compromise lump-sum settlement for $80,000. After payment of the lump sum, Ribbon Weld’s subrogation interest totaled just over $200,000. Kroemer then sued OTE and Ribbon Weld. Kroemer and OTE engaged in mediation to settle the third-party claim and ultimately negotiated a compromise settlement of claims in the amount of $150,000. The district court determined that the settlement was reasonable and allocated $0 to Ribbon Weld. The Supreme Court affirmed in part and in part reversed and remanded, holding (1) the district court’s approval of the settlement was not an abuse of discretion under the circumstances; but (2) the district court did abuse its discretion in not allocating any of the settlement proceeds to Ribbon Weld. View "Kroemer v. Omaha Track Equipment, LLC" on Justia Law

ACI Worldwide Corp. sued Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc., its cofounders, and other company principals (collectively, BHMI), alleging that BHMI misappropriated its trade secrets. BHMI counterclaimed, alleging that ACI tortiously interfered with a business relationship and violated provisions of Nbraska’s unlawful restraint of trade statutes. In 2014, a jury found against ACI on its misappropriation claim. In 2015, a jury found in favor of BHMI on all of its counterclaims. ACI then filed posttrial motions to vacate the jury’s judgments, reopen the evidence, and grant a new trial on the basis that ACI had discovered new evidence. The district court overruled ACI’s posttrial motions. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not abuse its discretion in overruling ACI’s motion to vacate the 2014 and 2015 judgments; and (2) did not abuse its discretion in awarding BHMI $2,732,962.50 in attorney fees. View "ACI Worldwide Corp. v. Baldwin Hackett & Meeks, Inc." on Justia Law

While Tyler Thomas and Joshua Keadle were both students at Peru State College, Keadle allegedly abducted, raped, and murdered Thomas. Appellants filed a fifth amended complaint against the Board of Trustees of the Nebraska State Colleges under the State Tort Claims Act, seeking damages for the wrongful death of Thomas, for Thomas’ pain and suffering prior to her death, and for the severe emotional distress of Appellants as Thomas’ parents and next of kin. The causes of action were premised upon the Board’s alleged negligence. The district court granted summary judgment for the Board. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the risk of Keadle’s alleged abduction, rape, and murder of Thomas was not foreseeable as a matter of law. View "Thomas v. Board of Trustees of Nebraska State Colleges" on Justia Law

Homeowners obtained loans from Bank for the construction of a new home and entered into an agreement with Contractor to complete the new home construction. When Homeowners defaulted on payments owed to Contractor and on both loans, the house was sold at foreclosure, and Homeowners filed for bankruptcy. Contractor filed a fourth amended complaint against Homeowners, who were later dismissed as parties, and Bank. Following a trial the court granted summary judgment for Bank on Contractor’s claims of fraud and civil conspiracy. The Supreme Court reversed. After remand, Contractor filed a fifth amended complaint, which differed from the fourth amended complaint in several respects. The district court determined that the election of remedies doctrine and judicial estoppel required a dismissal of Contractor’s claims. The Supreme Court reversed, holding (1) Contractor’s claims were consistently premised on the existence of a contract, and therefore, no election was required; and (2) Contractor’s claims were based on different facts and obligations, and therefore, both could be pursued. View "deNourie & Yost Homes, LLC v. Frost" on Justia Law

On March 9, 2013, Stephen Kelly suffered a fall from his home. Stephen was treated at Saint Francis Medical Center by Dr. Jeff Burwell. Stephen died on March 16. On March 10, 2015, Ann Kelly filed, on her own behalf and on behalf of Stephen’s estate, a pro se wrongful death action against Saint Francis and Burwell. On September 1, 2015, Ann filed a motion for leave to file an amended complaint. Ann retained counsel for her amended complaint.The district court denied Ann’s motion and dismissed the action as untimely, concluding that the original complaint filed by Ann was a nullity and that an amended complaint cannot relate back to something that never existed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the district court did not err in concluding that the prior complaint was a nullity and that an amended complaint could not relate back to the filing of the original pro se complaint. View "Kelly v. Saint Francis Medical Center" on Justia Law

Raven Addy-Cruz was killed in an automobile accident caused by Lyle Carman. Carman was employed by Lopez Trucking. Lopez Trucking had been hired by Werner Construction (Werner) to haul debris from a construction site. Addy-Cruz’s estate filed a wrongful death suit against Carman, the owner of Lopez Trucking (Lopez), and Werner. Summary judgment was entered in favor of Werner. The estate, Carman, and Lopez then entered a joint stipulation to dismiss without prejudice. Thereafter, the estate filed a notice of appeal from the order sustaining summary judgment in favor of Werner. The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal, holding that the estate’s voluntary dismissal of the cause of action without prejudice did not create a final order from which an appeal could be brought. View "Addy v. Lopez" on Justia Law

Bruce Evertson was killed in a two-vehicle accident during the course and scope of his employment. Bruce’s estate filed a wrongful death claim against the insurer of the other driver. The county court accepted a settlement in the matter and allocated the proceeds among Bruce’s widow, Darla Evertson, and adult children. Darla received workers’ compensation benefits from Travelers Indemnity Company as a result of Bruce’s death. Travelers filed a subrogation claim to Darla’s settlement proceeds. The county court ordered that Travelers was not entitled to any distribution of Darla’s proceeds and did not provide Travelers any future credit against the workers’ compensation benefits it owed Darla. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court vacated the decision of the court of appeals and remanded with directions to vacate the order of the county court, holding that the county court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to hear and decide the subrogation matter. View "In re Estate of Evertson" on Justia Law

Plaintiffs sued Madison County under the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act, alleging that the County was negligent for failing to maintain a vacated county road, causing injuries to some of Plaintiffs. The district court entered judgment against the County, concluding that the County breached its duty to maintain the vacated road. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for a new trial. On remand, the district court entered judgment in favor of the County, determining that the County retained its sovereign immunity because Plaintiffs’ claims fell within exemptions to the Act’s waiver of sovereign immunity. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the County retained sovereign immunity with respect to its discretionary functions and therefore could not be held legally liable for its inaction. View "Blaser v. County of Madison" on Justia Law

Ryan Zimmerman drove onto ConAgra Foods, Inc.’s Omaha campus and fired a gun five times at window washers working on ConAgra property. ConAgra filed a complaint seeking a temporary restraining order, a preliminary injunction, and a permanent injunction enjoining Zimmerman from having any contact with ConAgra. The district court entered a temporary restraining order. After a hearing, the court dissolved the temporary injunction and denied ConAgra’s request for a permanent injunction, concluding that a single trespass does not give rise to injunctive relief. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded with directions to enter a one-year permanent injunction against Zimmerman, holding that, because the uncontroverted facts demonstrated that Zimmerman would trespass in the future in flagrant violation of criminal law upon ConAgra’s property, justice required a permanent injunction. View "ConAgra Foods, Inc. v. Zimmerman" on Justia Law

Thomas Latzel was a passenger in the vehicle of Daniel Vanekelenburg, who was driving, when the vehicle collided with another vehicle driven by Patrick Gaughen. The collision occurred at an unmarked intersection of two county roads. Brothers Ronald Bartek and Doug Bartek owned the land to the southwest corner of the intersection. Before Thomas died from his injuries, his wife filed a negligence action against the drivers involved in the collision and the Barteks, alleging that the Barteks were negligent by planting corn too close to the roadside and by allowing the corn to obstruct the view of the intersection. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of the Barteks, concluding that the negligence of the drivers constituted an intervening cause as a matter of law. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the actions of the drivers constituted an efficient intervening cause of the collision, which severed the causal connection between the conduct of the Barteks and the injuries received by Thomas.View "Latzel v. Bartek" on Justia Law